Welcome veterans, guardsmen, reservists and all active duty military students. The transition from military service to civilian and student life can pose unique challenges for veterans, their partners and their families. You may find university life to be less structured, with less direction from professors and administrators. And while you may no longer be a service member, you might not feel like a student yet either.

Many student veterans report feeling isolated and misunderstood, and have difficulty relating to transitional college students. You might also identify with some of the following challenges:

  • Navigating university structure and culture, including choosing a major, identifying and accessing resources and addressing professors and other authority figures.
  • Being more independent, self-reliant and focused on your own personal goals and needs rather than the needs of a team of group.
  • Developing an identity separate from being a service member.
  • Feeling as though you do not have a purpose, or that the work you are doing is less meaningful than your job or responsibilities in the service.
  • Experiencing boredom, frustration, distraction, low motivation and/or numbness which interfere with your classwork or class attendance.

Student veterans who seek mental health services often report symptoms related to depression, anxiety and/or post-traumatic stress. UMLCS invites you to access support, strategies and resources for any of the challenges you may be facing related to your veteran status or just life as a college student.

Veterans have a lot to offer UMass Lowell as students. Your service has led you to be both goal-oriented and mission-driven, which is a strength in completing coursework and preparing for exams. Your leadership experience will help navigate group projects. The variety of training you have received will have informed you of the ways in which you most effectively learn new material and approach novel or complex tasks. Please feel welcome to come to UMLCS for free and confidential individual or group therapy to support your needs.

Resources for Student Veterans

Content adapted with permission from University of Kentucky Counseling Center.