Look at the Thailand schools and then webster thailand. Webster gets the full VA rate and yellow ribbon backing, you get shorted 1509 to 1284 a month. I will have to attend summer school just to stay a float!
inpain2424
I know. This is why I crossed off Webster U from my short list.
Especially after I wrote them, called them on this (and other issues), and got such a "NON-answer" back from them.
PLUS, along with the low, unlivable overseas stipend rate Webster U offers, the GI Bill doesn't/won't cover all their tuition, either. There's a shortfall of over 3,500 bucks a year. Multiply that by 4 years!
When I called them on this, I never got a firm answer on whether or not the Yellow Ribbon would cover this 3,500 if I attended one of their "overseas" locations. They said they have Yellow Ribbon for St. Louis, but never answered my overseas location question.
It seems like they get their money from YOUR GI Bill - but can't be bothered to do anything to better this inequity on the stipend rate they offer.
And Webster never did get back to me with an answer on if I would need to cover down (float a student loan) on that annual 3,500 dollar tuition shortfall (multiply that times 4 years!).
The meta-message is this:
They get their money from YOUR GI Bill education blank check - and they get their MAXIMUM off of YOUR GI Bill (they eat BIG at the VA trough) - and then to ell with you!
Go float a loan for you tuition overage and then go live on air with your stipend!
That's the impression I got left with from Webster U.
Sorry, but I don't come from a family that has "Disneyland Daddy Dollars" that can back my a$$ up, so it's student loans for me.
I trust - but I verify.
So because big, fat, piggy Webster U came up sorely lacking in my pocket book, I had no choice but to cross them off of my short list.
**********
I hope to be in SE Asia in about 18 months. I'm still in the IRS maze of clearing the deck with them and want to be absolutely free and clear of all major governmental encumbrances prior to departure.
SE Asia is where I need to go right now. (I have a crazy plan up my sleeve and I need to have a 3-stage plan for the next 10 years). My education is phase I of III.
So....
When I look at the dollars and (sense, too) of this GI Bill deal, my first priority beyond my education major is affordability and how to avoid taking on more education debt. (I had ed debt 20 years ago and it took me 10 years to pay it off. NEVER AGAIN!)
Another factor I look at is goods and services - the infrastructure I will or may need to utilize while attending school in a foreign country - my education host nation.
Health care insurance is a basic requirement needed for long-term stays in foreign countries. Most countries will not issue you a student VISA unless you have health care insurance and can prove it.
This is WHY Tricare is so valuable as it has 90% world-wide portability and opens up the door to a Student VISA to most foreign countries around the world.
I do not have to go out and buy an expensive health care insurance package. I may only need to pick up a supplemental policy that covers Medical evacuation back to the States or repatriation of my remains or something like that.
Another thing I ask myself:
What are the costs of these goods and services to me once I'm there and in school? Is the host nation I'm in and going to school in - is their health care system adequate for my basic health care needs? Can I afford to pay out-of-pocket for all my health care and then wait months on end for Tricare to reimburse me? Are my pockets deep enough for this - are my personal reserves deep enough? Is my "host nation" health care system up-front costs affordable to me?
How about the dental and optical and pharmacological issues that can arise along with the medical?
**** Can or will my GI Bill stipend rate cover down on the bare-bone basics of basic food, basic clothing, basic shelter, basic utilities, basic internet, and basic transportation costs to and from my school?
If not, as a student on a student VISA in my host country, am I allowed to work part-time in my host country?
IF AUTHORIZED (many nations won't let you work), then am I able to work AND keep up my grades all at the same time? Do I want to take on a 60-hour week with full-time school, study, exams, papers to research/write and work?
This is why I suggested Touro College if you are interested taking your international education in Europe (Berlin, GE or Paris, FR).
Providing it has the degree program you're searching for, it at least offers a "living stipend" that will cover the basics, so you won't have a 60-hour work week with school and job (if allowed).
With a "living stipend", you will be able to concentrate your mind and focus your energy on WHY you're there to begin with - TO STUDY AND GET AN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION.
And hopefully, BRING THIS BACK TO AMERICA AND BE A PART OF MAKING US A BETTER NATION AND NEIGHBOR.
With a "living stipend", you won't have that nagging weight of financial worry dragging down your future with student loan debts - you won't need those "bankster" loans.
You'll be able to maintain your future's income and occupational flexibility and you'll have more creative options and choices for your future life's work because you WON'T have big education debt staring you in the eyeball every month for years on end. There will be more options on your menu.
I know this from first-hand experience.
**********
Anyway, I'm closing for now.
But if I can help you in your information search - let me know.
I am pleased to read you want to use your GI Bill and get maximum benefit from it.
I stand with you!
V/R,
nwlivewire