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 Esther Breaux might not have taken the traditional path to earning her commission in the Air Force, but, thanks to AIU Online's accelerated program, she's caught up to her peers who did. Esther, just like newly minted officers who went to brick-and-mortar schools, is only 22.
Many military students look at a degree as something to make them more marketable in the civilian world, but for Esther the primary focus of earning her degree was always commission. "If I ever choose to get out, my degree will help me outside of the military but it does so much for me within the military, too. Transitioning from the enlisted rank structure to the officer rank structure brings more responsibility and respect. It will be a great challenge."
Before hitting upon AIU Online, Esther tried several other schools. She started at a traditional community college but couldn't stand the slow pace. "I went to class four to five hours a day three times each week for 16 weeks. It was more time consuming than it had to be."
"I knew getting a degree was going to be hard work and require dedication whether I went with a traditional or accelerated schedule. I made up my mind to get it finished sooner rather than later."
Going with an accelerated degree did make the financial part more difficult for Esther, as it does for most military students. "Because military tuition assistance looks at the fiscal year and not number of classes, if I had gone with a non-accelerated program, it might have been able to pay for all of my degree. As it was, I learned about a lot of other financial aid options by doing research on my own and talking to friends. The process was quite overwhelming but definitely worth every hassle."
Esther used her tuition assistance, the Top-Up program, her in-service Montgomery GI Bill and $9,000 in student loans to finance her Bachelor's degree. "Learning about student loans eased a lot of my anxieties about finances. I thought I would have to come up with the difference between AIU's tuition and what tuition assistance covered every month. But then I learned I could apply that balance to a student loan and wouldn't have to start making payments on it until six months after graduation. Be prepared to do something similar, or to spend the time looking for other options, if you do an accelerated program."
Esther definitely persevered through more financial hassles than most: At one point, when the Veteran's Affairs Bureau was taking its time reimbursing her for the tuition she paid out-of-pocket, Esther wrote to her congressman for assistance. Shortly after the congressman's offices contacted the VA, Esther received her reimbursement money.
"The way I saw it was that it was some hassle, and I had to borrow some money, but the degree will help me succeed in my career, and I will be able to pay for it eventually. And I didn't have to borrow nearly as much as someone who isn't in the military and goes to college straight out of high school."
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I knew getting a degree was going to be hard work and require dedication whether I went with a traditional or accelerated schedule. I made up my mind to get it finished sooner rather than later.
—Esther Breaux |
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