The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

Veteran has liked and disliked about past schooling experiences, and ask the Veteran
what he or she would like the next school environment to look like. Be sure to let the
Veteran know that their list of personal criteria is a ―living document.‖ That is, the list
can and will likely change somewhat as you work with the Veteran to gather more
information about particular schools.
You can also use the Free College Matching Wizard: www.studentaid.ed.gove/myfsa to
help the Veteran find the right school for his/her career intentions. Employed Veterans
should ask their employers to recommend schools that provide training in the skills the
Veteran will need for his/her career, and ask if the employer will provide assistance to
pay for school.
ii.
Linking to Information and Resources
In the age of internet search engines, information about college and training programs is
more readily available than ever before. As an example, we typed ―Massachusetts
Colleges‖ into an internet search engine Web site and received over 27 million ―hits‖ in
response. Anyone, Veteran or non-Veteran, would find it overwhelming to look through
all those Web pages! As a peer VetSEd provider, your role is to link Veterans to accurate
information and resources about schools and training programs that will help them
choose where they might like to go to school.
Below, we provide basic information about different types of schools and training
programs. This information is also summarized in Appendix B. Once the Veteran has
reviewed the various types of schools and training programs, it should be clearer which
setting fits best with the personal criteria they have identified in the process above. As the
Veteran is collecting more information, you can work with them to update their personal
criteria list from Worksheet #4: My Personal Criteria for Schools/Training Programs
Checklist. This is a critical step because the Veteran‘s list of personal criteria can be used
to fill in the top of Worksheet #6: School Choice Checklist: Possible Questions for
Campus Visit. Both you and the Veteran can then refer back to Appendix B to help
determine which school he/she wants to attend.
When considering one‘s own personal criteria for a school setting it is important to first
be familiar with the different types of schools and training settings. We briefly describe
below: Community and Junior colleges, Proprietary Schools, Four year Colleges and
Universities, and On-line Schools or Distance Learning Institutions.
Types of School or Training Settings
Community and Junior Colleges. Community and junior colleges offer Associates and
certificate degrees that tend to be job-focused. While earning an Associates degrees tend
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