WASHINGTON, Oct. 07, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) is now accepting applications from enlisted veterans for its 2016 academic boot camps. These programs are held during the summer at top universities nationwide and aim to facilitate enlisted veterans’ transition from the military to college.
WSP’s academic boot camps are immersive, intensive programs designed to help veterans develop and rediscover the skills and confidence necessary to successfully complete four-year undergraduate degrees. The programs are open to enlisted veterans and transitioning current servicemembers who plan to enroll in or transfer into a four-year undergraduate program. WSP donors cover all program costs for accepted students, except transportation. Interested student veterans can now start the application process online.
“Over the next five years, the Department of Defense expects that up to a million service men and women will transition out of the military and into civilian life. Many of these veterans leave the service with the intention of using their GI Bill benefits to pursue a college degree,” said Sidney Ellington, Executive Director of WSP. The academic boot camps provided by the WSP gives these veterans a jump-start toward developing the skills and mindset they will need to successfully transition into a college environment and obtain their degree.
“Post-9/11 veterans have an immense degree of untapped potential to succeed in higher education institutions and to progress on to successful careers. Yet college can be a significant challenge, even when the GI Bill and other sources of funding are helping pay tuition. To tap that potential and reduce obstacles to success, our boot camps address veterans’ misperceptions about college and build their confidence through an intense academic reorientation,” said Ellington.
WSP originally launched at Yale University with nine participants in 2012. After steady growth in 2013-2014, WSP made a significant leap forward in 2015, expanding to run programs for 150 veteran students across 11 different campuses: Yale University, Harvard University, University of Michigan, Vassar College, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Syracuse University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, University of Oklahoma, University of Chicago and University of Southern California. WSP expects to build upon this foundation of success and expand the number of spots offered in 2016.
Each WSP boot camp is run by a team of student veterans, and taught by university professors and graduate students. An intensive syllabus composed of both classic and modern scholarly works guides participants as they learn how to frame their ideas in an academic context, think critically, and formulate scholarly arguments. Participants not only learn the subject-matter material; they learn how to learn.
Because veterans are non-traditional students with unique experiences distinguishing them from their college peers, WSP also uses the boot camps to help prepare participants for the emotional and cultural adaptations required to succeed in a higher education setting.
“College can be a significant challenge for many veterans, due to their misperceptions or lack of confidence in their own abilities after years outside of the educational system. Our boot camps are designed to help them tap their full potential and overcome obstacles to success, building their confidence through an intense academic reorientation,” said Ellington.
The WSP application requests details from prospective students about their military experience, academic background, future academic plans, and answers to a series of short essay questions. In the application, veterans can indicate their top three host-school choices for Warrior-Scholar Project boot camps, and if accepted, are placed in the most appropriate program based on preference, geographic proximity and availability during program dates.
Qualified veterans and transitioning servicemembers can apply for a spot in the program by visiting https://warrior-scholar-project.slideroom.com/#/login/program/28170. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and students may be asked to complete an additional phone interview. Applications will be accepted until March 14, 2016, and all students will receive responses by early April 2016.
About the Warrior-Scholar Project
The Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) runs immersive academic boot camps hosted at America’s top universities for enlisted military veterans. The majority of enlisted personnel exiting the military have not been in a classroom setting for several years, and find it hard to transition, being unprepared for the fundamentally different social and cultural environment. WSP helps veterans rediscover and develop the skills and confidence necessary to successfully complete 4-year undergraduate programs in higher education. WSP unlocks their educational potential and transforms the way veterans view themselves as students. For more information, visit http://www.warrior-scholar.org, email info@warrior-scholar.org or call 203-937-2310.