The Veteran and Military Student Success Center is an asset to veteran, active duty, and military family member students. It offers a meeting space where students can study for exams, learn from current students, and find a sense of community during their transition back into civilian life. You can rely on and connect at the VMSS and may become an important part of your journey in higher education, and for veteran and military students coming to UofSC Aiken, making your way into the VMSS and using the resources can set you apart and lead you to success.

Team VMSS comprises a professional staff who provides a conduit to benefits, scholarship and career opportunities, networking, counseling, and best practices for a successful military to community transition. This team represents you; they are also veterans, military service members, and family members, and most are current UofSC Aiken students.

One of the reasons you’re going back is to get your degree so you can get into a career that you’re passionate about and make a living doing what makes you happy. UofSC Aiken puts a huge emphasis on academic success, and being ranked “#1 Best College in the South” 14 times in a row by U.S. News and World Report proves that. Another huge perk for veteran and military students are the current students who frequent the VMSS. They have been through the class that you’re going to take, and can be an awesome resource. Bringing in the sense of community the VMSS embodies, the opportunities for academic achievement are abundant if you have the desire to seek them out.

UofSC Aiken also puts a lot of emphasis on student involvement in clubs and organizations. With over 90 to choose from, engaging in one or two you enjoy is easy to do. Whether it’s a fraternity or a sorority, an honors society, or a club that goes along with your studies, you can find any organization at UofSC Aiken that works for you. There are numerous athletic events you can attend, like basketball games or tennis matches, as well as intramural sports that can keep you active and involved. Specifically for veteran and military students, there is the Student Veterans Organization. The SVO works closely with the VMSS to help empower and educate veteran students on career opportunities and future planning, and it can be a huge networking tool. Even if you’re solely focused on getting your degree, involvement in any form of student life at UofSC Aiken can help give you an extra feather in your hat that can give you an advantage as you pursue your career.

UofSC Aiken is directly interwoven with the community and the city it calls home, and the surrounding areas provide some of the best resources for veteran transition and education. Organizations like Saratoga Warhorse, which assists veterans experiencing invisible, psychological wounds as a result of their military service by providing an equine-assisted experience that initiates empowering life changes, or the Aiken-Augusta Wounded Warrior Charity Golf Classic, an independent non-profit that has raised over $300,000 to benefit CSRA veterans, and has continually supported the VMSS through donations and scholarships (which are open to any UofSC Aiken veteran and military student!!). By embracing the Aiken community, along with the university culture, you’re going to find every opportunity for success.