Yellow Ribbon GI Bill Featured Article

THE YELLOW RIBBON TIES TO VETERAN-FRIENDLY COLLEGES

At least 750 private, nonprofit colleges and universities are participating in the Post-9/11 GI Bill's popular Yellow Ribbon program. More colleges are added to that list each year. Applications for Yellow Ribbon support for individual qualified veterans are open each year from February to May (the deadline was extended through June for 2010, so watch annually for extensions).

You don't need to sit idle and wait for your college to tie a Yellow Ribbon to your GI Bill; take a military attitude and take charge of getting your school to enlist in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

As a veteran student, you can encourage your college or institution to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program by suggesting the amount of aid needed and showing your college how the programs works for everyone's benefit. The Yellow Ribbon is more than a set program; it is a living, changing collaboration of educational support between the VA, college, and veteran students.

The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program (Yellow Ribbon Program) is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 which allows institutions of higher learning (degree granting institutions) in the United States to voluntarily enter into an agreement with VA to fund tuition expenses that exceed either the cap for private institutions or the resident tuition and fees for a public institution. The institution can contribute up to 50% of those expenses and VA will match the same amount.

Many universities strongly support the GI Bill; supporting the Yellow Ribbon is the next logical step. The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities was among one of the strongest supporters of the initial legislation that created the Post-9/11 GI Bill, noting that the Post 9/11 GI Bill is "a critical investment in the nation's veterans, and a prime example of how by working as partners, the federal government, colleges and universities, and others can pool critical resources to enhance student access and affordability." The Yellow Ribbon Program takes that one step further, by using matching funds available from the federal government, equal to the student aid provided by the college, to fill in any gaps in tuition support.

Scores of private institutions are located in states where the base Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition benefit is high enough by itself to cover the full tuition at private colleges, making it unnecessary for them to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Other private nonprofit colleges and universities that choose not to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program have their own strong commitment to providing financial assistance to student veteran, with their student aid programs that provide generous support.

Check into how your Post 9/11 GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon Program support, student aid from your college, and your own commitment to making it all add up at the college or institution of your choice can build the best educational support for you. Encourage your school to participate the Yellow Ribbon Program, then apply yourself.

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