The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

D. Choosing a School/Training Setting and Program
Part of setting an educational goal will be selecting the specific school to which the
Veteran will apply and attend. Choosing where to go to school can be complicated for
anyone. But, for OIF/OEF/OND Veterans who are trying to balance their academic
pursuits with family, work, reintegration, and ongoing adjustment to any mental or
physical health issues, it can be particularly challenging. As a peer VetSEd provider, you
can assist Veterans with their school selection process. The steps involved in this process
are described below and include:
Steps in Choosing a School Program and Course Load
i. Identifying Personal Criteria
ii. Linking to Information and Resources
iii. Using ―Recon‖ Methods
iv. Course Load Considerations
v. Troubleshooting Barriers During the Choose Phase
i. Identifying Personal Criteria
Personal criteria include those factors that the Veteran considers to be most important
when making a decision. For decisions about where to go to school, personal criteria can
include many things, such as geography, tuition cost, or having a Veteran-friendly
campus. As a peer VetSEd provider, your role is to coach Veterans along the personal
criteria identification process. Coaching is not telling or prescribing personal criteria to
Veterans. Sometimes you might find yourself working with a Veteran who is unsure of
their personal criteria. It can be tempting as a peer VetSEd provider to read off a list of
criteria to the undecided Veteran and say that they should look for everything on the list
when they research schools. A better way to work with undecided Veterans is to present
them with a list of personal criteria and coach them to identify those characteristics that
are most important to them. An example list of key school qualities to consider is
included in Worksheet #4: My Personal Criteria for Schools/Training Programs
Checklist. You can introduce the worksheet as a tool that can help both of you can better
understand the Veteran‘s preferences. If the Veteran has trouble identifying what is
important to him/her, you can ask them one or more of the questions contained in
Worksheet #5: My Personal Criteria for Schools/Training Programs Questionnaire. By
reviewing and discussing with the Veteran his/her responses to the Worksheet, you and
the Veteran should have a better idea about what s/he should look for when researching
particular schools and/or training programs. You may add to the list by reviewing with
the Veteran any past experiences with schools and training programs. Past experiences,
both good and bad, can teach us what works for us and what does not. Explore what the
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