US Military Veterans Failing College En Masse

US military veterans are stressing out in college and failing in record numbers, citing problems such as PTSD, cultural dvides, and the intellectual challenges of academia, MSNBC reports. Among the roughly 800,000 veterans in college, an estimated 88% bail after a year and only 3% make it to graduation. For veterans adept in life-or-death struggles, the frustrations can run high. "I was the man in the military," said one retired officer. "Now I'm sitting next to an 18-year-old and I'm struggling to keep up with him in this class."

Again, the stresses are many. Exams can trigger anxiety and sleeplessness in veterans who already have PTSD. Many veterans find little social support at colleges, and can't relate to 20-year-old classmates mostly looking to party. The Student Veterans of America even shut down 26 poorly organized chapters at for-profit colleges that apparently sought to attract students funded by the GI Bill. “There was a concern around certain predatory, for-profit schools using our brand to legitimize their programs,” said the head of the SVA. (More military veterans stories.)