Greetings Fellow Veterans,
As the fall semester approaches, there are many steps you can take in order to prepare yourself for a great experience at Columbia University. My first recommendation is to cash in on your experiences in the military, by turning your time served into college credit. Each branch of the armed forces has a system in place, which creates a college transcript based on your training. These transcripts are backed by the American Council on Education and are accepted by the School of General Studies.
While the Office of Admissions and the Dean of Students Office ultimately decided how many credits to award you from these transcripts, the small amount of effort it takes to retrieve them is worth it. With the current cost of tuition, each credit you earn from the military translates into a savings of $1,330. At the very least (as was the case with me – 0311) you will earn two PE credits and save $2660.
These transfer credits have the additional benefit of reducing your class load. Without any transfers, each student at GS will have to take an average of 15.5 credits per semester in order to graduate in four years. These military credits can mean the difference between a semester with four classes and a semester with five. It’s little advantages like that, which can greatly improve your GPA.
How do you get your military transcripts?
Army: ARMY/AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION REGISTRY TRANSCRIPT SYSTEM (AARTS)
- The Army accepts electronic request at the http://aarts.army.mil/ Begin an official request by following the links on the left side of the website
- Their office is staffed Monday thru Friday from 0730-1600 Eastern Standard Time (EST). All correspondence should be directed to the e-mail link provided below, and please include your full name, BASD, DOB, last 4 in your SSN.
Air Force: COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF THE AIR FORCE (CCAF)
- The Air Force accepts electronic request as listed athttps://augateway.maxwell.af.mil/ccaf/stu_svcs/transcriptrequest/in...
- If you can not access their free system, then they recommend you use the third party credentials-inc
- Credentials can be reached by phone at 1-800-646-1858 / 1-847-446-1027 from 0700hrs to 1900hrs Central Standard Times (CST)
Coast Guard: COAST GUARD INSTITUTE
- The Coast Guard accepts email, fax and request as listed athttp://www.uscg.mil/hq/cgi/active_duty/go_to_college/official_trans...
- To process your request, complete the Application for Transcript (CGI-1561).
Navy/Marines: SAILOR/MARINE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION REGISTRY TRANSCRIPT (SMART)
- The Marine Corps and the Navy have developed SMART jointly.
- Information is available at https://smart.navy.mil/ including the ability to create an account and view your SMART transcript.
- The Navy and Marine Corps accept request by fax or mail.
- To process your request, complete the Official Request Form
All transcripts should be sent to:
Dean of Students Office
Columbia University School of General Studies
408 Lewisohn Hall, MC4101
2970 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Best regards,
Benjamin J. Paladino
US Military Veterans | Treasurer
Columbia University
US Military Veterans | Treasurer
Columbia University
