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Why You Should Consider Attending a Yellow Ribbon School

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Ahhhh, college. New experiences, exciting challenges, and mountains of student debt. A college education is becoming increasingly expensive. If there’s a chance to cut costs, you should jump on it!

All of this makes Yellow Ribbons schools a great choice for military-connected students.

The Yellow Ribbon program offers the opportunity to decrease your out-of-pocket costs for earning a college degree. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

Why You Should Consider Attending a Yellow Ribbon School

The Post-9/11 GI Bill offers outstanding educational opportunities to military-connected college students. For qualifying beneficiaries, GI Bill benefits provide funds to cover the resident tuition and fees at public colleges.

If you’re going to be attending a private college or enrolling as a nonresident at a public university, there might be a gap between the GI Bill and the bottom line. That could leave you footing the difference. An education at a private or out-of-state college is definitely not cheap!

This is where the Yellow Ribbon Program comes in.

At select schools, there is a fund-matching program available to help reduce the total tuition costs.

Yellow Ribbon 101

Students at private schools or attending as an out-of-state resident, are entitled to the lesser value of their school’s tuition and fees or the national maximum funding for an academic year.

To help GI Bill beneficiaries cover a difference between their entitlement and their tuition, schools may elect to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program. This is a voluntary program that does not impact your GI Bill entitlement or funds.

Participating schools select how much of their tuition and fees they are willing to cover. Then the VA will match those funds, and send that payment directly to the school. Both sets of funds are then applied to the final bill.

In order to qualify, students must meet specific criteria.

Only 100% GI Bill qualified veterans and/or their designated beneficiaries are eligible. Yellow Ribbon Program funds are not available to active duty service members or their spouses. However, the children of active duty service members may be eligible if their parent is qualified at the 100% level.

The percentage of eligibility is determined by the service member’s service record. To reach the 100% qualification level, and be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program, troops must serve at least 36 months on active duty or have served for at least 30 consecutive days before being honorably discharged for a service-related disability.

Yellow Ribbon Fine Print

The Yellow Ribbon Program sounds ideal! Extra money straight from the school and matching funds from the VA. What could be better?

However, there are some caveats.

First, veterans and their designated beneficiaries must qualify for full GI Bill benefits, based on the veteran’s service record. Not all veterans will qualify for 100% GI Bill funding. This is required to be eligible for any Yellow Ribbon Program.

Next, your selected school has to opt-in to the Yellow Ribbon Program. This is a voluntary opportunity, and not all public or private schools elect to participate.

Each school decides their own level of funding and the number of awards available in an academic year. This means that even if your school is part of the program, all funds for this year might have been awarded. You will still be able to apply your GI Bill, but there will not be Yellow Ribbon funds from the school applied to your bill.

Each year, a list of participating schools is released by the VA. Funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Award amounts may vary based on enrollment status and level.

In order to qualify, you must first apply to a Yellow Ribbon school and identify that you are eligible per the GI Bill qualifications.

Receiving Yellow Ribbon funds this year does not guarantee that your school will participate in the future or that they will contribute funding at the same level. However, your school should notify you of changes or if they are leaving the program.

If you do qualify for and receive Yellow Ribbon funding, this is a good program to help make higher education more affordable

Did you participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program when you earned your college degree? What was your experience with this program?

5 College Degrees Leading to Portable Careers

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A college degree is a big deal.

 

A recent article from Kiplinger mentioned that an employee with a bachelor’s degree earns on average almost double the amount of money compared with a person with only a high school diploma.

Basically, that extra piece of paper makes you more competitive, more portable and more money.

Whether you had to put your education on hold or never got the chance to start, it’s important to begin the admissions (or re-admissions) process with a solid direction. Military spouses endure unique career challenges. We need to factor in PCSing, managing a household (sometimes alone) and countless other random military-related last minute craziness when choosing the right time to earn a college degree.

With that in mind, picking a major should be the first decision you make, even before researching schools. Your interest will dictate what school or program you will want to apply for. It will be a huge advantage to establish a path at the very beginning.

Start by thinking about what you see yourself doing afterward you earn your diploma. A lot of military spouses choose to study a program that would result in a portable career. It makes sense. We have a relatively mobile lifestyle, so why not pursue a curriculum that would support a portable career?

Here are 5 college majors for milspouses looking for a portable career:

  1. Management. After you graduate, a degree in management offers a whole lot of flexibility. It sets the foundation for a variety of jobs that a lot of employers seek, whatever your interest. Personally, I have friends that have pursued a sales managerial position, opened their own e-commerce store and another that used it to work admissions at a school. All jobs that are easily transferable. There are many military spouses with great ideas and this degree direction might be an excellent way to build your successful small business.
  2. Health care. From nursing to medical technicians, the heath care field offers a broad selection of degree programs. There are also options for certain professions that may not need a bachelor’s degree, only a certificate or associate’s degree, which gives this path flexibility (i.e. Registered Nurse (RN) versus a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)). Wherever you are stationed, there will most likely be a doctor’s office, hospital, dentist, rehab center, etc. Despite what people may say about the difficulties in finding jobs in heath care, it’s hard to argue against the continuous need for people in the profession. It’s a challenge to find a job in general, so if it’s your passion to help others in this way, go for it! Remember to discuss all the appropriate certifications with your career counselor that way you’re ahead of the curve when you begin the job hunt at your new duty station.
  3. Communications. I was once told that a communications degree was pointless. On the contrary, a B.A. in communications can open doors to a very wide range of opportunities. It’s a creative discipline and if you have a knack for working with people, brainstorming ideas, writing, communicating in general, then this major is for you. I’m extremely bias because I hold a communications degree. I was able to explore several different facets before putting together my portable career. For example, I studied journalism, marketing, and public speaking.
  4. Computer Science. There is no doubt that the digital age is booming. With a computer science degree, you become the go-to person. Other degrees that are similar are computer engineering or computer development. After graduation, use your expertise and land a job being a developer or researcher. There is no denying that a bachelor’s degree in computer science would translate into a very lucrative career. The National Association of College and Employers (NACE) reports that the starting salary for someone with a computer science degree is around $64K.
  5. Information Technology/Systems. Not to be confused with computer science, this degree takes technology systems and integrates them with businesses. For example, the skills you learn with this program can be applied to work for a number of places like IT firms, online Internet security companies or apply for other similar professions. This degree is great because it provides a well-rounded technical education.

If you are still undecided on a major, aim your studies toward a genre like liberal arts, business or science. Once you’ve applied within a certain school, work on your prerequisites before finalizing your major. U.S. News and World Report is a great resource to gather information on universities, programs, and a whole lot more, including some tips too.

Ultimately, choose a major that is right for you, no matter what. It’s best to be in a career that you love because then your job will never feel like work.

Want more information about college degrees that are most compatible with military life? Visit the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program website.