I’ve transferred my benefits to my son who had the full amount and is Yellow Ribbon eligible. He just received word of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship as well.
I don’t want to use the GI Bill since it wouldn’t be maximized and saving it for his younger brother. Any chance these types of scholarships can be used to room and board first?
you should call Financial Aid first of the week. They will be more than happy to help you weigh the best way to use your scholarship $ and Yellow Ribbon eligibility for your son. Remember, Vandy wants your son to attend. They are less busy now than they will be in a couple of weeks and they are truly there to help. Give them some time after filling them in by phone and email so they can advise you, and make sure to bring up your interest in planning for your second son. Congrats on your son’s amazing offer. Room and board at Vandy for our Chancellor’s Scholar was significantly less than what we would have paid for his state flagship. He went abroad using his tuition offer and had a full summer of study funded. He also applied for and was accepted for College Scholars and the seminars were amazing for students who enjoy intimacy with great teachers, discussion and writing. He knocked off a science in a seminar that was very unforgettable. Seminars are not for everyone. Some students have interests that pull them into other opportunities in different classroom settings. Also your son will likely have other good offers if he did RD. Good for him.
Thanks for the reply. I’ll most certainly contact the financial aid office.
My son will also be using the GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon to whatever school he ends up at. The VA website clearly states that the GI Bill money is used to pay up to the xxx amount (currently $22800) this year for tuition and fees. That money is paid directly to the school. The housing allowance (paid at E-5 with dependents) is paid separately and directly to the student and can be used for whatever they want (although most students use it for their housing). Yellow Ribbon funds are also only intended for tuition. Here is the exact wording from the Yellow Ribbon pamphlet:
“All mandatory fees for a student’s program of education may be included. Any fees that are not mandatory, such as room and board, study abroad (unless the study abroad course is a requirement for the degree program), and penalty fees (such as late registration, return check fees, and parking fines) cannot be included. These fees are not payable under the Yellow Ribbon Program or under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.”
Did you transfer at least one month of benefits to your younger son already? If you aren’t still on active duty and haven’t done so, it’s too late. You can’t add a transferee after you leave active duty.
Hope this helps. I don’t know if the Vandy scholarships can be used for room and board first, although maybe I am misunderstanding your question.
Thanks. Still waiting to hear back.
Just to clarify, my son was awarded the CV Scholarship, which pays full tuition only and not room/board and books. That leaves me on the hook for about $17k. If he used my GI bill, it wouldn’t pay the $22,800 since his tuition is paid by the scholarship. The GI Bill would pay the E-5 Dep rate and that’s not maximizing my benefit with another kid in line who probably won’t be getting a full acadmic merit scholarship to Vanderbilt!
It’s a nice problem to be working and I don’t mean to sound pompous. College education for our kids and how we pay for it is easily the most important financial decision Gen X will make.
I get it. No sense in wasting that 23K from the GI Bill if the CV can’t be used for room and board first. But did you already transfer at least one month to your younger son before leaving active duty?
I gave each of my 3 kids 12 months worth. It’s my understanding I can reshuffle how that gets used. You just have to have the child’s name listed on the transfer of benefits before leaving service.
Let the financial aid office ponder your question. They may have approaches in their history with other students with similar benefits for you to consider.
@NKAWTG - good! Yep, you can change the allotment as long as one month is already transferred before you are discharged. Currently my son has 35 months and I have one month, just in case I go back to get a master’s degree. 
If I don’t, then we’ll give the last month to our son when the time comes.
Vanderbilt is one of the worst when it comes to the GI Bill. I believe the comment I heard from financial aid was "you can’t expect to get a scholarship from us and use the GI Bill- pick one or the other.
@sheflourishes - I agree. Vandy is one of the lowest amount Yellow Ribbon schools (direct quote from the veteran’s affairs office - “our contribution has been $6000 forever and that’s not going to change”) AND they want to subtract their portion of the NMF scholarship amount ($2500) from that. Very disappointing. Especially since other top tier schools like Chicago and Northwestern and even publics like Michigan amounts are unlimited. Guess where DS will be going if he gets accepted to all (unlikely but theoretically) even though we loved Vandy.