Best and Worst Colleges for Veterans

[sanantone]

The study I'm linking to looked at data from 4,600 colleges between 2009 and 2017. They mainly focused on graduation rates, amount of Post-9/11 GI benefits received, and money spent on instruction. They also looked at the percentage of students who earn more than the average wage for someone with a high school diploma. Guess which type of college tended to perform the worst?

You can look at the tables yourselves, but the stat I found most interesting is the percentage of students who earn more than the average high school graduate. 

Full Sail University - 52.3%
ECPI University - 52.3%
University of Phoenix - 50.8%
Colorado Technical University - 49.8%
Devry University - 57.9%
Strayer University - 59%

I also liked this list. These are the top bachelor's degree-granting schools that spend over 50% of gross tuition and fees on instruction and have graduation rates over 50%. 

Yale University
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Stanford University
State University of New York Polytechnic Institute 

These are the top 10 schools that received the most in GI Bill funds and spent less than 20% of tuition on instruction. The authors of the report call these "Bottom of the Barrel."

University of Phoenix
Devry University
Strayer University
Colorado Technical University 
Liberty University
Ashford University
Southern New Hampshire University 
Kaplan University (now Purdue Global)
Grand Canyon University 
Capella University

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5...+FINAL.pdf

[ChilliDawg]

I sit next to a guy at work that started the University of Phoenix journey while he was in the military. The UoP recruiters came right to his base, and participated in some sort of College Fair for GI Bill recipients. He says that the Army somewhat promoted UofP or at least encouraged talking to them. Fast forward 6 years, he is still trying to chase his Masters through UofP. He has a lot of regret about his choice, and is uncertain as to whether he made the right decision.

I can't imagine putting in that type of work, and then having doubts about it.

[sanantone]

I sit next to a guy at work that started the University of Phoenix journey while he was in the military.  The UoP recruiters came right to his base, and participated in some sort of College Fair for GI Bill recipients.  He says that the Army somewhat promoted UofP or at least encouraged talking to them.  Fast forward 6 years, he is still trying to chase his Masters through UofP. He has a lot of regret about his choice, and is uncertain as to whether he made the right decision.  

I can't imagine putting in that type of work, and then having doubts about it.

Weren't they disqualified for a little while from receiving military benefits, or was that Devry? I know that UoP was temporarily banned from recruiting on military bases because they were targeting disabled veterans with brain injuries.

[ChilliDawg]

You are correct. There was a ban, sometime around 2015, I believe. They have since lifted it.

He has indicated that their recruiters were fairly aggressive, at the time. He has had many delays trying to procure his Masters, mainly due to funding the remainder of it, and a conflict with our tuition reimbursement not wanting to accept UofP.

I am trying to talk him into seeing how his credits would transfer in to TESU or any other of the Big 3. I don't blame him for being suspect, after what he has been through. If I were him, I would want out of that program, and into a state college. Being ex-military, he might even get far with Excelisor.

[dfrecore]

I took a course at Camp Pendleton (San Diego) a few years ago, and every school that had posters and literature there were outrageously expensive, and had crappy reputations. I was like, OMG, the military should do a better job promoting better schools (haha-like that will happen). I know that if they're active-duty they pay $250/cr or less, but I'm sure plenty come out and continue at these schools using their GI bills and waste so much money.

[Rustydroid]

One of my ex Army coworkers paid a lot of money for an "Electrical Engineering" Degree from a some sort of trade school in Anaheim. That has got to be one of the biggest rip offs ever. From reading about the school I think they prey on Veterans and probably active duty military. Not only did the GI Bill pay a lot of money for this but he had to pay more out of his own pocket to finish the degree. His Electrical Engineering degree is a joke. I had to teach him some basic electrical in order for him to do his job. Not only that but his computer skills are almost non existent. Schools like that give higher education a bad name.
The school is national accredited.
I really wish I knew a lot this stuff when I was in the military. I'm almost thinking about reaching out to fellow vets about TESU, CLEP and other resources.

[drodge]

I sit next to a guy at work that started the University of Phoenix journey while he was in the military.  The UoP recruiters came right to his base, and participated in some sort of College Fair for GI Bill recipients.  He says that the Army somewhat promoted UofP or at least encouraged talking to them.  Fast forward 6 years, he is still trying to chase his Masters through UofP. He has a lot of regret about his choice, and is uncertain as to whether he made the right decision.  

I can't imagine putting in that type of work, and then having doubts about it.

They got me for the MS program.  It sounded great and they made it simple to apply.  I was EXTREMELY explicit that i couldn't attend classes on a regular basis because I was deployed and needed a completely self-paced program.  I paid the enrollment fees and the very first class the instructor provided a mandatory attendance policy.  I went back to the enrollment counselor and they basically told me to suck it up, too bad.  I ended up having to sue them for fraud to get my money back.  Thank God I save all of my emails and had things in writing. Now that I own a company and hire people on a regular basis I know which schools are complete BS.  When I see a degree from one of those schools I look to see if the candidate has other skills or potential value and may do an interview.  Most times they don't and the resume goes right in the shredder.   These schools are straight-up predatory in their practices.  And it's not just UoP.  I got my MS from Colorado Technical University and it's not worth the paper it's printed on.  I knew more about cyber security going into the program than any of the instructors I encountered and the courseware was ridiculous.   I needed the paper for promotion purposes or I would have dropped out immediately.  I still regret wasting the time and money I could have spent going to a real school.

[sanantone]

ChilliDawgI sit next to a guy at work that started the University of Phoenix journey while he was in the military. The UoP recruiters came right to his base, and participated in some sort of College Fair for GI Bill recipients. He says that the Army somewhat promoted UofP or at least encouraged talking to them. Fast forward 6 years, he is still trying to chase his Masters through UofP. He has a lot of regret about his choice, and is uncertain as to whether he made the right decision.  
I can't imagine putting in that type of work, and then having doubts about it.
They got me for the MS program. It sounded great and they made it simple to apply. I was EXTREMELY explicit that i couldn't attend classes on a regular basis because I was deployed and needed a completely self-paced program. I paid the enrollment fees and the very first class the instructor provided a mandatory attendance policy. I went back to the enrollment counselor and they basically told me to suck it up, too bad. I ended up having to sue them for fraud to get my money back. Thank God I save all of my emails and had things in writing. Now that I own a company and hire people on a regular basis I know which schools are complete BS. When I see a degree from one of those schools I look to see if the candidate has other skills or potential value and may do an interview. Most times they don't and the resume goes right in the shredder. These schools are straight-up predatory in their practices. And it's not just UoP. I got my MS from Colorado Technical University and it's not worth the paper it's printed on. I knew more about cyber security going into the program than any of the instructors I encountered and the courseware was ridiculous. I needed the paper for promotion purposes or I would have dropped out immediately. I still regret wasting the time and money I could have spent going to a real school.

Fortunately, my student loans for Colorado Technical University were forgiven. I'm glad I transferred to TESU.

[smarterby1degree]

I recommend Excelsior University. You can get a Bachelor's of Science in Liberal Arts, Business, or a BPS degree for under $6,000 by taking 113 credits outside of Excelsior. Then you only have to take 7 credits at their school. All online. They have a large population of veteran students and the outside classes can be taken quickly and the entire degree can be earned in less than a year. 


Excelsior University
The University of Choice for Those Who Serve

50 Years of Service to military and veteran students
72,000 military graduates and counting
100% of military students turn military experience and training into degree credit

[AUDACITY4U]

I’m a recently finished my bachelors degree with Excelsior University.  I transferred in over 45 military training credits with JST/ACE transcripts, Sophia Learning credits, Study dot com credits and Google Certifications.  I maxed out the transfer credit amount of 113.  I took the required 7 credits at Excelsior for about $3800. I got a 20% tuition discount for taken upper level courses with Study dot com.  I’m very pleased withExcelsior