Hi everyone, I would appreciate your opinion on the following issue. I have recently applied and was accepted to a DL program at a US school. I deliberately do not want to say what school or what program because I really want unbiased opinions. The school has a policy of giving a 20% discount to retired military. Now, I am retired from the military, but from the military of another country, not the United States. Do you think I have grounds to insist that they give me the same discount? Please forgive my "hiding" of any details. As I said, I really want unbiased opinions. Thanks! Foreigner
No. My biased opinion is you should not receive the tuition discount for serving in a foreign military. It is of course up to the school to decide. I base my opinion on the assumption that organizations that offer military discounts do so in appreciation of veterans' service to the United States. Do you think your school should offer the discount to retirees from any military? Would you give it to both the Contrarrevolucionarios and the Sandinistas? Does it have to be a uniformed military? Say a veteran of Ian Smith’s Rhodesian armed forces, but not a veteran of Robert Mugabe’s ZANU, who desperately needs to learn about agriculture? I’m wondering if Oxpecker ever got a military discount?
Why not ask for it? The worst they can do is say no. I see utterly no reason to offer such a discount in the first place, but go ahead and grab for it if you can. In our current political climate you might get it. In the long run, however, relatively small differences in cost don't bulk as large as they do at the outset. So don't make getting--or not getting--this discount the determining factor in choosing a program. Best of luck to you and welcome aboard. PS. I don't believe in the fabled "clergy discount" either. There is a myth that such is available on everything from rutabagas to tuition. Not so. Nor should it be. No special pleading. Not here.
Ah, but are you with us or are you with the terrorists? Why not ask for it? The worst they can do is say no. Absolutely! You don't ask, you don't get. I see utterly no reason to offer such a discount in the first place, but go ahead and grab for it if you can. In our current political climate you might get it. Once again, Uncle has hit the bullseye. -=Steve=-
It deeeepends. Wuz yer military fer us, or agin us? (NB: I served on a committee for a Russian. It turns out that we were in our respective countries' militaries at the same time, and at a time when the U.S. and USSR were mortal enemies. We found it refreshing that these two former combatants could serve together (in learning) instead of standing opposed. Congratulations to Dr. Kuzmin, btw, for he has just graduated with his Ph.D. from Union--specializing in Organizational Evaluation.)
Thanks! Thanks for the replies. I especially appreciate the response from Uncle Janko. You are so right. In the long term it does not really matter. I have made my decision and will not change it for as few thousand dollars, spread over 3-4 years. Yes, Rich, I was in the military of a country which is for the US Of course from the bold spelling error in my name you can infer that I am not from an English speaking country.
I know the surest way to be branded a forum ass is to point out another's misspelling, but seeing a misspelled handle--as opposed to a mere word in a post--is a first for me. Was that intentional?
Ha ha ha Hillarious. I suspect who´s behind. They just don´t desist, they are unavailable to exhaustion or boredom.....
Hmm, interesting question... Having taken a military training in my University (a way to avoid draft), I'm technicaly a "Reserve officer". Does it count for something?
I recognize this is a loose association; it deals with former military foes and I found it interesting. I’m just finishing Biggest Brother, the biography of Major Dick Winters who was the leader of Easy Company of Band of Brothers fame. He discussed his disappointment at being unable to connect with his 1944 enemy in 1994 during the 50th anniversary of D-Day. “ … Winters spotted several German buses parked by a German military cemetery. On the buses a sign read 6th FALLSCHRIMJAGER. These aging veterans prowling through the cemetery, recalling fallen kamaraden, were the same men Winters and his soldiers had fought against over this very ground. Winters yearned to get off and talk with them, but the bus had a schedule and the opportunity passed. “They were going through the German cemetery,” Winters said. “I would have given anything to be able to have gotten off that bus to go see if I could find some guys I could talk to, who would remember D-Day night, Carentan, and so forth. But there they were and we were going by on that damned bus and I had no way to get off.” If you read and enjoyed Band of Brothers I strongly recommend this book.
Many institutions that offer a discount to active or retired military require proof of service. As an example, when my wife earned her MHA from Chapman University, she had to show them a copy of her DD-214 and her military ID card to prove that she was retired military.