What do you think of attending college while on Active Duty

It’s all about an individuals priorities. In my experience, I came into the Army with about 30 credit hours in 2004, and in Decemember of last year I walked across the stage at the University of Oklahoma with a Masters Degree. Time management and perseverance is critical. I began by taking one 3 credit hour course at the education center after work hours and continued by taking multiple courses at a time online, sacrificing a lot of free time before and after work and on the weekends. Through the grind of multiple deployments and PCS moves with a full family, it took me 6 years to receive my Associates degree, but by my 13th year in the Army I had my Masters degree. Again, it’s all about priorities and perseverance, but I truly believe that all Soldiers can achieve a degree while serving if they truly want to.

I am a year out from completing my Bachelors, and I can tell you that it can be difficult taking a full load. Personally, I am taking a full load so I can finish my degree faster. I joined the military in the middle of college, so it set me behind a bit. It is not impossible, but I definitely feel burned out almost everyday. Going home from a hard day of work to a long night is school assignments. You have to be motivated enough to push through those semesters on active duty, and also make sure you keep your G.P.A. I think it is highly necessary, and that people should at least attend part-time. It can be stressful, but it's worth it.

You are correct...it's about management (both in time & expectations).

I attended the University of Maryland - Europe on campus while on Active Duty in Germany. That meant a lot of weekends and weeknights were spent in class. That meant that my wife went on a MWR trip to Spain with the unit & family members while I attended class. If you want to get ahead, whether it's to prepare for life after Service or just ahead of your peers for promotion, it takes sacrifice (that's why it was important enough to be included in the Army Values). In return, those points helped me fast track to E-5 (and have continued to pay dividends with each successive promotion in the National Guard).

Too many Soldiers these days want/expect to attend college on work time. A civilian employer wouldn't do that, why should the military. Some of my Soldiers attended college classes while on deployment. It's all about facing reality, making a plan and having the intestinal fortitude to stick with it.

And, Active Duty tuition Assistance is hard to beat!

I think getting a degree in the military is easier than in the civilian world. Most supervisors in the military are willing to work with you more than on the civilian side. I obtained my bachelors degree as a civilian and masters degree in the military. It was definitely easier when I was in the Army.

In my time in the service I've complete two degrees while serving. The first was while I was a PFC and into my time as a SGT, but that was modified by the fact that I was working in a BDE HQ. I took two classes at a time (three once, but that was a terrible idea) and ground it out. The worst case was when I signed up for College Algebra and World History a week before I went to WLC. My NCOs told me that I would have plenty of time to study, and they couldn't have been more wrong. Despite that, I finished both those courses in three weeks after I came back from WLC. It can be done, but you have to prioritize education and figure out what you can actually accomplish. Despite that, I completed my associates degree in a year and a half while on active duty.

My second degree on active duty was as a lieutenant, where I completed an MA in Organizational Leadership over the course of a year and half. That degree included a lot of classroom instruction, but the courses usually met about 1-2 days a week and were a bit later in the evening. It gets more difficult if you have kids, but the rule is that you get out what you put in. You can get a lot of mileage by actually talking to your leadership and explaining what you're doing. If you're trying to improve yourself, more often than not they should support you. As leaders, we like to be able to say that we've supported our Soldiers in obtaining higher education and that x number of soldiers earned degrees while completing their duties.

Its called one class at a time until you finish, I finished mine after begining in 2001 and finally finishing in 2013 lol so it can be done regardless and with the benefits afforded soldiers which many do not take advantage of there is little excuse to not at least attempt to do some college while on active duty.

I definitely prefer traditional classroom over online, I do not have the discipline necessary to chime in to online education, but lets say if I treated my college pursuit much as I do logging into RP, then I might succeed.

Great Question! I have seen guys do it. But, I have also seen guys mess it up and "lose it" over dealing with the scheduling. In regards to a CO letting someone out early for classes, I say good luck. Need of the Army is an important thing in the Army's eyes. I I have admired guys that cab do it. But, felt for the ones who were up all night washing gear for a TA-50 inspection that next morning, and do not finish dchool. I personally, being a veteran and still on IRR, would rather use my GI Bill when I can benefit 100% from it.

It's challenging no doubt. However, it can be done if you apply the 3Ds Discipline, Determination, and Desire.
It's your waiting for the phantom " right " time, it doesn't exist. There's always a field exercise, school, deployment, family issues, etc. that happen in life

I see what he is saying, but it's about how much you want it. I would also say that trying to take a night class during a training cycle prior to deployment is probably not setting yourself up for success, but i have seen soldiers get to leave on time to get to class. That is all about your leadership being informed and being on board. I am taking online classes at a normal college that meet 1 night a week on a video chat for an hour, which i like a lot better than others. Now due to just getting back from deployment, we are not busy and I have received 12 credit hours this summer semester, and had no issues with work.

Sometimes things are out of our control (field, deployment, schools), but at times we have to just get the stuff done for our personal benefit instead of making up reasons for why we can't.

I know the army has tried to get better at college for enlisted, but I think they need to offer similar educational opportunities and programs that they have for officers.