Military Service Members and Veterans: A Profile of Those Enrolled in Undergraduate and Graduate Education in 2007-08

This Statistics in Brief uses nationally representative data to determine the representation of military students in undergraduate and graduate education and to examine how their demographic and enrollment characteristics compare with their nonmilitary peers. The brief draws upon two nationally representative studies of postsecondary students, the 2007-08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:08) and the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09), which were conducted prior to enactment of the new GI Bill. It uses these data about military personnel already enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions to provide a context for future data examining the impact of this legislation. Specifically, this study addressed four questions: (1) How many military service members and veterans were enrolled in undergraduate and graduate education in 2007-08, and what percentage used GI Bill education benefits to pay for their education? (2) How did military undergraduates' and military graduate students' demographic characteristics compare with those of their nonmilitary counterparts' (3) How did military undergraduates' and nonmilitary independent undergraduates' enrollment characteristics differ? (4) How did military and nonmilitary graduate students' enrollment characteristics differ? Key findings include: (1) In 2007-08, about 4 percent of all undergraduates and about 4 percent of all graduate students were veterans or military service members. About two-fifths of military undergraduates and one-fifth of military graduate students used GI Bill education benefits. (2) Unlike their nonmilitary counterparts, a majority of military undergraduates and military graduate students were male. Military students also were more likely than their nonmilitary peers to be married. (3) Military undergraduates studied at private nonprofit 4-year institutions, pursued bachelor's degrees, took a distance education course, and studied computer and information sciences more often than their nonmilitary peers. The percentage of military undergraduates who received financial aid (including GI Bill benefits) and the amount they received (including GI Bill benefits) generally exceeded or was not measurably different from those of nonmilitary independent undergraduates. (4) A larger percentage of military graduate students than nonmilitary graduate students waited 7 or more years between completing their bachelor's degree and starting graduate school, were enrolled in master's degree programs, attended part time, and took a distance education course.