2023 Military Times Best for Vets: Colleges
The Best for Vets: Colleges survey questions and scoring rubric have been honed and developed in consultation with representatives from several schools covering the range of institution types.
Student success metrics (completion, retention, persistence, GPA, graduation) are the most important factor in determining the relative ranking of schools on this year’s list, followed closely by the range of military-specific resources and the level of financial assistance they offer. Admissions and registration policies, human resources and assorted miscellaneous considerations also factor into the scoring rubric.
It’s important to note that schools are scored not by the sheer number of “points” in the rubric they earned, but by the percentage of points they earned out of the potential number of points achievable by that type of school. (For example, matters of in-state tuition are moot for private schools; therefore points related to in-state tuition were only counted for public institutions.)
Scoring Rubric: Public Schools
Our survey is based on quantitative responses, to make it fair and unbiased. This is what we look at.
Success Metrics
Resources
Financials
Admissions
Human Resources
Record Keeping
Scoring Rubric: Private Schools
Our survey is based on quantitative responses, to make it fair and unbiased. This is what we look at.
Success Metrics
Resources
Financials
Admissions
Human Resources
Record Keeping
We appreciate that the higher education landscape is continually evolving, with innovative pedagogical models under constant development. Any broad and data-based survey cannot convey many nuances in the difference between each school. Additionally, standard (and therefore commonly available) data on higher education often does not account for the unique educational paths of military students. This survey aims to account for the wide spectrum of educational models in our country, while prioritizing the baseline experiences of military-connected students. We advise readers that the best “fit” between an individual student and a school can only be gauged by more specific inquiry into the needs of the student and the institutional character of each school.
We welcome further feedback as we continually strive to keep Best for Vets: Colleges the most timely and relevant resource for military students interested in utilizing their much-deserved educational benefits to further themselves as citizens.
To contact the Military Times Best for Vets team, please email: bestforvets@militarytimes.com.