Eastern Military Recruitment Initiative

      Have you or anybody you know served in the military and plan on attending a four-year university? Well, you are in great hands at Eastern University! Eastern is launching a new initiative that allows students who were part of the military or have family members in the military to use their benefits to attend this university. Yes, no tricks about it! There are three values that military students go after that might make them choose Eastern, which are values common to most colleges: affordability, flexibility, and commitment to service. We are a school that was recently placed among the top tier educational institutions in the Middle Atlantic and New England States out of more than 1,389 schools nationwide, and we hold those values in high regard.

      Military students can obtain this specific kind of aid to attend a school like Eastern by applying to get their tuition reduced by way of the Military Tuition Assistance Program. After all other financial aid is considered, whatever amount is left over gets considered for this. Other factors that can go into the financial aid package for a military student are benefits that are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Post 9/11 G.I Bill. The financial aid for military students does not stop there; there are also ROTC programs that partner with Valley Forge Military Academy and St. Joseph’s University for students who would like to join the military as a possible career path.

      When considering Eastern as a school where they can complete their studies, military students see that flexibility is a key component in life, not only from a military standpoint, but on a college student standpoint. This is so because sometimes the student has a family that he or she has to take care of while still being a full-time student. Thus, having online options for classes makes balancing school and family much easier. Nick Snyder, the director of Military Recruitment, looks to enhance the presence of students with a military background with advising and opportunities for scholarships available for those particular students. “A lot of the GI bill awards had already been in place for a while. We have been accepting students with that to help them attend Eastern, yet there was not a place on the website for the military scholarships. People can now know about thisbecause of it being known and available” he said.

       The third value that military students seek when choosing a great school like Eastern is the commitment to service. As Eastern’s website states, “Eastern understands the unique needs of our veteran and military students and strives to offer holistic services designed to support our students’ success in all of their academic and career pursuits.” Now, this new initiative is geared toward military families and students to help them succeed at Eastern.

      As the website explains, “As part of the Military Recruitment Initiative, Eastern now offers several financial awards to veterans, military spouses, and military dependents including the Hero Grant that discounts tuition for many graduate programs by 25 percent.  Eastern’s new initiative includes plans to develop strategic relationships with the Department of Defense, military installations and veteran organizations to attract and best serve those who have served or are serving our country.

      The University has also created a user-friendly centralized site for information on the website specific to veterans and those currently in the military at www.easternedu/military. This is a great opportunity to put our name out there when it comes to the military in this school. “One thing I am working on now is developing relationships with our veteran students and letting them know that they have a voice, encouraging them to connect with one another and build a sense of community between other students here. As the need arises, a club will form maybe next semester or in the near future for helping support our veteran/military students in their journey through Eastern,” Snyder explains about his vision for the initiative in the long-term. Now, it is in the hands of the current students to help carry out this initiative’s mission for the image of our military to be in Eastern’s consideration for years to come.