Ending Military career to start my life! (Help :D)

[MNomadic]

I noticed you posted a similar thread in 2 places so it would best if all the responses were consolidated in one place, but since people have already begun answering here, I'll throw in my 2¢.

1) You mentioned working on an associates, are you going to a specific college for that? How far along are on that?

2) definitely take advantage of military Tuition assistance while you're in if you can. Last I checked it covers $250/credit so a lot of military friendly schools lower their tuition to that price so you have little/no out of pocket costs. Save you GI Bill for after you separate so you can maximize it towards finishing your bachelor's and master's.

3) take advantage of free DSST and CLEP while you're in. You can potentially rack up a lot of free credits that way. Even if you don't feel you've studied enough for a specific test, just go for it and take your free shot while in.

4) Have you heard of the USNCC(navy community college)? Look into those options to see what could work for your situation.
https://www.usncc.edu/Academics/Degree-Programs/

5) reach out to your command's education office/rep(I forget the name). They should be able to help you navigate the different options within the Navy.

6) Start looking at potential schools that offer the grad degree you need and figure out what prerequisite courses you need. You may need to take graded science courses.

7) as for all your other questions... That's a lot... I'd have to write an entire book to answer them. Best bet is to take it one step at a time. Make a plan for maximizing your active duty benefits so you can separate with your associates (and possibly bachelor's if you plan well) already done.

8) for post 911 GI Bill, doing online college pays a lower housing stipend, so keep that in mind when you're deciding between in person and online programs.

9) if you have any more specific questions, I'd be happy to try and help.