ABSTRACT This qualitative study was developed to increase an understanding of the female veteran students’ experience in college. The sample size consisted of 6 female students with previous military experience currently enrolled at 2-year and 4-year higher education institutions. The participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol that covered topics on student transition in college. The results indicated that the majority of participants experienced a number of commonly-shared factors in the areas of maturity, institutional support services, GI bill limitations, financial and family obligations, as well as emotional challenges associated with the military. Drawing from the findings, practical implications and recommendations are also discussed to contribute to the existing body of research and to promote more insight of female veteran transition in college.

1. Results
• Older in age
• Serious in mindset
• Committed to school
• Self-determined
• Life Experience
Mature and Goal
Oriented
• Veteran-specific services
• Academic services
• On campus clubs/organizations
• Other support services
On Campus
Student Services
• Problems with duration of GI benefits
• Recent reductions of benefits
• Unclear/complex process of obtaining benefits
• Inequalities in benefits based on service type
GI Benefit
Limitations
• Financially-independent
• Self-supported
• Employed full/part-time
• Responsible for own living expenses
• Married, and/or children, and/or caregivers
Financial and
Family
Responsibilities
• Concerns about deployment
• Affected by loss of close military friendships
• Disconnected from other students
• Difficulties relating to other females
• Hypersensitive to topics of women in the military
Emotional
Challenges
Associated with
the Military
Mature and Goal Oriented
•Female veteran students perceive themselves to be more mature and more goal-oriented than the non-veteran students
•Age explains some of the perceived difference-majority of the participants were older than the traditionally aged students
•They have gained more life experience through service in the military, which most likely facilitated developmental changes
•Female veteran students had a difficult time relating to other traditional-aged students as a result of their maturity levels
On Campus Student Services
•Female veterans students identified a variety of on campus support services as helpful in their integration to college
• Specific services ranged from one college to another as did the level of the participants’ satisfaction with the services received
•Main commonality was that involvement in different organizations allowed female veteran students to build relationships with
other students
•Veteran organizations were reported as especially helpful in assisting students in establishing a sense of comradery
GI Benefit Limitations
•Female student veterans expressed frustrations with GI benefits that made their transition to college more difficult
•Complicated process: finding out information about benefits, determining eligibility, and receiving benefits
•Lack of consensus and communication between the Department of Veteran Affairs and the certification staff officials
•A degree of benefit unfairness may exist that is based on combat-related service and places women veterans at a disadvantage
Financial and Family Responsibilities
•Financial responsibilities and family obligations were identified as primary sources of stress
•Female veterans juggled dual responsibilities of being students and caretakers
•Part-time employment was seen as practical means to fund education and living expenses
•Female veteran students expressed strong inclinations towards caretaking and responsibility for loved ones
Emotional Challenges Associated with the Military
•Female veteran students reported experiencing a variety of emotional conflicts associated with their military status
•Emotional conflicts were unique to each individual and were internalized within each woman’s personal experience
•Emotional difficulties expressed by the participants included some of the following:
•Inability to relate to other females
•Disconnect from other students
•Difficulties parting with military friendships
•Uneasiness sharing about one’s own veteran status
•Anxiety associated with deployment
• Hypersensitivity to the role of women in the military
Limitations
• Small sample size-the findings may not reflect the college experience
of the entire female veteran student population
• Participant selection method- students were referred to participate in
the study by the directors overseeing the veteran service at their
college, this increases the likelihood that those who agreed to
participate were already more adept at navigating through the college
system by benefiting from the services received from the veteran’s
office at their institution
Suggestions for Future
Research
• Expand the means of participant selection to ensure that the sample size is
representative of all types of female veteran students, specifically targeting those
who may not be already supported by their institution
• Examine the effects of gender role socialization in the military on female veteran
academic experience:
• The military is a highly male-dominated environment
• Women typically receive less leadership opportunities in the
military than men
• Women have fewer examples of same-gender role models in the
military and tend to encounter more identity-related issues once
they return to civilian life (Baechtold & De Sawal, 2009)
• Leadership opportunities gained through the military experience
are associated with positive effects on the veterans’ academic self-
concept
• Potential Research Question: Dose the male-dominant military structure have a
more negative effect on the female veteran academic success compared to their
male veteran counterparts?
Introduction
• There are an estimated 2 million veterans from the
recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the new
Post 9/11 GI Bill has increased their educational
benefits (Radford, 2009)
• Veteran students are increasing in our institutions and
so has research and literature on this subpopulation
• Veteran students encounter various challenges such
as adjustment issues with family and friends, financial
challenges, interruption in academics due to
deployment, disabilities, and other factors (ASHE,
2011b; Branker, 2009; Church, 2009; DiRamio,
Ackerman, & Mitchell, 2008; Rumann & Hamrick,
2009, Vance & Miller, 2009)
• There is a major gap in the literature regarding female
veteran students and this qualitative study sought to
add to the body of research
Practical Implications
• Traditional methods of support may
not apply to female veteran students
due to their unique characteristics
• Student affairs professionals should
have proper training to understand
and work with this population
• Creating a dedicated space or office for
these students is important
• Implement a veteran students
orientation to assist their transition
• Institutions must be knowledgeable
about educational benefits and/or
strongly collaborate with the
Department of Veterans Affairs officials
DiscussionQuestion
What are the specific influences that impact the
female veteran students' academic and social
integration in college as well as what are the factors
that promote persistence to graduation.
Setting
•Two communitycolleges
•Twofour-yearinstitutions
InDepthInterviews
•Asemi-structuredinterview
protocolwithprobeswasutilized
•Interviewprotocolwasbasedon
Baechtold &DeSwal’s(2009) study
offemaleveterans
Participants
•Participantswerereferred by
directorsof theVeterancenterat
eachinstitution
•Sixwomenwithmilitary
Experiencecurrentlyenrolledin
collegeparticipatedinthestudy
DataManagement
•Audiorecodingofinterviews
•Fieldnotes
•Interviewtranscripts
•Codingsystem ofcommon
themes
Methods