by our College Data Analytics TeamWill you go to American River for free thanks to the G.I. Bill®? GI Bill® benefits are limited and differ by school, so the specifics matter.
Below is the gap between the Post-9/11 tuition benefit and the cost at American River. Living-expense and book benefits are addressed in their own sections below.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Veteran tuition & fees | $1,288 |
| Guaranteed Post-9/11 tuition benefit | $1,288 |
| Tuition out of pocket | $0 |
Tuition and fees here fall within the annual Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefit, so eligible veterans typically owe nothing toward tuition at American River.
Federal data does not indicate that American River currently participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Contact the veteran services office to confirm whether any programs offer Yellow Ribbon matching.
DoD Tuition Assistance pays up to $250 per credit hour for active-duty students; here is how the per-credit charge at American River compares.
| Residency | Per-credit charge | Below $250 cap? |
|---|---|---|
| In-state | $40 |  |
| Out-of-state | $40 | |
On top of tuition, the Post-9/11 GI Bill® provides a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) for the months you are in school. Below, the academic-year housing benefit is set against the estimated living costs at American River.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Estimated living expenses (room & board, academic year) | $21,474 |
| Post-9/11 monthly housing allowance (MHA) | $2,997/mo |
| Housing benefit (academic year, ~8 months) | $23,976 |
| Estimated surplus in your pocket | $2,502 |
At this school the academic-year housing benefit exceeds typical living costs, so most full-time students come out ahead. The MHA is based on the school’s ZIP code and is paid at the full-time rate for resident students.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill® pays a books-and-supplies stipend of up to $1,000 per year. Estimated book and supply costs at American River run about $1,152, leaving about $152 out of pocket.
This is the real volume of GI Bill® and military tuition benefits paid out at American River.
In the latest reporting year, about 256 Post-9/11 recipients used tuition benefits worth $101,916.
| Benefit | Recipients | Total disbursed | Average / recipient |
|---|---|---|---|
| GI Bill® (all students) | 0 | $0 | — |
| GI Bill® — undergraduate | 0 | $0 | — |
| DoD Tuition Assistance (all) | 0 | $0 | — |
| DoD TA — undergraduate | 0 | $0 | — |
These are federal education benefits — the Post-9/11 GI Bill® for veterans and DoD Tuition Assistance for active-duty members.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at benefits.va.gov/gibill.