Veterans Borrow for Private and Public Higher Education Despite GI Bill Benefits
Richa Bhattarai, Scott Brees & Phillip Oliff
January 19, 2023
Survey data shows those at public schools received 52% of veteran undergraduate student loan dollars
Many military veterans borrow to pay for college despite having access to the robust Post-9/11 GI Bill. Much of the current policy discussion about this student loan debt has focused on borrowing at for-profit schools, but just more than half of the total amount of loans taken out by prior-enlisted undergraduate veterans goes to those attending public institutions, according to a survey done for The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Although problems at for-profit institutions have grabbed headlines because of allegations that the schools defrauded borrowers or led some student veterans to unknowingly acquire student loan debt, the nationally representative survey of more than 3,180 veterans indicates that the issues are broader and more nuanced.
