Hey guys, I'm planning to join the military after high school and I've heard they help with college tuition in some cases. Are there specific colleges they're likely to cover or does it depend more on the course of study or some other factors? Thanks in advance!
The military, specifically through the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Montgomery GI Bill, offers education benefits that can be used at any accredited college or university in the country. It's not necessarily about specific colleges, but whether or not the schools and programs are approved for the GI Bill. What matters more is how the benefits are appropriated based on various factors.
Generally, the benefits cover a certain monetary amount for tuition and fees, housing, and they even provide a stipend for textbooks and supplies. The exact assistance you'd receive can depend on many factors such as the exact type of service you're engaged in, length of service, and possibly the military branch itself.
Furthermore, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which handles the GI Bill, has a system to calculate benefits based on the highest in-state undergraduate tuition at a public college or university in each state. So, this could potentially be a factor depending on the cost of the institution you select.
The Yellow Ribbon Program is another great benefit offered by some schools in conjunction with the VA, where the school and the VA agree to cover a certain amount of the tuition and fees that exceed the state cap for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
So overall, your choice of study and college can be pretty flexible—it's more about understanding how each piece of the benefit applies and making sure that the programs and schools you're considering are approved for GI Bill usage.
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