Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus was named one of the best college choices for veterans by Military Times’ Edge magazine.

The third annual “Best for Vets: Colleges 2012-2013” list evaluated more than 650 universities, colleges and technical schools for the rankings. The schools each completed surveys about their resources for veteran students.

TSTC ranked 11th out of 60 schools in the newly created “career and technical colleges” category.

Central Texas College in Killeen ranked fourth overall in the “online-nontraditional colleges” category, climbing up from 15th place in that group last year.

Marcus Balch, associate vice president for enrollment services at TSTC, said the school’s close proximity to Fort Hood likely makes it a draw to veterans who recently have left the military. TSTC also actively recruits veterans at the base and college fairs.

There are currently 316 veterans enrolled at the college, TSTC spokeswoman Mary Drennon said.

“We typically see that people (who) are hands-on in nature, that like to build, repair, design, do better in our programs because we are about 75 percent hands-on in the work that we do,” Balch said. “(Veterans) have an experience that’s more hands-on in nature and a little bit less theory than some of our other students, and they have a little bit less of a hard time adjusting.”

TSTC has a veterans coordinator who helps veterans enroll for classes.

Balch said the school recently appointed a veteran student to work full time in that office to help serve new vets, and one of the admissions advisers also served in the military.

In addition, Balch chairs a monthly veterans council on campus that brings together students, faculty members and a counselor from the Waco Veterans Affairs Medical Center to discuss issues veterans may have in transitioning to TSTC and solutions to accommodate them.

The veterans benefits page on TSTC’s website also includes periodic surveys.

For example, the site currently has a questionnaire on whether students would participate in regular monthly or bimonthly gatherings on campus for veterans or if there is interest in a veterans mentoring program.

TSTC also held a faculty workshop last spring for training on working with veteran students.

“We do a lot of things under the radar to prepare our faculty and staff who are not veterans to be able to assist these students as they come in with some of the challenges that they have,” Balch said.

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