Most advice about choosing a college was written for eighteen-year-olds with parents. You are older, you are paying with a benefit you earned, and there is an industry built specifically around separating you from it. This page is about that.
Why they called you
If a school contacted you first — a call after you separated, an ad that followed you around, a "veterans admissions counselor" who was unusually keen — understand the economics behind it.
A rule known as 90/10 limits how much of a for-profit school’s revenue can come from federal student aid. For years GI Bill money was counted on the other side of that line, which made a veteran worth far more to such a school than an ordinary student — and that is why veterans got the phone calls.
That loophole closed on January 1, 2023. Veterans’ education benefits now count as federal money like any other, so the particular incentive to chase you is gone. Treat heavy recruitment as a reason to look harder at a school rather than as proof of anything, and judge it on what its own page here shows: how many veterans are enrolled, what it charges, and whether VA has flagged it.
The practical version: a school that recruits you is selling. A school you sought out is not. Treat the two differently.
The five things to check
1. Accreditation, and which kind
Institutional accreditation comes in two broad kinds, and credits from one often will not transfer into the other. If there is any chance you will move schools, finish elsewhere, or go on to graduate study, check what your credits are worth outside the building. Ask the school you might transfer to, not the one you’re leaving.
2. What happens to people like you
Graduation rate, and loan default rate. Both are public. A school where most students leave with debt and no degree is telling you something about itself, and the reassuring explanation the admissions office gives is also given to everyone else.
3. Whether the credential is actually required
For some fields the degree is the license and there is no way around it. For others the employer cares about a certification that costs a fraction as much and takes months rather than years. Work out which one you’re in before you spend four years of benefit on it. Your benefit does not refill.
4. What they do with your military training
Ask specifically: how many credits will you grant for my service, for my school certificates, and for CLEP or DSST exams? Get the answer in writing before enrolling, not after. The difference between schools is routinely a full year. More on this.
5. Whether the veterans office is real
Call it. A good one has someone who certifies enrollment every term, knows the Yellow Ribbon agreement by heart, and tells you plainly what the school will not cover. If you reach a voicemail that nobody returns, that is your answer about what term four will be like.
Questions that get honest answers
- What will I owe after all benefits, per year, in writing?
- What percentage of students who start this program finish it?
- Where do your graduates actually work? Name three.
- Will my credits transfer to [a nearby public university]? Have you checked with them?
- What happens to my enrollment if VA is late paying?
A school that answers these plainly is worth your time. A school that redirects to how quickly you could start is answering a different question.
Two tools worth using
VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool shows approval status, Yellow Ribbon participation and complaints filed against a school. The Education Department’s College Scorecard shows cost, graduation and what graduates earn.
Neither is run by anyone selling you a seat, which is what makes them worth more than any ranking.
Free to use — for veterans, active duty, spouses and families.
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