I am taking one semester off to complete basic military training and tech school for the Air Force, so now I’m one semester behind. I finished my freshman year and will be going to the University of Iowa this spring. Next summer is when I plan on transferring out. So next fall i’d be a sophomore, then that spring i’d be a junior, so as you can see my year is now kind of whacked out and I’ll eventually graduate in the winter.
Is it worth transferring by this time? Since I’ll basically be considered a soph/junior?
I don’t really like Iowa because it lacks culture, and although down town is fun I only truly enjoyed the school fall semester when it was warm. When it was cold out I have zero fun. This has nothing to do with partying, because I hardly went out fall semester. Also the campus isn’t the prettiest… I suppose I could join a sorority and try tailgating. I fear that since I disliked last spring, I’m just going to dread it even more this time around.
So question two: Does it sound like I haven’t given it my all? Should I try staying longer?
Forgot to mention** I’m considering all Southern schools: Texas a&m, U of Alabama, Ole Miss, FSU. So it’s not like I want to stay in the midwest.
What will your AF status be after you complete basic? Do you need a ROTC campus (or a campus where you can readily commute to an ROTC program at another institution? Do you just need relatively convenient access to an AF reserve unit? Would it make sense to go to active duty and work toward your degree from wherever you are assigned?
Why did you choose U of Iowa in the first place? Where else did you apply?
The only reason to fret about being one semester (or more) “behind” is if you are going to run out of money to pay for your education and need to finish quickly and affordably. Who is helping you pay for your education, and what kind of money do you really have available?
What is your probable major?
@happymomof1 I’ll be Airman First Class, and yes I’d need ROTC so I can commission as an officer. Which all the schools I’m looking at have plus they have a Reserve base near which is also needed. I considered leaving school to go enlisted but through ROTC is become an Officer so it’s worth staying.
I really don’t know why I chose Iowa, i applied to all midwest schools and had no direction i where I wanted to go to school. It was a big 10, which i loved the football atmosphere, and not too far from home (i don’t care about distance anymore). But even before I attended in the fall I was second guessing myself. (Which I’ve made great friends and it wouldn’t be the worst staying at Iowa but I’d rather be at a school that I’m crazy about)
The military pays for 36 months of my schools through the GI Bill so once I get back from BMT and tech school, they will pay for my school. So I don’t have to worry about cost, however, I want to make sureI’m going where I want to go while its being payed for!
My major was political science but now it’s history.
History is a major that you can get just about anywhere, so you don’t need to worry about that. Since you are headed back to U of IA after basic, there isn’t much need to worry right now about transferring. You have your short list already (must be warmer than Iowa City, must have AFROTC, must have Reserve nearby). If you have time between now and when transfer applications are due, you could pay a visit to the places that look most interesting. Go ahead and file some transfer apps early in 2018, and then see how you feel if you are accepted. By then you may feel more settled at U of IA and be happy to stay there.
@usaf5445 that’s not how the GI bill works. You won’t receive education benefits just because you went to basic and to training. Don’t plan on receiving education benefits like that because you aren’t gonna get them. To get the full 36 months you need 3 years of active duty served. You won’t even be able to get 40% of the GI bill that you get from serving 90 days of active duty because that 90 days can’t include any form of training such as basic or tech school. You need to do more research on your choice. It sounds like you know very little about this. Are you going active reserves as enlisted while you’re in college? It won’t be so easy to switch locations after you’re set up or commission as a officer upon graduating. Despite what your recruiter is saying you need to do your own research.
@Herokid11 This is false, I’m not sure what branch you’re thinking of of have served but all are different. My school has already started being paid for since I’m contracted. It will cover max 36 months. I’m Air National Guard (once a month, not active) and I’m security forces which is the one of the biggest job choices so it’s easy to move around.
And researching on the internet is useless, you need to pay attention to the fine print on the contract
@usaf5445 I think you’re confusing state and federal tuition assistance for guard members with the GI bill. I can say with absolute certainty that you are not receiving the GI bill if you have not been on active duty. No it doesn’t depend on which branch you are in the GI bill has service wide time served requirements it does not matter which branch you are in and you qualify for none if you have not been on active duty yet. And the guard is even harder than the reserves to change units since it’s run by the state and the fed government it’s gonna be difficult to leave the state. And btw there is no fine print in these contracts they are only a few pages long and they’re pretty straight forward. Do your research or it’ll come back to bite you.
@Herokid11 Regardless tuition isn’t an issue, which is what you’re challenging me on, for whatever reason. But whenever they speak of tuition assistance they bring up the GI Bill. Nonetheless, after my tech school I have seasoning for 65 says which counts toward AD.
All in all- tuition isn’t an issue for me.