Category: Veterans

​When Air Force veteran Bridget Burks applied to the private nonprofit Saint Leo University in Florida, the 32-year old had a concern.

“I was nervous about the cost,” says Burks, who was active-duty for four years and a reservist for two.

And it makes sense. Private tuition tends to be expensive, averaging $31,381 in the 2014-2015 academic year, compared with $8,794 for in-state public tuition, according to data collected from ranked colleges in an annual U.S. News survey.

Saint Leo charged more than $20,000 in tuition and fees this year.

Student veterans tend to choose public universities, with just about 11 percent attending private nonprofit schools, according to data collected by Student Veterans of America, a veterans support organization.

But the higher price tag doesn’t mean that private college tuition is out of reach for student veterans.

“I’ve had 100 percent of my tuition covered from the beginning. And I’ve had my living expenses covered,” says Burks, who’s received a combination of funding from the Post-9/11 and Montgomery GI bills and the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Students can get a sense of how much funding they can expect and how it will apply to tuition with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ GI Bill Comparison Tool.

Those who qualify for 100 percent of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, for example, can use up to $20,235 toward a private college education this year. Plus, they can receive money for books and housing.

Another financial resource for veterans who are eligible for the maximum amount under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Member schools cover tuition and fees that exceed GI Bill funding with the help of a match from the Department of Veterans Affairs. But the extra money may be limited to a set number of veterans and given on a first-come, first-served basis.

For eligible students, the combination of these two programs can mean a full ride, even at a costly private institution. “A veteran can come to Syracuse University as a fully funded student,” says Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for veterans and military affairs at the New York school.

Veterans can also qualify for civilian financial aid if they submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

“We recommend filling out the FAFSA and using that, in combination with benefits, to compensate the costs not met,” says Melanie Monk, a financial aid counselor and VA school certifying official, who helps certify and provide education on military benefits for both veterans and their dependents, at Virginia Wesleyan College.

Students who qualify for federal Pell Grants, which run up to $5,730 depending on financial need, can use that money on top of other funding to pay school expenses, says Monk. Plus, federal loans, which experts typically recommend over private debt, may come in handy down the line.

Outside scholarships that are designated for tuition expenses, on the other hand, may not be as valuable for fully funded veterans since schools must deduct the award amount when they bill Veterans Affairs. “With any scholarship or grant that goes toward tuition, the school subtracts that out from cost of tuition,” says Monk.

But don’t discount them completely, says Mary Frances Causey, director of financial aid at Prescott College. A scholarship may still carry intangible benefits, such as networking opportunities and resume fodder.

Student veterans might hedge the financial risks of dropping out or delaying graduation, which can exhaust their veterans benefits, by enrolling in programs geared toward nontraditional students, say experts.

“We do know that there’s this trepidation toward this traditional four-year institution,” says Haynie of Syracuse. The school is working on implementing veteran-friendly policies, such as priority class registration, to ensure that student veterans can take required classes before exhausting their benefits.

Another option for students who want to try out higher education before committing to a private four-year school is community college, says Haynie.

Veterans can sample the higher education experience more safely on both a financial level and a lifestyle level that way, he says.

For Burks, Saint Leo was the right choice, both academically and financially. She’d had experience with the institution, which offered classes on her Air Force base. “Transitioning back into the real world can be difficult,” she says. “Being at a private institution that supports veterans as strongly as Saint Leo does, they understand that.”

Susannah Snider is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at ssnider@usnews.com.

Sarah Serrano, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, got off to a rocky start when it came to pursuing a college degree.

“Over the past 10 years, I have come and gone at University of Phoenixes all over the country,” says Serrano, 31, who also bounced around various community colleges. “I have never received my bachelor’s, but I used my entire GI Bill benefits.”

For-profit colleges, like the University of Phoenix, have gained notoriety for their treatment of veteran and active-duty military students. When for-profit Corinthian Colleges collapsed earlier this year, students who’d used GI Bill benefits at those colleges were unable to reclaim them.

This past October, the Department of Defense put University of Phoenix on probation, which included restricting the for-profit’s access to military bases. Federal reports have described for-profit employees recruiting aggressively on and around military bases, even targeting hospitals and wounded warrior centers in an effort to enroll veterans.

Industry critics say for-profits aim to bypass a rule that limits the revenue they can earn from federal dollars, including federal student loans and grants. GI Bill benefits, which veterans use to help cover educational costs, don’t count against that limit.

Critics add that veterans at for-profits borrow more than they do at public and private nonprofit schools.

On the flip side, advocates argue that veterans find much needed flexibility in the for-profit sector. “Costs with veterans benefits are minimal, and the programs are very quick,” says Michael Dakduk, executive vice president and director of government relations at the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, the lobbying arm of for-profits.

Here are a few steps veterans can take when considering a for-profit school.

1. Consult the GI Bill Comparison Tool: Veterans and active-duty military looking to understand how their benefits will apply to college costs can plug their information into the GI Bill Comparison Tool.

Each school’s summary provides information on whether the school is a for-profit, public or private university, costs and other information. For students worried about predatory practices at an institution, the school summary page includes the number of complaints against the institution and “caution flags,” which indicate that the school is under increased regulatory or legal scrutiny.

2. Don’t just sign on the dotted line: Veterans should be vigilant when it comes to tracking – and understanding – paperwork related to their education benefits and any other financial aid.

“The first thing that I would tell any student, and we work with veterans, is ‘Don’t trust what you’re told,'” says Walter Ochinko, policy director of Veterans Education Success, a group that aims to protect the promise of the GI Bill. Ochinko tells the story of a DeVry University student who unwittingly took on $15,000 in student loans, thinking they were Pell Grants.

“If you didn’t get it in writing, it didn’t really happen,” he says.

3. Ask tough questions: “Consumers should make sure they ask tough questions when choosing a school, including cost, the ability to transfer credits and whether it can qualify you for a job in the field you want,” says Seth Frotman, acting student loan ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The easiest way to get a sense of how well an institution serves its veterans: “Connect with current student veterans at the school,” says William Hubbard, vice president of government affairs at Student Veterans of America. “That’s the best source of information.”

For Serrano, the University of Phoenix student, the future is looking brighter. She recently gained admission to the University of Southern California, her dream school, after attending a workshop through the Warrior-Scholar Project, which aims to prepare veterans for the transition into the classroom.

She has advice for veterans in her position: “Find the resources that are available to you, rather than do the quick and fast route, which is going to exhaust all your money and your resources,” she says. “Slow down and really do it one time the right way.”

Susannah Snider is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at ssnider@usnews.com.