Recently the US News and World Report came out with their 2018/2019 best colleges lists. One of those lists was the Best Colleges for Veterans.
The Methodology
To make the best list for veterans, the school had to meet all four of the following criteria:
- Certified by the VA to accept the GI Bill
- Participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program or be a public school that charges in-state tuition to non-resident veterans
- Must have a veteran or active duty service member student population of at least 20 students
- Must be in the top half of the Best Colleges rankings
The Ranking
While there were 102 colleges and universities total in the complete list, here are the top 20 ranked schools (in order) meeting all four criteria:
| RANKING |
SCHOOL |
LOCATION |
TUITON/FEES |
| 1 | Stanford University | Stanford, CA | $51,354 |
| 2 | Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | $55,035 |
| 3 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | $55,188 |
| 4 | University of California | Los Angeles, CA | $13,280 |
| 5* | Georgetown University | Washington, D.C | $54,104 |
| 5* | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | $56,225 |
| 7* | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | $55,465 |
| 7* | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | $17,350 |
| 9 | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | $15,262 |
| 10* | New York University | New York, NY | $51,828 |
| 10* | University of California | Santa Barbara, CA | $14,472 |
| 10* | University of North Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC | $8,986 |
| 13* | University of California | Irvine, CA | $15,516 |
| 13* | University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | $53,926 |
| 15 | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA | $12.424 |
| 16* | College of William and Mary | Williamsburg, VA | $21,830 |
| 16* | University of California | Davis, CA | $14,463 |
| 18 | Boston University | Boston, MA | $18,080 |
| 19 | Tulane University | New Orleans, LA | $54,820 |
| 20* | Pepperdine University | Malibu, CA | $53,932 |
| 20* | University of Georgia | Athens, GA | $11,830 |
| NOTE: * = Tied with another school at that list position | |||
The GI Bill
One of the criteria to make this list was accepting the GI Bill. If using the Post 9/11 GI Bill, it pays up to 100% of the in-state resident tuition and fees at public schools. However, for private schools, it pays up to $23,671.94 per year (2018/2019 rate). The Post 9/11 GI Bill also pays a monthly housing allowance based on the school’s location and up to $1,000 per year in a book stipend.
Yellow Ribbon Program
The difference between what the Post 9/11 GI Bill pays and what the school charges could be offset by the school’s Yellow Ribbon Program (YR) – another one of the criteria. Depending on the school’s YR Agreement, it could waiver up to 50% of the difference with the VA paying an equal amount (on top of the amount it already paid).
Or the school could have agreed to pay a lesser percentage in which case the VA would also pay less, and the difference left would have to be paid either out-of-pocket or with other funds such as scholarships or grants.
Also, depending on how a particular school tailors their YR program, the number of students they accept into the program can greatly vary from only a few to unlimited. Other variables include the maximum amount paid per student per year and the degree level and the division or school covered. Sometimes only a particular campus of a multi-campus school is covered by their YR. Look for a comparison of YR programs for undergraduates of the schools on this list in an upcoming article.
As you can see, there are many different options as far as choice of location and tuition and fee rates in just these 20 ranked schools – let alone the whole 102-ranked in the complete list. The list in this article can help you sort out which schools may be right for you. If not, look at the complete list for veterans for more schools.
