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Colleges With Best Student Veteran Resources and Salary Outcomes

Student Veterans Seek Colleges Offering Flexibility, Support, and Strong Salary Outcomes

Shadi Bushra

Written By: Shadi Bushra

Published: 6/22/2022

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  • Military-friendly

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Key Insights:

  • Few states have colleges that offer the VITAL program, which provides clinical health, academic, and social support for student veterans.
  • Many of the schools with the most student veterans are online institutions, though only one online school is part of the VITAL network.
  • Student veterans may have to decide between the flexibility of online colleges or the stronger support networks of on-campus schools, but there are options in both groups that lead to strong salary outcomes.

Most veterans know that one of the perks of enlisting is financial assistance with paying for college after the military. But just because certain legislation, chiefly the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, compels the government to help pay for college, doesn’t mean that all is well for the student veterans it supports.

Student veterans tend to be somewhat older and often more mature than many of their peers in college. However, whether a first-year student is 18 years old and right out of high school, or with years, even decades, of military experience, both groups come to college for many of the same reasons. A college degree has been shown to boost lifetime earnings and career prospects.

Even for those who intend to continue soldiering, a degree in something like cybersecurity could open up new and rewarding pathways within their service. And when the time comes to leave the military, they will have a degree — on top of years of service — to help them land on their feet in the civilian world.

Salary Score Rankings for Schools With Most Student Veterans

The Post 9/11 GI Bill® — named and partially modeled after the original GI Bill®, implemented after World War II — is meant to provide assistance to those who served in the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War, or otherwise were on active duty after September 10, 2001. The benefits apply to veterans in and from 56 states and U.S. territories. The table below has other metrics showing the scale and reach of the legislation.

Post 9/11 GI Bill® by the Numbers, for Student Veterans

States and Territories With GI Bill® Students 56
Schools With GI Bill® Students 14,693
GI Bill® Students 492,844
Total Amount of GI Bill® Benefits Disbursed $ 1,691,735,757
Average Amount of GI Bill® Benefits Disbursed Per Student $3,433

Of the almost 14,700 schools which have student veterans attending on the GI Bill®, there are some that particularly stand out in terms of career outcomes after graduation, such as online schools Excelsior College, the American Public University System, and Capella University.

In theory, colleges can lose their ability to enroll students using GI Bill® funds if they fall out of compliance with certain standards. In March 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs represent alumni salaries after graduation within specific programs and degree levels. To calculate a school’s overall Salary Score by level, we compared alumni earnings for each individual program to the same programs at schools across the country. You can learn more about this unique data point we use here.

Salary Score Rankings for Schools With Most Student Veterans

The Post 9/11 GI Bill® — named and partially modeled after the original GI Bill®, implemented after World War II — is meant to provide assistance to those who served in the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War, or otherwise were on active duty after September 10, 2001. The benefits apply to veterans in and from 56 states and U.S. territories. The table below has other metrics showing the scale and reach of the legislation.

Post 9/11 GI Bill® by the Numbers, for Student Veterans

States and Territories With GI Bill® Students 56
Schools With GI Bill® Students 14,693
GI Bill® Students 492,844
Total Amount of GI Bill® Benefits Disbursed $ 1,691,735,757
Average Amount of GI Bill® Benefits Disbursed Per Student $3,433

Of the almost 14,700 schools which have student veterans attending on the GI Bill®, there are some that particularly stand out in terms of career outcomes after graduation, such as online schools Excelsior College, the American Public University System, and Capella University.

In theory, colleges can lose their ability to enroll students using GI Bill® funds if they fall out of compliance with certain standards. In March 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs represent alumni salaries after graduation within specific programs and degree levels. To calculate a school’s overall Salary Score by level, we compared alumni earnings for each individual program to the same programs at schools across the country. You can learn more about this unique data point we use here.

Salary Score Rankings of Colleges With Most GI Bill® Students

Largest GI Bill® Campuses Salary Score GI Bill® Students + Aid
EXCELSIOR COLLEGE A 94 2,156 $11,889,840
AMERICAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SYSTEM A 92 18,012 $62,203,465
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY SAN DIEGO A 92 4,773 $38,400,724
CAPELLA UNIVERSITY A 92 2,405 $10,175,658
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GLOBAL CAMPUS A 89 12,048 $50,852,038
COLUMBIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY A 87 3,717 $9,125,919
EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY-ONLINE A 86 2,334 $10,605,252
WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY A- 84 9,597 $29,046,354
WALDEN UNIVERSITY A- 83 2,772 $13,105,152
TRIDENT AT AMERICAN INTERCONTINENTAL UNIVERSITY A- 81 2,210 $10,281,499
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY ONLINE A- 79 13,894 $53,627,285
GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY B+ 75 6,784 $28,919,625
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY B+ 72 2,371 $24,222,989
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX-ONLINE CAMPUS B+ 72 10,405 $56,461,207
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-COLLEGE STATION B+ 71 2,251 $12,332,227
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE B+ 69 7,833 $54,542,188
STRAYER UNIVERSITY-ONLINE-WASHINGTON DC B+ 68 3,439 $21,602,342
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY-WORLD CAMPUS-UNIVERSITY PARK B 65 1,898 $15,283,226
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON B 65 2,075 $8,755,280
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GLOBAL CAMPUS B 62 5,199 $29,921,590
PURDUE UNIVERSITY GLOBAL B 59 5,412 $24,344,875
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS B 59 2,139 $12,029,874
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA B 58 2,265 $16,531,107
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS B 57 2,524 $2,360,051
COLORADO TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY-ONLINE B 57 2,883 $24,040,806
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY B- 55 2,771 $13,368,392
DEVRY UNIVERSITY ONLINE B- 55 2,995 $20,632,067
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY B- 55 1,860 $4,305,167
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY B- 54 13,760 $62,218,462
FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE B- 53 1,872 $2,691,372
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA-TUSCALOOSA B- 51 2,127 $11,545,484
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY B- 46 1,779 $5,944,904
OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY B- 46 3,501 $19,796,004
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO COLORADO SPRINGS N/A 45 2,063 $11,638,643
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY N/A 43 1,884 $5,050,842
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA N/A 41 2,362 $6,001,206
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA-MAIN CAMPUS N/A 40 2,143 $6,442,650
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO N/A 39 3,891 $12,742,609
GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY N/A 36 1,975 $3,745,273
AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY N/A 30 1,960 $7,446,326
ECPI UNIVERSITY N/A 29 2,107 $22,653,427
FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY N/A 26 4,341 $60,034,195
CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE MAIN CAMPUS N/A 12 2,814 $3,049,032

How Do Veterans Avoid a Cold Welcome on Campus?

There are a number of metrics we can use to decide if a campus may be particularly welcoming to veterans. Here are a few of the programs that denote if a college has been vetted and approved for a specific program, some of which are run by the VA, the Pentagon, the Department of Education, or other groups. Each has a set of criteria a school needs to meet to be eligible for the program in question. Click the links to understand more about what each designation means in terms of veteran support.

How Do Veterans Avoid a Cold Welcome on Campus?

There are a number of metrics we can use to decide if a campus may be particularly welcoming to veterans. Here are a few of the programs that denote if a college has been vetted and approved for a specific program, some of which are run by the VA, the Pentagon, the Department of Education, or other groups. Each has a set of criteria a school needs to meet to be eligible for the program in question. Click the links to understand more about what each designation means in terms of veteran support.

Higher Education Programs for Student Veteran Success

Program Title # Schools Approved % Schools Approved # GI Bill® Students Served % GI Bill® Students Approved
10,227 48% 721,104 86%
3,837 18% 732,741 87%
5,628 26% 496,308 59%
Student Veteran Group 1,688 8% 502,130 60%
1,924 9% 518,397 62%
144 1% 11,795 1%

The Veteran Success on Campus (VSOC) program is the least prevalent on college campuses, with less than 150 campuses with VSOC’s specific advantages for student veterans. These include a vocational counseling program run by a Veteran’s Administration (VA) staffer.

Another well-known group of colleges and universities are those that qualify as Yellow Ribbon schools. These institutions have committed to providing services or funding above and beyond those required by the Post-9/11 GI Bill®.

The most prevalent program at schools is the Principles of Excellence, which can be found at over 10,000, or almost half, of all campuses that apply for PoE approval.

However the program that has touched the most number of student veterans is the Department of Defense Tuition Assistance program, which is approved for 87% of GI Bill® recipients.

Some of these programs are directly tied to grants for student veterans, which is particularly meaningful as college costs soar and schools are cutting grants. Last year, schools doled out about vs. On-Campus for Student Veterans

The schools with the largest veteran populations are generally online schools. This is because it works for veterans who may need flexibility in their schedule or location. Certain service members can even begin earning college credits while still in the military.

Veterans who have finished their commitment to the military may want to work during school, or have other responsibilities to navigate. So, there are plenty of reasons — financial, familial, or personal — that make a more flexible schedule a priority.

But this flexibility that online colleges offer comes at the cost of on-campus clinical help. That said, the VA, which covers most medical expenses for veterans, has been accepting telemedicine claims since .

You can also utilize the Salary Scores, a product of our team of data experts’ analyses, to easily compare colleges by alumni salary.

So, what do you want to do now that you’ve served your country? What kind of degree, or what will you need to know or study to be able to accomplish those post-military goals? You’ve done your duty. Now do your research and make sure your next move is the best move.

The Veteran Success on Campus (VSOC) program is the least prevalent on college campuses, with less than 150 campuses with VSOC’s specific advantages for student veterans. These include a vocational counseling program run by a Veteran’s Administration (VA) staffer.

Another well-known group of colleges and universities are those that qualify as Yellow Ribbon schools. These institutions have committed to providing services or funding above and beyond those required by the Post-9/11 GI Bill®.

The most prevalent program at schools is the Principles of Excellence, which can be found at over 10,000, or almost half, of all campuses that apply for PoE approval.

However the program that has touched the most number of student veterans is the Department of Defense Tuition Assistance program, which is approved for 87% of GI Bill® recipients.

Some of these programs are directly tied to grants for student veterans, which is particularly meaningful as college costs soar and schools are cutting grants. Last year, schools doled out about vs. On-Campus for Student Veterans

The schools with the largest veteran populations are generally online schools. This is because it works for veterans who may need flexibility in their schedule or location. Certain service members can even begin earning college credits while still in the military.

Veterans who have finished their commitment to the military may want to work during school, or have other responsibilities to navigate. So, there are plenty of reasons — financial, familial, or personal — that make a more flexible schedule a priority.

But this flexibility that online colleges offer comes at the cost of on-campus clinical help. That said, the VA, which covers most medical expenses for veterans, has been accepting telemedicine claims since .

You can also utilize the Salary Scores, a product of our team of data experts’ analyses, to easily compare colleges by alumni salary.

So, what do you want to do now that you’ve served your country? What kind of degree, or what will you need to know or study to be able to accomplish those post-military goals? You’ve done your duty. Now do your research and make sure your next move is the best move.

Methodology

Our data on alumni earnings comes from College Scorecard, an annually updated resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The earnings data used in our Salary Score is for alumni in the first year after completing a degree. The data was released on March 14, 2022, and is for students who graduated in 2017 and 2018, with earnings measured in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and inflation-adjusted to 2020 dollars.

The data is based on the earnings of students who received federal financial aid because that is the sample for which the Department of Education has data. This excludes students who did not receive federal financial aid. Please see our "What is Salary Score?" resource for additional information.

Information on government programs for student veterans came from the Veterans Administration, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education. Some data were a product of all three departments, such as the information on the number of GI Bill® students in each school and how much GI Bill® funds had been disbursed to that college. Other data came from two of the departments, such as the number of VITAL programs, which came from DoE and VA.

Methodology

Our data on alumni earnings comes from College Scorecard, an annually updated resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The earnings data used in our Salary Score is for alumni in the first year after completing a degree. The data was released on March 14, 2022, and is for students who graduated in 2017 and 2018, with earnings measured in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and inflation-adjusted to 2020 dollars.

The data is based on the earnings of students who received federal financial aid because that is the sample for which the Department of Education has data. This excludes students who did not receive federal financial aid. Please see our "What is Salary Score?" resource for additional information.

Information on government programs for student veterans came from the Veterans Administration, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education. Some data were a product of all three departments, such as the information on the number of GI Bill® students in each school and how much GI Bill® funds had been disbursed to that college. Other data came from two of the departments, such as the number of VITAL programs, which came from DoE and VA.

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