<p>Any veterans want to write about their experiences with the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program? Post 9/11 covers 17.5K and the Yellow Ribbon covers another 8K from what I've read. How have you guys been paying for the other roughly 25K for a year? Fin aid, personal loans, other scholarships available to vets, etc? Has the VA provided prompt payments with your benefits? Also, GS awards Yellow Ribbon benefits to 300 vets every year. Is that enough to cover all vets or are there any vets out there that have been denied due to exhaustion of funds? </p>
<p>On the housing situation. GI Bill pays 2758 a month for housing, but it's my understanding that if you are provided housing by Columbia, it's a one time charge at the beginning of the term. How does that work for GI Bill recipients? Are they still expected to pay the full amount up front?</p>
<p>You’re not going to be hurting that much for money. My bill for fall semester 2012 that doesn’t include rent is $19,280.00. So $38,560 a year total not including living expenses and you get BAH. The loans are more than enough to cover the bill between yellow ribbon and GI bill. </p>
<p>Chances of getting on campus housing for first year is very low so expect to live somewhere else. If you don’t mind the 1 hour subway travel to campus, living in the outer boroughs is super cheap. Places like Queens are only 500 to 700 a month in rent. </p>
<p>As a veteran in Columbia, you never have to worry about VA issues because the school will wait as long as it takes for VA to give out money. There are also plenty of veteran scholarships if you’ve deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. </p>
<p>I personally never had an issue with BAH payments and the tuition payment was super late but again, the school just waits for it without any penalty. I was registering for next semester’s classes by the time VA paid the tuition part.</p>
<p>My husband came directly from active duty to GI Bill. YR and GI Bill cover 100% of his tuition and fees for 24 credit hours. He also got a Pell grant (full amount), a SEOG grant, and federal work study, so that covers a lot of extra stuff (extra credit hours, health insurance, etc.) Columbia also offers institutional scholarships to promising GS students.</p>
<p>The payments are not prompt, but Columbia waits. My husband was admitted in June and he wasn’t denied GI Bill because of fund exhaustion, so I’m assuming that they haven’t had to do that yet.</p>
<p>* On the housing situation. GI Bill pays 2758 a month for housing, but it’s my understanding that if you are provided housing by Columbia, it’s a one time charge at the beginning of the term.*</p>
<p>That’s incorrect. That’s only if you live in the dorm-style housing for nontraditional students, which is very unlikely. Most GS students in UAH-owned buildings live in apartment-style accommodations (me and my husband live in some) and you pay rent monthly.</p>
<p>Juliett has it right on the money. Just one thing though:</p>
<p>If you are using Yellow Ribbon, you will not receive GS institutional scholarships. Also BAH is being bumped up to 3300 a month starting in August 2013.</p>
<p>Juillet, I think your post is a little misleading. </p>
<p>If you’re only taking 24 credits a year(which the only way the G.I. BIll/yellow ribbon is covering 100% of the tuition) then at the end of 4 years, you’ll only have 96 credits and be 30 credits/$45000 short of graduating.</p>