College Tuition and Loan Repayment Assistance
Tuition assistance
It’s possible to complete your degree in conjunction with active service in the military. There is up to $4,500 of tuition assistance available each year for active duty and military reserve members. This can be used to cover up to 100% of your tuition! It’s not a loan, either. It’s a military benefit that’s paid directly to your school to cover tuition and fees. The Top-Up supplement program could provide even more assistance to you. There are also a number training programs available, including college degree programs, apprenticeship training, vocational training (including non-college degree programs), work study programs and tutorial assistance.
Air Force Tuition Assistance
Army Tuition Assistance
Navy Tuition Assistance
Marine Tuition Assistance
Coast Guard Tuition Assistance
Student Loan Repayment Assistance
If you’ve already earned a degree and find yourself saddled with debt, the military has programs that can help repay it if you’re in active service. The Air Force, Navy, Army, and National Guard all offer loan repayment programs for active duty service members and reservists with past debt. If eligible, you can receive up to $120,000 toward repayment of federal student loans. The loans that qualify for student loan repayment vary depending on the branch of the military you’re active in, so be sure to click below to find out!
Army Loan Repayment
National Guard Loan Repayment
Navy Loan Repayment
Air Force Loan Repayment
GI Bill
The Post 9/11 GI bill grants 36 months of assistance after completing active service. These three months can be used to complete an undergraduate degree. Full-time students are eligible for:
- Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) up to $2,700 based on location and service length
- Up to $1,000 annually for books, depending on enrollment status
- About $19,000 for tuition (Some state requirements are higher or lower)
The GI Bill is best suited to those who are qualified as “in-state” residents. Out-of-state and private school tuition exceeds the annual tuition cap, but may still be possible with the help of scholarships and other financial aid programs for service members. The Yellow Ribbon Program, for example, helps make private and out-of-state education more affordable.
Free or Low-Cost Medical Care
After you’ve left the military, you are eligible for medical benefits through Veteran Affairs hospitals. They will take care of “needed” cares and services that promote, preserve and restore health. The VA determines the level of copayment needed based on what priority group you belong to. There are 8 priority groups, with 1 as the highest priority and 8 as the lowest priority. Depending on your priority group, the VA may also reimburse you for travel costs incurred between your home and their medical facility. The copayment rate for urgent care is currently $30 or less, and specialty tests and care services are $50.
VA Home Loans
VA home loans allow you to buy, build, or refinance a home with down payments as little as $0. They have fantastic rates and financing options and no PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance, a monthly insurance fee charged to protect the bank until you reach at least 20% equity). Most service members who qualify find that VA loans are far superior to other traditional mortgage types. Conventional loans usually require up to 20% down, so not needing a down payment is very advantageous. To be eligible, you need to have served on active duty for at least 90 days (or met other easy-to-achieve benchmarks created for Guard and Reserve members). As of 2020, there are no loan limits for VA loans. Interested? Here’s a helpful article that will assist you in determining how much you qualify for.
Small Business Loans
The office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization helps veterans who own small businesses get information on how to acquire contracts with VA. Since it’s a federal office, the VA is required to put part of its contracts and purchases within small and disadvantaged businesses. VA also promotes business with veterans by encouraging the contracting offices to include veteran-owned contractors in mailings to solicit bids.
The verification process for applicants for Service-Disabled Small Business (SDSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) consists of four stages. Those four stages are: Intake, Assessment, Federal Review, and Decision.
Readjustment Counseling
Readjustment counseling is available to any guard or reserve members who: served in a combat theater, experienced military sexual trauma, provided direct medical care or mortuary services, served as a member of an unmanned aerial vehicle crew that provided support to combat operations, or is a Vietnam-era veteran who accessed care at a Vet Center prior to January 2, 2013, served on active military duty in response to a national emergency/major disaster declared by the president, or are current or former Coast Guard members who participated in a drug interdiction operation.
Services
Individual, group, and family readjustment counseling are available to those who served in a combat theater and include treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They help with other military-related problems that can affect functioning within family, work, school, and other areas of everyday life. They provide outreach, education, medical referral, homeless veteran services, employment, VA benefit referrals, and brokering of non-VA services as well. They also provide sexual trauma counseling to both genders and of any era of military service.
Bereavement Counseling for families of servicemembers who died while on active duty is also available. This includes federally-activated members of the National Guard and Reserve.
Vet Center Combat Call
The Vet Center also has a combat call center (877-WAR-VETS) that combat veterans and their families can call 24/7 to talk about their military experience and other issues they’re facing in readjusting to civilian life. The staff is made up of combat veterans from several eras and their family members. For more information, click here and then click on the tab labeled “Vet Center Call Center.”
Veteran Discounts
Many businesses offer veteran discounts year-round. Here the departments you can find a veteran discount in:
- Automotive
- Car rental
- Clothing/Shoes
- Computer/Electronics/Gaming
- Education
- Entertainment
- Eyewear
- Financial and Insurance
- Fitness
- Flowers/Gifts
- Food
- Health/Beauty
- Home and Garden
- Jewelry
- Miscellaneous
- Restaurants
- Retail
- Service
- Shipping/Storage
- Sporting Goods and Equipment
- Travel and Lodging
- Wireless and Internet
Some of the discounts are lower rates, and some are percentages off. The percentages range from as low as 5% to as high as 50% in some cases. Some involve bonus cash, and others are for complimentary admission. For a comprehensive list of these fantastic year-round deals, click here.
Of course, there are also special benefits offered to veterans for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, including travel discounts and higher percentages. Be sure to check those out, too!
