Loads of Questions about Post 9/11 GI Bill + Yellow Ribbon Program

Student Lounge Veterans
1
  1. If I get financial aid from a college, can I combine that with my yellow ribbon/GI bill benefits? Or does my financial aid amount decrease once I get yellow ribbon?
  2. My parents’ finances are completely different last year than they are this year. IDOC requested tax documents from last year/two years ago. How can I tell the financial aid offices of each of my schools (listed below for reference) that they are completely different? Do I contact the offices after I get accepted or before then?
    3)I’ve got an excel spreadsheet which calculates how much I would pay for each of the schools I’m applying to. For each college, I calculate the total amount I would pay out of pocket as (cost of attendance) - (GI bill reward + financial aid + 2 * yellow ribbon aid). Does this seem right? I multiply yellow ribbon aid by 2 because the VA matches the university (?).
  3. Do the UC schools do the Yellow Ribbon program for undergraduates?

Where I’m applying: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UVA

2
  1. The way financial aid and how the Yellow Ribbon Program is used is dependent on the college. Most of the time, the need for financial aid is based off of your parents’ household income, unless you’ve been in for 8+ years and it’s reasonable to assume you’re 100% independent. And based on your previous threads, I’m assuming you’re not in the military yet.
  2. Contact them to get your answers sooner. The worst thing they’ll tell you is that you’re asking the question too soon.
  3. Not necessarily. Somebody will help you calculate out of pocket expenses during TRS.
  4. Why would they need to? Tuition is pretty much free for veterans considering it’s a state school. Almost all costs will be paid for by the GI Bill alone.

Don’t join the military for education benefits.

3

@FireBlock1 thanks so much!! and haha, my dad is transferring his education benefit from his military duty to me :slight_smile:

4
  1. Agree with @FireBlock1 that it depends on the school. For GWU, you weren't able to use other aid along with the Post-9/11 and YRP. Schools will count it as a benefit/income, and therefor you won't qualify for anything else (except, perhaps, merit-based aid)
  2. You need to contact financial aid/admissions offices prior to you becoming accepted, because that's when the school will also determine how much aid would potentially be offered.
  3. With the Post 9/11 and YRP, your cost of attendence will be $0. The only thing you'll pay out-of-pocket for is transportation to and from the school (before/after semesters and breaks), and extra spending money. Your tuition will be covered, you'll receive a book stipend every semester, and you'll recieve a housing allowance every month that should, in theory cover the cost of your dorm and meal plan. It's a pretty amazing gift that the government has given its post-9/11 veterans (and their families, in your case).
  4. A list of all YRP schools can be seen here: https://collegerecon.com/yellow-ribbon-schools/. If you see a school on that list, you can attend for "free."
5

If you are planning to use GI bill and Yellow Ribbon benefits (as already listed on the GI Bill calculator site for the school), do you mark that you are “seeking need based aid” on the Common App or mark “No” if you anticipate that you will use all of your GI Bill benefits? And, can you be penalized, if you mark the application incorrectly when considering GI Bill, especially if you do not know what merit aid may or may not be given?