Hi, I was admitted to the University of Michigan but I’m an out of state resident. I’ve read that dependents of military veterans can qualify for admissions. My dad is an honorably discharged veteran and my sister is on active duty. Has anyone been through the process of getting in state tuition based on being a dependent of a veteran?
Where did you read that?
If you are referring to the Yellow Ribbon program, there is more to it. It’s basically transferring post 9/11 GI Bill to your (if eligible to do so) and then using Yellow Ribbon agreement (if school participates) to cap or assist beyond GI Bill caps.
It appears to vary from state to state but it looks like you still need someone in Michigan as a hook. Just being the dependent of a veteran does not appear to get you in-state status everywhere in the country.
University of Michigan Guidelines for Qualifying for In-State Tuition
You may qualify for in-state tuition in any of the following three ways:
Residence. By demonstrating that you are a permanent legal resident of the State of Michigan as defined by these Guidelines ;
Attendance. By demonstrating that you attended an accredited Michigan high school and accredited Michigan middle or junior high school ; OR
Service. By demonstrating that you or a family member are serving or have served in the U.S. military or Public Health Service
(found this on the University of Michigan’s website)
@sterch : You are quoting from a summary, not the actual rules. Like most other states (even those with the most liberal rules), Michigan requires a connection to Michigan for dependents.
http://ro.umich.edu/resreg.php [see part III]
@Catmatmc is correct about the yellow ribbon. You have to use GI bill 33 benefits and be at 100% to qualify for yellow ribbon. However what I think you are referring to is the new veteran choice act that requires all public university to charge in-state tuition for active duty recently release, disable or decease veterans. Your dad would have to have been released from the military within the last 3 years. You have to use the Fry Scholarship or GI bill transfer benefits to qualify
This is the actual policy as copied directly from the UM website.
III. ESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY THROUGH SERVICE
You also may qualify for in-state tuition, without regard to your legal residence, by
demonstrating any of the following:
(1) you are serving on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard,
Merchant Marine, or Coast Guard;
(2) you are a reservist in one of those branches;
(3) you were honorably discharged or received a general discharge under honorable conditions
from one of those branches or their reserve component;
(4) you are serving as an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service;
(5) you are the spouse or dependent child of someone living or stationed in Michigan who is
serving in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard, Merchant Marine, or Coast
Guard, whether on active duty or as a reservist; OR
( 6) you are the spouse or dependent child of someone living or stationed in Michigan who is
serving as an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service.
Unfortunately #3 above only refers to the veteran, not dependents, and #5 and 6 only refer to active duty families.
And as @sensation723 noted above, you can qualify for instate tuition through the GI Bill if you start your education within three years of your sponsor’s (in this case, your dad’s) discharge from active duty service (IF your dad was eligible for the GI BIll and transferred the benefits to you before he left active duty). If you do not meet the three year deadline but are eligible to use Yellow Ribbon funds, your tuition will be covered in full because the Yellow Ribbon amount from MI is unlimited (at least according to the VA website, I haven’t confirmed with MI yet).
My son will be using the GI Bill wherever he goes to school, so I have been researching this thoroughly for every school he has applied to. Unfortunately Michigan is a tough state to get residency in.
Here is the link to the VA website which states the 3-year deadline for qualifying for in-state tution:
https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_residentraterequirements.asp
Hope this helps.
@sterch, I am currently working through all of this with UofM. Contact (734) 763-9066 and ask for Randi Thompson. Her and her team work all of these issues. Their goal is to get all veterans and their dependents in state tuition. My son is OOS and has both my GI Bill benefits (Chapter 33) and Chapter 35 benefits. So, some decisions to make post financial aid award comes out.
I talked to financial aid first and they directed me to the number and personnel above. Before you make any decisions, call them. Explain your situation and ask them what to do next. They walked me through all the required paperwork I would need from Veterans Affairs (VA). Don’t panic about VA, this part is pretty straight forward for them and easy to accomplish.
Good luck and thank your father and sister for their service.
Semper Fidelis,
Kevin
Welcome, Kevin, and thanks for those very specific tips while the rest of us were flailing about trying to make sense of the UofM website.
The OP has not stated that he/she has benefits from the GI Bill. He just stated that his dad was a veteran. There are no provisions for in state tuition for children of veterans simply because the sponsor is a veteran no longer on active duty. The student must be using VA benefits such as one of the GI Bills or DEA.
@sterch - if you have GI Bill or DEA benefits then yes, talk to the veteran’s affairs office. But remember that your dad must have transferred the GI Bill benefits to you before he left active duty.
I would not expect any university anywhere in the USA to give me in-state tuition (although it would be nice) simply because my parent served in the military in the past but has chosen to live outside of Michigan after discharge.
@AboutTheSame Thank you. Just trying to help.
@Choski94. Completely agree about needing the VA benefits (Chapter 33 or 35). However, there are vastly different rules per state and institution, for benefits outside of normal Federal Benefits (33 or 35). Some states have additional benefits for Veterans and their dependents. In Virginia there is an additional program at the state level for waiver of Tuition/Fees at a Virginia State School, Virginia Tech being one of them. Additionally, some states have rules for specific military awards granted to the parent. i.e. Combat action or personal award with valor device (I think Illinois falls into this category, but not sure). Also, participation in specific military campaigns. Not saying @sterch falls into any of these categories. Just recommend he ask the people at UofM who are directly responsible for dealing with the issue.
As for universities/colleges offering instate tuition for children of veterans. It can happen. The school can determine to charge only the in state tuition. Again, it will not kill anyone to ask. The worst that will happen is a no.
@sterch - I am not sure what state you reside. But, check you home state Veteran Benefits and check with your father about his benefits. If he has not registered for an EBenefits account (www.ebenefits.va.gov), he should. The two of you can more easily determine what benefits he already has, and apply for additional benefits if he rates them.
Again, good luck.
Kevin
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@VABeachDad good advice and thank you. If MI does have a special consideration like the examples you mentioned above, they should put it in their policy that I quoted above. Otherwise potential students would never know or think to ask unless they heard something like @sterch. Not that MI needs more applicants.
University of Pittsburgh and other PA state schools offer in-state tuition to chapter 35 kids. We live in Mass and my kid goes to Pitt and gets in-state tuition. He is a chapter 35 beneficiary. I feel like when I was researching this, I found one other state that offered this, but I can’t recall which it was.
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Join the reserves…
While not UofM my son was given in-state tuition @ Michigan State due to my service-connected disability and we are Illinois residents.
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Hey there, I am a disabled veteran in Illinois as well. I would love to find out how you discovered about the in state tution waiver for Michigan State. I am also wondering what other colleges offer in-state tuition to disabled veterans?
thanks.
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