<p>We got her letter in the mail today and the scholarship is for tuition purposes only meaning it can not be combined with her GI Bill. She will choose to go some where she can combine the scholarship she has worked so hard for and the GI Bill her father has sacrificed so much for!</p>
<p>Can you elaborate? Someone else posted here in the UM forum that they’d be attending for “free” because of their GI Bill. I’m just curious as to how this works; I can’t see how they’re putting GI Bill students at a huge disadvantage by rendering their merit scholarships worthless.</p>
<p>Did you try contacting Financial Aid to see if they could “convert” the scholarship into some kind of grant that could be used for room and board? I’m wondering if you will find other universities also unwilling to allow their scholarships to be used for non-tuition expenses?</p>
<p>^^that…</p>
<p>If the GI Bill is to be used only for tuition purposes, other universities will see it at the same…</p>
<p>and FWIW, most, if not all, merit scholarships apply to tuition first and foremost…</p>
<p>So, Longsx3, let us know if you find another university where your D will be able to use her scholarship for room and board. By the way, we should all thank you for your service to this country - really mean that!</p>
<p>I believe the GI Bill is always paid secondary to other tuition scholarships and that it pays an amount equal to tuition at a state school. Therefore, if a child receives a partial tuition scholarship, which would be anything other than S/S, an amount equal to state tuition would be paid in addition to the scholarship. (As long as the two combined do not equal more than the tuition cost). Therefore, unless your daughter receives a S/S, she can use both the scholarship and GI bill.</p>
<p>Sorry, yes if a scholarship is to be used for tuition purposes only than it will offset the GI Bill and not stack per the VA rules.</p>
<p>Yes we did find universities that will work to stack scholarships and the GI Bill. Specifically Hawaii Pacific University and the University of Alabama. In fact UA specifically rewrote their admission scholarship this year for the purpose of meeting VA guidelines. Other schools my D’13 applied and was accepted to said to they would work with her however we never went so far as to get anything in writing or work with the admissions office because they were not top contenders.</p>
<p>cpr777, that is my point at UMiami because their scholarship is stated tuition only …my daughter would receive her scholarship, then her GI Bill would pay their 18K then yellow ribbon would make up any difference in tuition (~ 8K ). Leaving D’13 with approximately 12K for room and board. Now she would get a living stipend of $1950 a month but that is paid in the rears and prorated for months like, Aug, Dec, Jan, and April or May when school ends. So there would be some out of pocket at UM.</p>
<p>However at Alabama, GI Bill and yellow ribbon will pay all of her tuition and fees. D’13’s scholarship (because it is not tuition only) will then be applied to her account, covering room and board with some refunded. D will still receive her living stipend of ~ $1100 a month that will be saved. :)</p>
<p>We as a family can not justify out of pocket expenses now when we know D fully intends to attend Law or Grad school in the future.</p>
<p>Zincwhiskers Thank you, our family as sacrificed a lot over the past 19yrs but we would not change a thing!</p>