The 2 concrete benefits for college students who enlist: tuition covered at up to 20000 yuan a year, student status kept until 2 years after discharge, and a dedicated postgraduate plan

No out-of-pocket expense. After discharge, students must submit required documents to their school; this typically involves one or two visits.

A 2024 notice from 4 departments, including the Ministry of Finance, says college students who serve get 3 benefits: tuition compensation, state repayment of the national student loan used for tuition, and a tuition waiver. Repayment means the state pays off that student loan for you. The standard "is adjusted accordingly to no more than 20000 yuan per person per year for junior-college and undergraduate students, and no more than 25000 yuan per person per year for graduate students." The new standard applies from the autumn semester of 2024. How much is paid follows this sentence: "Apply the higher of the tuition the student actually paid and the national student loan obtained (including the principal and all interest accrued before it is fully repaid)." The next sentence is: "The part above the standard is not compensated, repaid, or waived." So the money each year is the higher of the actual tuition and the student loan, then the lower of that amount and the cap. Tuition of 5000 yuan a year is compensated at 5000 yuan. The number of years follows the years of study, not the years of service. The 2019 measures on student financial aid funds say: "Where the prescribed length of study was already completed before enlistment, that length is the period of tuition compensation or of state repayment of the national student loan; where the remaining prescribed length is completed after returning to school following discharge, that length is the period of the tuition waiver." A graduating student who enlists is compensated for the tuition of the whole program. Student status is in the Law on the Protection of Veterans. It says: "Where a service member was already admitted to an ordinary higher-education institution before enlistment, or is a student already studying at an ordinary higher-education institution, the admission qualification or student status is kept during active service. Within 2 years after discharge, enrollment or return to school is allowed, and the student may transfer to another major at the same school under the relevant state rules." The law also says: "Higher-education institutions may, under the state's overall arrangement, recruit veterans through separately listed plans, separate admissions, and similar methods." Postgraduate study is in a 2026 notice from the General Office of the Ministry of Education. The plan is called «退役大学生士兵计划» (the plan for discharged college-student soldiers). The notice says: "It is issued separately within the total national master's enrollment plan and is used only for this purpose. It may not be shifted to the regular plan or to another special plan. Admitting institutions set... the preliminary-exam score requirement themselves (generally not higher than the preliminary-exam score requirement for regular-plan candidates in the same discipline at that institution)... Under otherwise equal conditions, candidates who served longer are admitted first." Separately listed and reserved means these places are set aside and can be used only to recruit discharged college-student soldiers. In 2026, 532 ordinary higher-education institutions carry this plan (nationwide).

财政部、教育部、中国人民银行、金融监管总局 (2024). 关于调整完善国家助学贷款有关政策的通知（财教〔2024〕188 号）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202411/content_6984812.htm；财政部等五部门 (2019). 学生资助资金管理办法（财科教〔2019〕19 号，第五条；入伍资助年限：「入伍前已完成规定的修业年限，即为学费补偿或国家助学贷款代偿的年限；退役复学后接续完成规定的剩余修业年限，即为学费减免的年限」，毕业生「学费补偿或国家助学贷款代偿的年限，分别按照国家规定的相应学制计算」）. http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2019/content_5421553.htm；全国人大常委会 (2020). 退役军人保障法（第三十四、三十五条）. http://www.mod.gov.cn/gfbw/fgwx/flfg/16048597.html（国防部刊登）；教育部办公厅 (2025). 关于做好 2026 年退役大学生士兵专项硕士研究生招生计划招生工作的通知（教学厅〔2025〕8 号）. http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A15/moe_778/s3261/202512/t20251211_1423174.html；退役军人事务部 (2022). 退役士兵教育培训政策 23 条：「从2022年招生起，高职（专科）毕业生及在校生（含高校新生）应征入伍，退役后完成高职（专科）学业的，申请专升本，免于参加文化课考试」（依据教学厅〔2021〕8 号）. https://www.mva.gov.cn/sy/xx/bnxx/202201/t20220107_55052.html；教育部 (2026). 2027 年全国硕士研究生招生工作管理规定（教学〔2026〕2 号，第二十二、二十四、二十五条），研招网刊登. https://yz.chsi.com.cn/kyzx/jybzc/202609/20260924/2293971511.html；教育部 (2024). 2025 年全国硕士研究生招生工作管理规定（教学〔2024〕4 号，第二十二条）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202410/content_6978684.htm

Two additional pathways exist. First, veterans with an associate degree may be exempted from entrance exams for bachelor’s programs; selection is based on vocational assessments. This policy has been active since 2022. Second, all eligible applicants receive a 10-point bonus on their postgraduate entrance exam scores, though this benefit cannot be combined with admission under the special program. Those with meritorious service may be exempted from exams entirely. The list of participating universities changes yearly; in 2025, 523 institutions are included. Tuition limits have been adjusted twice: from 8,000/12,000 RMB in 2019 to 16,000/20,000 RMB in late 2023, and finally to 20,000/25,000 RMB in late 2024. Older documents from 2022 must not be used as a reference.