The Yellow Ribbon Program, also known as the "Yellow Ribbon G.I. Education Enhancement Program", is a prerequisite of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. This program allows colleges and universities that grant degrees help qualifying veterans pay tuition costs, and it exceeds the G.I. Bill's usual cap for graduate, private or out-of-state institutions.
With the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill alone, there is a ceiling placed on the amount of funding available to the student - which is the current fee charged by the most expensive undergraduate public institution in the veteran's state of residence. With this program alone, post-9/11 veterans attending graduate school or an out-of-state school or a private college will most likely not have all of their tuition covered by their benefits. This is where the Yellow Ribbon Program comes to the rescue.
Under the Yellow Ribbon agreement, participating colleges and universities can volunteer to pay up to 50% of the veteran's tuition and fees, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will match them to the dollar. So veterans attending a school that participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program could conceivably get their degree at no charge - because up to 100% of the tuition could be covered. To add even more value, tuition is reimbursed even if it is greater than the cap set by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.
As one would expect, the qualifications to be eligible for this program are very strict. To be eligible, a veteran must be entitled to the maximum G.I. Bill benefit. This means that they must have served an aggregate period of at least 36 months of active duty after September 10th, 2001, or they must have served a continuous 30 days after September 10th, 2001 and have been honorably discharged from active duty due to a service-related disability.
Unfortunately, not all colleges and universities participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program, so veterans will need to seek out those who do currently participate. With the recent increase in education-related news, and the governmental push for more people to work toward higher education, now is the time for our commendable veterans to take advantage of this incredible opportunity.
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There are a few places online to see the lists of participating Yellow Ribbon schools. You can find a list of these colleges and universities ranked by U.S. News and World Report at their University Directory here – Yellow Ribbon Schools.
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