Want to Know More About Student Veteran Enrollment? Start here.
Student veterans make up approximately six percent of undergraduate college students and seven percent of graduate students in the 2015-2016 school year, according to the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics published in 2020.1
While referred to as student veterans, it is important to remember that this overarching title includes active-duty service members and those in the National Guard or Reserves. This information is limited because the data doesn't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate students or veterans and their dependents who can use the benefits in specific situations. However, a few conclusions are evident when combining the data with data from individual schools.
What Makes Student Veterans Different?
Student veterans are an incredibly diverse population and decidedly different from traditional college students.
Student veterans are more likely to be:
Older - 85% are over the age of 25
Partnered - About 50% are married Parents - About 50% are raising kids First Gen - 62% are first-generation college students2 Committed - 75% attend full time Men - Only 27% are women Diverse - 40% identify as non-white3Post-9/11 veterans are 1.4 times more likely to complete their program than all adult learners. Student veterans have a higher completion rate and a higher average GPA of 3.34, compared to traditional students at 2.94.4 Student veterans have the potential to be incredibly successful, particularly at high-graduation-rate institutions, as a report from the National Veteran Education Tracker (NVEST) Project reported.5
How Many Student Veterans Are Out There?
In 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs predicted there were about 5.1 million Post-9/11 Veterans, and 32% of them had a bachelor's degree or higher.6 The VA also reported that in 2020, only 40% of eligible veterans were using their educational benefits.7 This leaves more than half of veterans eligible for educational benefits not using the program and open to learning about how they can. Institutions have many opportunities to market to and recruit veterans who still need to be enrolled and are considering a college degree program.
Why and Where are Veterans Enrolling in Higher Education?
Veterans enroll in colleges and other higher education institutions for many of the same reasons non-veterans do. They want to develop new skills, increase career options and improve their quality of life. They may also be interested in learning how to apply some of the skills learned in the military to a civilian career.
About half of those using VA education benefits enroll in undergraduate programs. Another quarter enrolls in two-year schools, 9% in graduate programs and 15% in vocational, technical or non-degree programs.8
Veterans are also overrepresented in for-profit and two-year institutions and often underrepresented in public, four-year institutions. Some of this is e explained by generalized data that doesn't break down enrollment percentages by graduate and undergraduate programs.
How do Student Veterans Perform Compared to Non-Veteran Students?
Student veterans have the desire to be successful. The programs where you're most likely to see student veterans enrolling are business (27%), STEM (14%) or health professions (10%).9
Because student veterans are older than traditional students and more likely to be raising a family or working (or both) during their college experience, they often find programs that offer multiple modalities attractive. Flexibility about full-time and part-time; online, in person or hybrid programs; and continuous enrollment options are all important to student veterans. About half of the undergraduate student veterans attend full-time.
About 15% of student veterans attend multiple schools and will be interested in transferring credits when looking at prospective institutions. Student veterans seek support when looking at a new college or program. They want to know who to talk to about their educational benefits, who can help them make decisions about their program timeline, who can help navigate the enrollment process and how to get involved with veteran support groups.
With millions of student veterans eligible for educational benefits and thousands of nonprofit organizations helping veterans transition to civilian life, veterans are easier to contact and market to than ever before. By learning more about student veterans, you can more successfully market to them, increasing your enrollment and their success.
1https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020488REV
2https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/student-veteran/learn-about-student-veterans.asp 3https://pnpi.org/veterans-in-higher-education/ 4ivmf.syracuse.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Student-Veterans_A-VAluable-Asset-to-Higher-Education.pdf 5https://nvest.studentveterans.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NVEST-Report_FINAL.pdf 6https://nvest.studentveterans.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NVEST-Report_FINAL.pdf 7Baird, Matthew, Michael S. Kofoed, Trey Miller, and Jennie Wenger, Educators of Veterans or For-Profiteers? Tuition Responses to Changes in the Post 9/11 GI Bill®️, working paper, IZA, September 2020 8https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/student-veteran/learn-about-student-veterans.asp 9https://pnpi.org/veterans-in-higher-education/