Who Is the Typical Student Veteran? New Report Has Answers

A new report released today suggests military students are predominantly male, are typically older students and are slightly more likely than civilian students to be enrolled in online courses.

The National Center for Education Statistics report examines the demographics and enrollment patterns of military students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The report, which profiled students enrolled in 2007-08, provides some insight into how military students differ from their civilian counterparts.

Military students pursue different degrees

The report found that military students, who accounted for about 4 percent of the total student population in 2007-08, were mostly male (73 percent at the undergraduate level), financially independent (97 percent) and 24 or older (84 percent).

The report also found that at the undergraduate level, military students were more likely to be enrolled in a bachelor's degree program than comparable civilian students (42 percent vs. 32 percent) and less likely to be enrolled in a certificate program (5 percent vs. 11 percent). Military undergraduates also opted for distance learning programs at a slightly higher rate--31 percent vs. 27 percent.

Military students showed different enrollment patterns than civilian undergraduates when it came to field of study as well. Active-duty students and veterans were more likely than civilian students to enroll in computer and information science programs (9 percent vs. 4 percent) and engineering and engineering technology programs (7 percent vs. 4 percent). But they were less likely to enroll in education majors (3 percent vs. 6 percent) and health care studies (11 percent vs. 20 percent).

Report covers Montgomery GI Bill enrollment patterns

The report examined all military students, regardless of whether they were using military education benefits to attend school, but the data was collected during the 2007-08 school year, before the Post-9/11 GI Bill came into existence.

2010 data from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows that far more military personnel used the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2010 than any other benefit program. While more than 82 percent of military members used the Post-9/11 GI Bill that year, only 1.4 percent used the older Montgomery GI Bill. By contrast, in 2008 nearly 70 percent of veterans were using the MGIB.

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