Introduction to Financing Your Education (Veteran Voices)
Introduction to Financing Your Education (Veteran Voices)
Transcript
As far as financing your education, I think that's probably the least stressful part of returning to college for most veterans. A vast majority of every school in the country is covered by either Yellow Ribbon and the GI Bill or the GI Bill alone. So if that's something that's holding you back from applying to college, then I think that's probably the least convincing way to prevent yourself from returning to school. Because there's only a handful of schools where you'll incur any type of tuition. And if you do, it's very minimal compared to the overall cost of what you're receiving. So I think when you're considering returning to school as a veteran, that's probably the least amount of stress that goes into it.
I would tell a veteran that the most important thing they would need to know about financing their college education is to nail down the numbers. How much? What percentage am I entitled to? How much is school? How much is covered by the Yellow Ribbon? How much is covered by the GI Bill? And don't forget, how much BAH am I going to get at this school? And how is that determined?
So you're going to nail down all of that information so that you're able to budget for what you need. You may have a family. And you know, BAH in the school location might be a rural location, where you don't get a whole lot. So you've got to decide whether or not that's going to work for you. Or it might be a more urban location, but the cost of living is more important. So you know, you have to take all of those things into consideration. And you can't just wing it, really.
It's different if you're a single guy coming out and you have no responsibilities. You can pretty much go anywhere and be OK. But if you're a woman and you have children, you also have to worry about the cost of living, and child care, and those kinds of things.
So I would just say to whoever is out there that you just have to make sure that you know what all of the numbers are. How much is tuition at school? What's my stipend from the military going to be? How much am I going to have to contribute? And then, finally, sit down and figure out, can I make this work?
I would say the only thing that I would say specifically to veterans is use all of the benefits that you have available to you. Don't neglect them. I did. You know? And even if you've been out for years and years and years and years, like I was, they're still available. Check into what's available and applicable for you. And then see whether or not you can make it work.
If going to school is what you decide to do, then try and figure out a way to see whether or not the VA can help you do that. Because that's what they're there for, right? The entire purpose of the agency is to help veterans achieve their goals and create a good life for themselves after having served our country. So use that.
I would tell a veteran that the most important thing they would need to know about financing their college education is to nail down the numbers. How much? What percentage am I entitled to? How much is school? How much is covered by the Yellow Ribbon? How much is covered by the GI Bill? And don't forget, how much BAH am I going to get at this school? And how is that determined?
So you're going to nail down all of that information so that you're able to budget for what you need. You may have a family. And you know, BAH in the school location might be a rural location, where you don't get a whole lot. So you've got to decide whether or not that's going to work for you. Or it might be a more urban location, but the cost of living is more important. So you know, you have to take all of those things into consideration. And you can't just wing it, really.
It's different if you're a single guy coming out and you have no responsibilities. You can pretty much go anywhere and be OK. But if you're a woman and you have children, you also have to worry about the cost of living, and child care, and those kinds of things.
So I would just say to whoever is out there that you just have to make sure that you know what all of the numbers are. How much is tuition at school? What's my stipend from the military going to be? How much am I going to have to contribute? And then, finally, sit down and figure out, can I make this work?
I would say the only thing that I would say specifically to veterans is use all of the benefits that you have available to you. Don't neglect them. I did. You know? And even if you've been out for years and years and years and years, like I was, they're still available. Check into what's available and applicable for you. And then see whether or not you can make it work.
If going to school is what you decide to do, then try and figure out a way to see whether or not the VA can help you do that. Because that's what they're there for, right? The entire purpose of the agency is to help veterans achieve their goals and create a good life for themselves after having served our country. So use that.