AMERICAN LIFE How Young Men Can Improve Their Futures

Posted by Dorothy on
Your future self may thank you for registering with the Selective Service as soon as it’s required.
Your future self may thank you for registering with the Selective Service as soon as it’s required.

(NAPSI)—Many high school and college students and their families don’t realize it, but the road to a good education and career can begin with a single, simple step: registering with the Selective Service.

Why You Should Register

That’s because registration is required to be eligible for a number of valuable benefits. They include:

  • Eligibility for many college loans, grants and scholarships, such as Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Direct Stafford Loans/PLUS Loans, National Direct Student Loans, and College Work-Study.
  • Federal job training programs. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act offers programs that can train young men seeking vocational employment or enhancing their career. This program is open only to those men who have registered with Selective Service.
  • Millions of jobs, including all federal jobs, Postal Service jobs, many state jobs, and an increasing number of contractor jobs.
  • Security clearance background investigations for government and some contractor jobs verify whether men are in compliance with federal law, including having registered with the Selective Service System, before hiring them.
  • In most states you must register if you want a driver’s license.
  • If a male immigrant (documented or undocumented) fails to register, he may be denied citizenship until he is 31 years old.

What’s more, registration is a civic and patriotic duty. When a man registers, he shows his national pride and commitment to stand in support of his country and the all-volunteer military.

What Can Happen If You Don’t

On the other hand, failure to register is a violation of the law and could carry heavy fines or even jail time. Also, anyone who knowingly helps someone to fail to comply is subject to the same penalties.

While the Department of Justice is not prosecuting anybody right now, the law remains on the books.

How You Can Register

Fortunately, registration with the Selective Service is easy. You can do it several ways.

  1. Just go online to www.sss.gov and register.
  2. See your high school counselor or principal or specially designated school registrar.
  3. Pick up a form in any post office and mail it in.
  4. Check the “Register me” box when applying for financial aid on the FAFSA form.

Where To Learn More

For further information, visit www.sss.gov or, to speak to someone about registration, call (888) 655-1825.