What’s it like attending college full-time while in the Army Reserves or National Guard?

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 12:37:23 -0400

Did being in the Reserves interrupt or affect your schooling at all being a full-time student? Were you able to study abroad or attend other summer programs?

Please share any positive/negative experiences or if you have any other advice on choosing which financial aid is best. Did you use Tuition Assistance, FAFSA, scholarships, GI Bill or all of the above?

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2020 12:44 PM

CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 12:44:05 -0400

Being in college and in the reserves is pretty easy. Here are two important rules :

1). Don’t take Saturday classes. Maybe you can, but communicate with your supervisor/NCO. When I have people constantly missing Saturdays, they fall behind in training, medical and fitness requirements, and in unit cohesion. It’s painful as a SNCO running my unit and that member will share in some pain too if it persists.

2). This should really be #1. Communicate communicate communicate with your supervison/NCOs. Most 2 week annual trainings are in the summer. Try to go to longer military schools in the summer. You can be slick, you can take a college class all July, then get activated for 2 weeks in August, and then start school in September and make UTA weekends. Obviously, don’t take that July class if your unit is on active duty in July.

Communicate with your leadership often and and early as possible and you will be fine.

I was. I have an AA and a BA, and they were both completed while in the reserves...

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2020 1:19 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 13:19:10 -0400

CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member provided a lot of good advice, and I'll add my personal experience.

For me being a reservist, I'll say it's been challenging. I switched from active duty to reserves and went straight into community college. I will start this by saying I'm not trying to rant and I think it's just my unit. However, when I arrived at my unit there were rumors, later to be confirmed that we'd be going on the unit's first deployment since WW2. Already having 2 deployments under my belt as an infantryman I didn't care too much, but my CDR pulled me to the side and asked me to waive my 2 years of deployment stability or whatever it's called. The first problem I ran into was trying to get reclassed before deployment while having minimal impact of civilian schooling. Despite my best efforts every summer course for MOS reclass was never submitted by my old training NCO. Finally I had to take off a semester to reclass. Got reclassed a month before we mobilized, obviously no time for ALC.

Fast forward to now, I'm chasing ALC. I will admit that covid definitely has its role to play with ALC but I've been trying to secure an class date since and just now might be getting one in a few months. Problem is, me and the current training NCO are trying our best to secure any class so I can promote, but also one that won't impact college as much.

Again. Not trying to bitch or complain, I get military requirements but I just wanted to say it's not as easy as recruiters make it seem to go to college full time and serving in the reserves. Like CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member said, communication is key with your leadership. Because of covid I'm taking a summer course online and don't expect much impact due to our upcoming training schedule. Lastly, I'm using the post 9-11, but depending on what program you're going for, other forms of financial assistance may be best such as TA, FASFA, ETC.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Jun 25 at 2020 2:56 PM

SGM Bill Frazer — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 14:56:45 -0400

Ashley, hate to best your bubble- it is easier in the USAR/NG for schooling, but you still have to work around drills, deployments, etc. 80%+ of the nations logistical forces are in the Reservesd and Guard.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2020 6:03 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 18:03:46 -0400

I’m an Army Reservist and just finished my first semester of college. I took 16 credits, had a part time job, the Reserve, and still managed to achieve a 4.0. Most E-4 and below in my Reserve unit are full time college students. Also, I go to CC and unfortunately my school isn’t covered by TA, so I paid out of pocket.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 25 at 2020 7:38 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 19:38:09 -0400

For me, I have no memory of anything in '87-88 other than I worked, did Reserves, and went to school. As an O-4 Reservist, it was about 20 hours a week plus drills and ADSWs. Work was 4/10s at the time. Grad school through USC was 15 hours a week. We'd do one course for 7 weeks, one week off, repeat times 12. Reminded me of doing port/starboard watches for months on end. Saving grace was we didn't have kids yet. Wife worked full time too. She flew down to LA as well to partake in the graduation she "earned" as well. I was in the original GI Bill which gave me around $950 a month. Cost of tuition and books worked out to be about $200/month more so that's what I had to come up with.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Jun 25 at 2020 7:41 PM

SGT Matthew S. — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 19:41:13 -0400

I was only in the Reserves for about a year and a half while I was in college, but I didn't find it too much of a hindrance. You have to keep your Drill/training schedule in mind and work around that; your chain of command may or may not be willing to work around mandatory weekend labs, etc, and the military takes priority per your contract.

I used the GI Bill (from when I was Active) and some Tuition Assistance from the Reserves.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2020 8:39 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 20:39:56 -0400

As mentioned, federal Reserve service is likely to be more forgiving than National Guard. The National Guard has had record mobilizations with COVID-19 and protesting support missions. The Reserve does have Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA), but these are not as pervasive as National Guard local support missions. As a SPC(P), you'll probably be just fine going to college full-time. I was able to command a Reserve company during the entire first two years of law school, but it was very difficult and I was constantly working on something. I can't imagine that any TPUs in my company below E8 or O3 (meaning my 1SG and I) were ever overburden with Reserve obligations in between drill. At the TPU company leadership level and above, the Reserve is hardly part-time. I was on my government computer and issuing guidance through phone/text everyday along with full-time law school.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2020 10:27 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 22:27:30 -0400

It was really hard while I was in the guard. Had TA pulled right before starting terms due to government shut down, activated for firefighting and other duties. We had last Drill schedule changes, ended up having to take midterms in the field online. The reserves are a lot more reasonable about letting you SUTA.

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Jun 28 at 2020 12:09 PM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Sun, 28 Jun 2020 12:09:09 -0400

In addition to what everyone else has said, keep in mind that the method of delivery makes a big difference. Online/Distance learning may require the same (or for many people, more) number of hours, but you can have flexibility on the actual hours. For my undergrad (on campus), I was ROTC/NG-SMP/Full time. For my additional degrees, I was on campus (2 AA's related to civilian job) and remote (2 masters) full time, with a full time day job, as well as Reserve duties. Definitely easier online, and on the USAR side. USAR was in my experience much more predictable. Sure, drills/battle assemblies occasionally moved, but much less frequently.

Response by Theodore Lindberg made Oct 24 at 2022 2:14 PM

Theodore Lindberg — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 14:14:41 -0400

Sometimes it can be difficult to combine training with service in the reserves, and there are times when it is not always possible. In my case, I found solutions and somehow managed to cope, but I can't say that it was easy.

Response by A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney made Feb 28 at 2023 1:44 PM

A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 13:44:10 -0500

THIS Is A PROBLEM?
Millions Of People Do This..,
It's So Common I'm Surprised It Was Even Asked..
And Many Of Them Are Married And Working Full Time Jobs.
Just Turn Around In Your Chair And Ask The Student Behind You.
They Can Probably Give You The Answer To That Question..
Remember What We've All Heard:
~~ "If It Were EASY, Everyone Would Be Doing It".~~

As For Myself, After My Enlistment In The Service...
I Was Married, Had 2 Kids, Starting A Business AND Going To School FULL TIME.
And Is Your Fk'n Problem Is W H A T ?.......
BTW, However, I Retired At 56

Response by SMSgt Bob Wilson made Feb 28 at 2023 5:38 PM

SMSgt Bob Wilson — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 17:38:40 -0500

Really! You are going to school full-time and playing soldier part-time. Schedule your two weeks of duty in the summer, you know your UTAs. One weekend a month should be easy to work into your schedule. Should you get activated, now that many be a little disheartening. You could lose a semester or two. If you plan, plan, plan and communicate, communicate, communicate, it should be a very doable task.