GI Bill and in-state tuition rates

I was just reading on another thread and thought I should make a post since this is really a big deal.

You should know that if you give your children even a portion of your GI Bill many state schools will hold in-state tuition rates even if you have no claim to residency in that state as a family and even AFTER they have spent their portion. For example, my husband gave my older son about a year of GI Bill. We live on the east coast. He goes to the University of Colorado in Boulder. He used his portion and now as long as he is continuously enrolled, they are holding the in-state tuition rate for the rest of his degree (he’s actually applying now for a 5 year masters and they will hold the tuition for that too since he is continuously enrolled!).

I’d say about half of the states do this- and it opens up AMAZING schools all over the country and saves literally tens of thousands of dollars- not with the GI Bill itself, but THROUGH its use.

So as you are calculating how to manage college for your children who will have portions of a GI Bill, this should be in the mix, and high up on your list of priorities. My kid is loving life and literally skiing (thanks military Epic ski pass!) his way through an amazing degree in an amazing school that we could have never afforded out of state rates. Lots of others too- from Ole Miss to CalState, Rutgers and Penn State to UMich- and all the smaller state schools in these systems too if the flagships are not for them. Honestly, dollar for dollar and kid happiness and academic fit, this dimension of GI Bill use is potentially worth more than the GI Bill itself.

As for further finance- this plus 12 years of 529 savings and we will get two kids through college debt free on one GI Bill.