If you are transitioning from active duty and want to pursue or finish your bachelor’s degree, San Diego State University is has a program that puts you at the head of the admissions line. I spoke with Holly Shaffner, who is the Military Liaison Officer at SDSU, and she went over the program with me.

  • You must be attached to U.S. Special Operations Command
  • You must be transitioning from active duty, or within six months of post End Active Obligated Service
  • You must have completed high school with a minimum 2.0-grade point average
  • You must meet the cumulative GPA for your desired major
  • SDSU will accept up to seventy semester hours of transferred college credits you obtained prior to or during active duty
  • Your military training and experience may also be accepted for credit
  • Your application package needs to be submitted through your chain of command

Ms. Shaffner, who retired from the US Coast Guard Reserve as a Lieutenant Commander, offered to assist interested veterans with the entire application process, and said to me that most years the admissions slots dedicated to this program go unused. San Diego State was rated the top small university for research for four years in a row by the Faculty Scholar Productivity Index. The Carnegie Foundation has designated SDSU a “Doctoral University” with rich endowments. And it is second only to UC Berkeley in producing Fulbright Scholars. It’s incredible that this program offering instant admission to a University of this academic quality is going unused.

More information on this program can be found at SDSU’s website here.

Holly Shaffner, Military Liaison Officer, can be reached at:

Tel. 619-594-0834
Email: [email protected]