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$70 Thousand for College?
Well, not really, lets look at that a little closer.First on their list of what you get is the Montgomery GI Bill, $282.00 times 36. Apparently they will send you $282.00 a month for 3 years. Hmmm, last I heard, it takes 4 years to get a 4 year degree. Of course, you won’t be able to pay your tuition AND your rent on $282.00 a month. Don’t forget, you have to pay IN $100.00 per month during your first year in service to get this “benefit”
Then there’s the GI Bill kicker, $200.00 times 36. Oh, that’s a little better, you might be able to eat while attending the college of your choice. But still, not enough money to pay rent and eat and pay tuition. Please note the * next to this amount, below it says “Member must qualify for these programs” Too bad they don’t bother to specify how you qualify, maybe you won’t.
Next we see Federal Tuition Assistance, 4 years. Hey! They know it takes 4 years! These loans ARE NOT FROM THE MILITARY. These student loans are available to anyone.
Now we come to Student Loan Repayment. This has 2 of those little ** thingies. The brief explanation they gave is “covers existing loans at the time of enlistment”. Here’s an example of a soldier who signed up thinking they would pay off his student loan debt, Thinking the VA will pay off your student loans? Think Again
OK, now they show an Enlistment Bonus, again with an unexplained *. If you do qualify for a bonus, and we don’t really know how you do that because they don’t explain it clearly, you will not get an $8000.00 check. They will give it to you in your regular pay, a little at a time, and you will use it for your normal out of pocket expenses while you are still in the military. Be wary of bonus promises, this soldier never got his “Bonus”
Last they list your pay, Army National Guard Drill pay, the * explains this amount consists of “Approximate gross pay and allowances”. So they are counting money paid to you before taxes, as if you could use the FICA and income tax money for your student expenses. Of course, you know you can’t spend money you never got. The net pay you do get would be less than $226.00 per month over 6 years, because part of the amount they are using is “allowances” meaning, it is not cash paid, but housing or food allowances. Want to bet me you won’t spend it as you get it?
This is an exact copy of the “College Plan” chart shown on the Army National Guard Recruiting website.
So what do you really get?
If you sign up for the GI bill, and if you pay your $1200.00 in, if you serve your full term, and if you get an honorable discharge, you can get a check of $282.00 per month while in college,
but only for 3 years.
If you figure out how to qualify for the GI bill kicker, and if you do qualify for it, you can get another $200.00 a month for 3 years.
That’s too many if ’s for me, how about you?
You can get Federal Tuition Assistance like everyone else, without having to join the military.
Student Loan Repayment is not to go to college, but covers loans you already owe on, so you won’t get anything from this if you make it home and enroll in college for the first time.
And you don’t always qualify for that.
You will not get a check for $8000.00, you will have been nickled & dimed to death, that money will be long gone by the time you are ready to go to college.
You will not get a check for $20,353.00 to use for college. That was partly living allowances that you cannot save or spend because it isn’t actual cash. The rest is your cash pay, but they take out taxes, and you need the rest for expenses they expect you to pay yourself, like travel costs to come home on leave.
This will all be long gone by the time you are
ready to go to college.
Once you serve, if you are lucky enough to come home alive, you may not be up to attending college due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Or maybe you will come home with severe crippling lifelong disabilities, so far 15000 soldiers have severe injuries, with thousands of arms and legs lost.
Topics: Educational Benefits |