Morgan Lerette ⋅ Glendale , AZ AAA ⋅ 6 years experience

I have successfully transitioned form the military to college, back to the military, out of the military and finally to grad school. I used the GI Bill each time. Please do not waste this amazing resource on a for-profit college. In most cases, going to a state school is cheaper, more prestigious, and will tie you into an alumni network which online/for-profit schools cannot offer.

I always encouraged my soldiers to avoid For-profit/online schools. Most community colleges offer online courses and the classes are guaranteed to transfer to 4-year institutions within the state. This is the route I encouraged.

Horror Story: I had a buddy who graduated from a state college with me then got his MBA at a for-profit college. He spent $20K on the degree and spent 3 years looking for a job post graduation. He leaves it off his resume because it is a detractor.

AnnaMaria Bliven ⋅ Blanchardville , WI Army Reserve ⋅ 11 years experience

Hi: I agree with Scott. You really need to to your homework to know which higher education programs work the best. A student would not want to sink savings or get into debt for an education program that does not render a decent "return on investment." I think when it comes to choosing which university program or even which technical vocation program to study we need to be more "consumerish" and not just go after a sheepskin that later could still result in a job where we are saying "would you like to supersize that order?" ........ when you consider the amount of money it takes to get a higher education it does not pay to enter into a degree or certification program that does not at least have better than 30-40% greater earnings potential and better than 40-50% chance at growing more valuable in one's career. The only way to know for sure if there is a job waiting for the graduate is to do the homework and do the math.

As a career counselor/coach I steer people in the direction of two sides: to match their passion and to match their potential for personal and professional growth. I watch very carefully the professions that are growing such as health care, financial services and computer technology (just to name a few) and make sure that the client is aware of the professions that are in demand and how they may match with their passions, This insures that time, money and effort is being invested well toward to more profitable future. I am available to discuss this further.

AnnaMaria Bliven, abliven@tds.net, 608-426-4184

J.J. Stakem ⋅ Falls Church , VA U.S. Marine Corps, Captain ⋅ 9 years served

In full disclosure, I have never attended a for-profit university but I tend to agree with Morgan. My understanding is that most for-profit universities/colleges utilize a distance learning model. My problem is with distance learning for veterans. Since most veterans are attending for-profit universities through this distance learning model, I am generally opposed to them.

Organizations like ACP are so useful because the help veterans to network with working professionals and individuals who have been successful in the civilian sector. Distance learning models fall short in providing networking and hands-on experiences. Those experiences are invaluable for a separating veteran.

In my own case I went to the University of Virginia for my undergraduate degree. I worked for Chase Manhattan after college and then decided to join the Marine Corps. After the Marines I thought that I would have a leg up in transition back to the civilian market. I was wrong. So much changed in nine years that I was starting from scratch. I struggled to find a way to fit back into the civilian sector. It wasn't until I went back to graduate school, in an in-class setting, and started leveraging organizations like ACP that I started to make the connections and networks that I needed. Even if I assume that the curriculum at a for-profit and non-profit are exactly the same in prestige and rigor (which I think is generally not true), the networking and "sense-making" opportunities in the classroom are unparalleled.

For students who are already well established in the civilian sector this may not be as applicable, but for recently separated veterans I think non-profit state or private universities are superior.

Scott Fast ⋅ Littleton , CO Accenture ⋅ 25 years experience

I volunteer with several Colorado state-wide programs that are trying to improve education in the state. My interaction with higher education institutes are they there are many good ones regardless of whether or not they are for-profit or non-profit. There are many bad ones as well. I would encourage you to research the institutes to see whether or not they match your expectations regarding graduation rate, overall cost (including financial support), class size, ratio of counselors to students, and whether or not they match with your personality, schedule, and the way you learn. Once you do the research, you will hopefully find which is the best match for you regardless of the for-profit/non-profit label. In Colorado, we go to College in Colorado.com to complete the research on Colorado universities. Hopefully, you can find a similar website for your location, though feel free to log into that website to understand what types of statistics the colleges have.

Alan J. Zell ⋅ Portland , OR Attitudes for Selling ⋅ 29 years experience

Thomas, All academic institutions are for-profit even so they say they are not. For them "profit' is spelled p-o-s-i-t-i-v-e c-a-s-h-f-l-o-w ! So do not think that 'for-profit" colleges such as Phoenix as better or less than other educational programs.

What is important is what types of courses you take and then how you can apply what you've learned in the type(s) of businesses you want to work in. You will, when you get the job, find that the theories you've learned may not be the way the busiess world works. But, if you gathered new skills in your college work, you'll find ways to apply them.

Alan