Published:
College Scholarships Available for U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
NEW YORK, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- College scholarship
money is now available for veterans of theIraq andAfghanistan war theaters
to offset the severe limitations of the current GI Bill. The Fund for
Veterans' Education (FVE) is providing this need-based financial assistance to
close the gap between GI Bill benefits and actual higher education costs to
veterans from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces who served inAfghanistan
orIraq since September 11, 2001 and who are currently enrolled or will be
enrolling in a public or private college or university or a
vocational-technical school.
The FVE was founded by legendary financier Jerome Kohlberg, a World War II
veteran who benefited from the original GI Bill of 1944, which at the time,
fully paid for a U.S. veteran's higher educational pursuits. This paved the
way for his very successful career; he became a pioneer in the investments
industry as the senior founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts & Co.
Launched in 2007, the FVE has already awarded scholarships to 96 veterans
-- at least one from every state, theDistrict of Columbia, and the U.S.
territories -- for the '07-'08 terms. The goal is to award 1,000 scholarships
over the next three years.
"The current GI Bill is depriving far too many of our troops returning
from theIraq andAfghanistan conflicts of the same educational opportunities
that I and some eight million other Americans so greatly benefited from," said
Mr. Kohlberg, who has committed $8 million to the FVE. "Our program should
serve as a model for what the government must do for this new generation of
veterans."
The FVE is now accepting applications for veterans who are interested in
receiving scholarship funding for the fall 2008 and spring 2009 terms. The
deadline to submit an application is June 15th and the names of the new
recipients will be announced in mid-August.
Under the current GI Bill, the maximum educational benefit available to
veterans ofIraq andAfghanistan is just $1,101 a month, or $39,636 over four
years. On average, returning veterans receive only slightly over $6,000 a
year. Those veterans who served combat tours with the National Guard or
Reserves are eligible for even less -- typically just $440 a month. There is
an initial non-refundable buy-in cost to the troops of $1,200 to be eligible
for the GI Bill. If the benefits are not used, this "combat tax" is lost to
the veterans, resulting in some $230 million going into the government
coffers, rather than back to the veterans. In addition, benefits used under
the GI Bill count against eligibility for federal student aid, with such
support reduced if veterans receive any GI Bill funds. And there is a 10-year
limit on assistance from current education benefits.
The FVE is being administered by Scholarship America, the largest
non-profit private sector scholarship and educational support organization.
Scholarship America is administering the new Fund for Veterans' Education.
Veterans who are interested in applying for FVE scholarships should visit
www.VeteransEducationFund.org or www.scholarshipamerica.org.
SOURCE Fund for Veterans' Education
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Copyright © 2009, NewsBlaze,
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