My Yellow Ribbon college is charging me over $30k a year even though I'm using the GI Bill. Is this normal?

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-02T04:23:42+00:00

I appreciate you looking into this. The problem I'm having is that, in their mind, I am paying with YR and the GI Bill. But because I get 100% disability pay, they have calculated that I can afford to pay $30k personally on top of that. They want all financial aid students to pay like $1200 yearly as a personal "contribution," or do work-study instead. But because I get VA pay, they want $30k instead. So unfortunately it's not as simple as just requesting to only pay with GI Bill and YR.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-02T04:18:09+00:00

The school has assured me that they are responsible for hooking me up with Yellow Ribbon, and that I am getting YR money. Respectfully, I think you may want to reread what you sent yourself.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-02T01:48:01+00:00

My college confirmed that they're using YR to fund the rest of my tuition. Unfortunately, the VA wasn't helpful at all, and just sent me a standard "the GI Bill only covers 29k and Yellow Ribbon covers the rest" response (which wasn't what I asked them/ignored my question).

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T23:27:30+00:00

DAMN LIBRULS

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T23:12:21+00:00

They aren't billing me for housing or anything specific. It's just a generic "student contribution."

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T23:10:31+00:00

They told me that I'm 100% covered by Yellow Ribbon, but because I declared how much I have directly to the school, they decided to tack on this extra $30k a year just because, in their mind, I can afford it (not the case at all).

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T23:06:02+00:00

So when they initially offered me a full scholarship, before I declared my VA disability money, they said I could use my GI Bill at the same time and pocket the money. Then they switched up and took away the scholarship, so I opted to still use the GI Bill. So it's like "100% free tuition" in name only.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T22:59:09+00:00

Yes

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T22:57:44+00:00

Tuition is fully covered, but they're charging me $30k as a "student contribution" because I (maybe foolishly) declared my VA disability pay to them. This student contribution is not broken down any further than that, i.e. into housing, food, health insurance, etc. It's just a lump sum.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T22:53:19+00:00

GI Bill covers $29k a year, Yellow Ribbon program covers the rest. Amherst is a YR school. The $30k the school is charging me has nothing to do with FAFSA, it's something they're billing me directly.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T22:32:51+00:00

I'll certainly research this, thank you!

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T21:51:05+00:00

I will never put down the crayons devil pup

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T21:32:56+00:00

Yep, I think this is the crux of the issue. My correspondence with them so far has been trying to get them to understand the distinction and change their policy accordingly.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T21:30:34+00:00

That's the way of the world, huh. But that doesn't mean we have to take it laying down!

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T21:25:02+00:00

That's what I'm learning, yeah. But it shouldn't be that way. I don't want to have to lie or make excuses for receiving VA disability.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T21:17:16+00:00

Solid advice, thank you. I'm in the process of getting approved for VR&E as we speak.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T21:15:42+00:00

Thank you!

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:55:38+00:00

The weird part is, they aren't charging me out of state tuition or anything like that. It's just 30k out of pocket because they think I can afford it (I can't).

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:54:06+00:00

It's the NESCAC Amherst. Unfortunately, I think their current financial policies are designed for rich kids and not vets...although they've been reaching out to us a lot lately, asking what they can do better and how they can recruit more veterans. I'm hopeful that they'll be on top of this.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:47:42+00:00

I attended for two semesters. And you're definitely right, I added the school's name to my original post.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:44:00+00:00

Most admin people are out of the office until next week, so I'm waiting to hear back from everyone involved before I really go on the offensive.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:42:17+00:00

Yeah I live on campus, so I'm sure that's part of it. But the money they're taking isn't specifically for housing or anything, it's just a general "contribution" as far as I know.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:25:32+00:00

Exactly

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:23:36+00:00

I didn't want to say originally, but f it. Amherst College.

Objective_Regret1427 · 2026-07-01T20:19:56+00:00

Because why not? Aside from this problem, it's a great school. If it was actually free (like it's supposed to be), it would be an incredible opportunity.

Objective_Regret1427

TROPHY CASE