GI Bill: Closing the Tuition Gap

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http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/gi_bill_closing_the_tuition_ga.php

GI Bill: Closing the Tuition Gap
by Daniel Luzer



While the effectiveness of the GI Bill is a matter of concern, some changes to the program appear very positive. According to an article by Lisa Rein in the Washington Post:

The “Yellow Ribbon” program took effect on Aug. 1, 2009, part of an ambitious new GI Bill that covers the cost of in-state tuition at state universities and shares the cost of more-expensive private colleges and some state schools — if the colleges choose to fund subsidies to close that gap. The government matches dollar-for-dollar any additional tuition aid provided by the private school. The bill applies to community colleges and four-year institutions.

What this means is that many veterans can now access special institutional money set aside for veterans. Some 3,200 schools participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

According to the Rein article, the original GI Bill “made a college education affordable for millions of World War II veterans, but the system, and other veteran benefits programs that followed, did not keep pace with the rising costs of college.”

Daniel Luzer is higher education blogger for the Washington Monthly.