Northern Illinois University G.I. Bill® Tuition Assistance

Will you go to NIU for free thanks to the G.I. Bill®? GI Bill® benefits are limited and differ by school, so the specifics matter.

$12,700 Veteran Tuition & Fees

$12,700 Guaranteed Post-9/11 Benefit

$0 Tuition Out of Pocket

Veteran Cost Summary
Tuition Coverage
Yellow Ribbon Participation
Per-Credit Fees & the Active-Duty Cap
Living Expense Coverage
Books & Supplies Coverage
GI Bill & DoD Benefits Used Here
References

At Northern Illinois University, the GI Bill Covers Veteran Tuition in Full

Here is how the Post-9/11 GI Bill® tuition benefit stacks up against the published cost of attending NIU. Living-expense and book benefits are addressed in their own sections below.

Item	Amount
Veteran tuition & fees	$12,700
Guaranteed Post-9/11 tuition benefit	$12,700
Tuition out of pocket	$0

Public College Tuition Covered in Full by the Post-9/11 GI Bill®

At public institutions the Post-9/11 GI Bill® pays in-state tuition and fees in full, meaning most eligible veterans pay no tuition at NIU.

Yellow Ribbon Participation Unconfirmed

Federal data does not indicate that NIU currently participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Check directly with the school, since participation can change year to year.

Per-Credit Charges vs. the $250 Tuition Assistance Cap

DoD Tuition Assistance pays up to $250 per credit hour for active-duty students; here is how the per-credit charge at NIU compares.

Residency	Per-credit charge	Below $250 cap?
In-state	$222
Out-of-state	$222

Monthly Housing Allowance for Veterans

On top of tuition, the Post-9/11 GI Bill® provides a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) for the months you are in school. Here is how that benefit compares to the estimated cost of living at NIU.

Item	Amount
Estimated living expenses (room & board, academic year)	$12,800
Post-9/11 monthly housing allowance (MHA)	$2,163/mo
Housing benefit (academic year, ~8 months)	$17,304
Estimated surplus in your pocket	$4,504

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.

Your Books and Supplies Are Likely Covered

With a Post-9/11 book stipend of up to $1,000 per year, the estimated $1,300 in supply costs at NIU, leaving about $300 out of pocket.

GI Bill® and Tuition Assistance Paid at Northern Illinois University

These figures show the GI Bill® and DoD Tuition Assistance dollars veterans and service members actually used at NIU.

Roughly 176 veterans received Post-9/11 GI Bill® tuition payments of $1,571,198.

Benefit	Recipients	Total disbursed	Average / recipient
GI Bill® (all students)	154	$1,437,691	$9,336
GI Bill® — undergraduate	111	$881,333	—
GI Bill® — graduate	43	$556,358	—
DoD Tuition Assistance (all)	5	$6,750	$1,350
DoD TA — undergraduate	4	$5,000	—
DoD TA — graduate	1	$1,750	—

These are federal education benefits — the Post-9/11 GI Bill® for veterans and DoD Tuition Assistance for active-duty members.

Helpful Veteran Links

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.