by our College Data Analytics TeamWondering what the G.I. Bill® actually covers at Cedar Crest? Coverage is not unlimited and varies school to school, so the fine print is worth checking.
Below is the gap between the Post-9/11 tuition benefit and the cost at Cedar Crest. Living-expense and book benefits are addressed in their own sections below.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Veteran tuition & fees | $44,934 |
| Guaranteed Post-9/11 tuition benefit | $20,235 |
| Tuition out of pocket | $24,699 |
The Post-9/11 GI Bill® caps the annual tuition benefit (about $20,235), so the tuition above that is a gap veterans must cover through Yellow Ribbon, savings, or other aid at Cedar Crest.
Cedar Crest College is a Yellow Ribbon school: the institution and the VA jointly fund tuition that exceeds the GI Bill® cap. Roughly 10 students used Yellow Ribbon benefits here in the latest reporting year.
Available Yellow Ribbon seats and maximum contributions differ by program and degree level — check with the veteran services office for current limits.
Active-duty service members using DoD Tuition Assistance are capped at $250 per credit hour. The chart below shows whether the per-credit charge at Cedar Crest falls under that cap.
| Residency | Per-credit charge | Below $250 cap? |
|---|---|---|
| In-state | $350 |  |
| Out-of-state | $350 | |
Beyond tuition, the Post-9/11 GI Bill® pays a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) while you are enrolled. The table compares the housing benefit to estimated living expenses at Cedar Crest.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Estimated living expenses (room & board, academic year) | $13,001 |
| Post-9/11 monthly housing allowance (MHA) | $2,400/mo |
| Housing benefit (academic year, ~8 months) | $19,200 |
| Estimated surplus in your pocket | $6,199 |
The benefit generally more than covers off-campus living costs here. The MHA is based on the school’s ZIP code and is paid at the full-time rate for resident students.
Eligible veterans receive up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies; Cedar Crest estimates these costs at about $3,000, leaving about $2,000 out of pocket.
These figures show the GI Bill® and DoD Tuition Assistance dollars veterans and service members actually used at Cedar Crest.
In the latest reporting year, about 21 Post-9/11 recipients used tuition benefits worth $372,279.
| Benefit | Recipients | Total disbursed | Average / recipient |
|---|---|---|---|
| GI Bill® (all students) | 11 | $186,234 | $16,930 |
| GI Bill® — undergraduate | 9 | $178,666 | — |
| GI Bill® — graduate | 2 | $7,568 | — |
| DoD Tuition Assistance (all) | 0 | $0 | — |
| DoD TA — undergraduate | 0 | $0 | — |
| DoD TA — graduate | 0 | $0 | — |
GI Bill® benefits follow the veteran; DoD Tuition Assistance is an active-duty benefit paid while serving.
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.