Ok so husband already transferred GI Bill benefits to our two boys. I was told where to go online to request your certificate which gets mailed to you and shows proof your child is eligible for this benefit. Does MIT have a VA specialist in their financial aid department or do you just go thru regular FA channełs?
I was directed to this website to calculate how much aid would be given at MIT.
After calculating, it says it will pay $20,235 per year. $2,817 housing allowance (and because you only get that when you are there full time it should be for 10 months, so multiply by 10?). Plus a $1,000 book stipend.
So am I correct in understanding the government would give us apx $49,000 a year towards cost of attendance? Really? And that is if Son #1 takes 100% of the benefit correct?
Yup! We know many people who are benefiting from the G.I. Bill for this but it is even a better bang for the buck at a “Yellow Ribbon School” where the school will take just the G.I. benefit for tuition. It pays at the state rate. Some schools have limited “Yellow Ribbon” recipients. Georgia Tech capped it at 30 and if you did not apply, you could miss out on the extra benefit. Sadly some people are abusing this benefit and are trying to use the living expenses to buy rental property and such. The word is that because this benefit is being abused and could run into much higher expenses than the government predicted, it will be capped starting in 2017 so i would recommend having 1 kid use 100% of the benefit if you have younger kids.
Thanks! Someone just posted a committee recommendation where they do want to take the housing benefit portion away. That’s a shame. We’ll see if he gets accepted first!
MIT is NOT a yellow ribbon school so they will not kick in any extra $ toward the among that is not covered by the G.I. bill. You do realize it is only for 36 months, right? Better bang for the buck is a Yellow Ribbon school.
Personally, if not Yellow Ribbon, consider having enough to pick up first year tuition (or at least first semester) on your own. Some of the benefits can take awhile to kick in, housing and books in particular. From some of the vets I know who are in school, housing had to wait for process until the VA receives paperwork after the first month or so of school, and similar for books.
Way back in the day when I used mine, it took me a full semester to get everything hammered out. You are sort of at the mercy of your local regional VA (and how on top of it they are). One lost piece of paper and you are in for all sorts of fun.
Even if the school is yellow ribbon, whatever they put up after the initial 18k or so the GI bill covers, the VA will match. So if tuition is 50k, GI bill covers 18k, a yellow ribbon school may add 10k, VA matches another 10k. If you use the housing allowance strictly for tuition though, then yes it should cover it.