New GI Bill Gives Veterans Better Shot at College

Vastly expanded aid begins tomorrow
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 31, 2009 12:48 PM CDT
New GI Bill Gives Veterans Better Shot at College
Senators speak during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Feb. 28, 2008, where they expressed their support for a new GI Bill.    (AP Photo)

The new GI Bill, called the biggest veterans’ educational benefit program since 1944, takes effect tomorrow—and it’s poised to make a big difference, the Houston Chronicle reports. Some 90% of vets will receive two to three times more help paying for college, says one advocate. “This type of investment is going to build the next Greatest Generation.” Half a million are likely to start school in the fall.

Under the earlier bill, “though the recruiting posters said, ‘join the military and we’ll pay for college,’ most people didn't read the big asterisk next to it,” the advocate adds. “What that meant was that people went to community college and the average veteran didn’t finish a 4-year degree. This new GI Bill offers veterans a choice.” (More GI Bill stories.)

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