In “College Finances for Military Families,” author and financial educator Kate Horrell offers applicable college advice regardless of your financial situation or your kid’s dreams. Many families pick a college and commit to it without understanding the full costs or how they will pay. Start saving for college as soon as you’re aware of the need to do so, Horrell advises, and double-check your benefits. She asks each client to first ensure their eligibility for the GI Bill, and if transferring, triple-check that the transfer is complete on MilConnect.
Horrell has five tips that military families should keep in mind when discussing college finances:
Look at finances holistically
Splitting the GI Bill between kids is rarely the most advantageous way. Horrell recommends putting all your college resources — savings, benefits and scholarships — into one big “bucket,” and then look at costs. It might save families more money overall to use the benefits at a more expensive school. Or one child might receive a full scholarship, which would free up funds to be used elsewhere. Look at everything altogether, and then decide how to allocate.
Get on the same page
Talk with your kids about their career aspirations, dream schools and your family’s overall financial plan for college. Horrell suggests planting the seed that this is a family project, and family money may need to be moved around for the biggest savings. Help them understand that they are part of the bigger picture.
Consider ‘financial fit’
Horrell considers “financial fit” just as important as social and academic fits for students. Factor in all four years of obtaining a degree and make sure your family can afford it; don’t look at only the first year and then assume you’ll figure it out from there. That can leave your student in the dangerous position of having used the benefits without obtaining the degree.
You don’t know unless you apply (and ask!)
Don’t rule out a dream school based on cost alone — their financial aid offer may make it the more affordable option, and you’ll never know unless your student applies (though do manage expectations if a dream school would be unaffordable without scholarships). Use an online comparison tool to compare costs. Every school also allocates benefits differently. One of Horrell’s pro tips is to call each financial aid office to clarify award terms, then follow up with an e-mail to create a written record of what you were told.
Understand the benefits
One confusion is often the Yellow Ribbon Program, which covers many costs but only works while you’re using the GI Bill. “If the post-9/11 GI Bill is a motorcycle, the Yellow Ribbon Program is the sidecar,” Horrell writes. “The Yellow Ribbon Program doesn’t stand alone.” She also offers resources to familiarize families with in-state benefits and scholarships on offer.
“Every family has a unique situation, and every school does things differently,” Horrell said. “Your neighbors might be looking at different schools, another family might have grandparents chipping in.” Make the choice based on what’s right for your family.
With that in mind, Horrell sometimes advises that it might make more sense for the parent to use the GI Bill to further their own education and income. If the benefit will allow you to make a significantly higher salary, it may make better financial sense for the parent to use it and then save more for college. She also cautions readers to be sure to save for retirement first. “You can always find another way to pay for college,” she writes. “You can’t always find another way to pay for retirement.”
Ready to learn more? “College Finances for Military Families” is available on Amazon.
