Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Besides the GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program, some of the top universities and colleges in the nation have endowments just for veterans. These can help fund Yellow Ribbon scholarships, but can also offer resources and programs specific to veteran students.
As an example, New York University’s Stern School of Business has the Fertitta Veterans program, funded through a $15 million endowment. This endowment not only helps cover the costs of approximately 25 veterans per year to attend Stern, but also includes a special program prior to the start of the first year to help those veterans start business school on the right academic footing. Additionally, the program provides them unique networking opportunities and helps them prepare for careers after graduation.
While evaluating how to fund education in conjunction with the GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program, understanding the opportunities that veteran-specific endowments can offer vets can help significantly in deciding on schools. There are lots of scholarships out there for veterans and their families, but these top universities for veterans stand out for having an endowment specific to not only funding educational expenses but providing programs and resources to assist veterans while at school.
School: Brown University
Name of Endowment: N/A
Amount: Goal of $25 million
What it funds: On Veteran’s Day 2019, Brown made some big-time announcements that demonstrated their effort to be a top university for veterans. First, they announced that they will consider all veterans on a need-blind basis, meaning that a veteran’s ability to pay tuition and fees will not be considered. Secondly, they decided to drastically increase their financial support, resulting in the full elimination of all out-of-pocket costs toward undergraduate tuition and fees for student veterans AND their dependents. To make the admissions process easier, they also decided to remove the requirement for standardized test scores for veterans. Realizing that the average veteran undergrad is years removed from high school when they may have taken these tests, Brown decided to remove this requirement. Brown is also a VetLink school in partnership with Service to School, aimed at bringing strong military talent to top undergraduate schools.
School: Syracuse University
Name of Endowment: Veteran Legacy Fund
Amount: Unavailable
What it funds: Syracuse talks the talk and walks the walk when it comes to supporting veterans. The Veteran Legacy Fund provides scholarships and resources to help veteran students at Syracuse. Beyond the fund, the school also hosts the Institute for Veterans and Military Families which provides veteran-specific programs (including free PMP certification education) and conducts research specific to the military community.
School: Vanderbilt University
Name of Program: Bass Military Scholars
Amount: $25 million
What it funds: Located near Fort Campbell, Vanderbilt can be a top university choice for many veterans. The Bass Military Scholars programs provides scholarships of $25,000 to veterans at Vanderbilt’s law, medicine, nursing, MBA, and teaching schools. Scholarship recipients also participate in exchanges and events aimed at strengthening the ties between veterans and civilians and sharing military values outside of the veteran community.
School: New York University Stern School of Business
Name of Program: Fertitta Veterans Program
Amount: $15 million
What it funds: Thanks to a generous $15 million donation from two alumni (who were also brothers), the school has a war chest specifically for vets. Around 25 vets are selected each year to receive scholarships, bringing their cost of attendance down to a flat $30 k/year. With the GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program also kicking in, this means if you are 100% eligible for GI Bill benefits a Stern MBA comes at no cost. Also included is the Fertitta summer program, which brings vets in the summer before class starts to get an early start on selected coursework, access career programming with corporations and alumni, engage with veteran alumni mentors, and meet their fellow classmates.
School: University of Missouri
Name of Endowment: Mizzou Military Veterans Endowment Fund
Amount: Unavailable
What it funds: The fund is used to provide scholarships to military veterans and also to support the Veteran’s Center. This facility is a resource center for veterans and their families attending the University of Missouri.
School: University of Kansas
Name of Endowment: N/A
Amount: Unavailable
What it funds: No surprise that KU has strong support for veterans given the proximity to Fort Leavenworth–this has long been a top university for veterans. Besides funding scholarships for veterans, the endowment also funds the 3,000 square foot Military Affiliated Student Center to provide programs and resources to veterans and their families.
School: North Carolina State University
Name of Endowment: Jeffrey D. Wright Veterans Resource Endowment
Amount: Initial funding of $250k with a match of up to $100k by Jeffrey D. Wright
What it funds: With multiple military bases in the state, including Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina schools are top universities for many veterans. This endowment, started by an NC State alum who made his fortune as an investment banker in Silicon Valley, is aimed at funding recruitment, orientation, community engagement, and alumni relations. Already the Military Veterans Services has seen success with the Student Veteran Summitt during orientation and “Green Zone Training” aimed at providing faculty and staff a two-hour course about the unique challenges veteran students can face.
School: San Diego State University
Name of Program: N/A
Amount: $1 million
What it funds: San Diego is not just a military-friendly city — it’s a military proud city. With a Navy presence right in the city and Camp Pendleton not too far away, San Diego is a metropolitan city with a unique military flavor. With this endowment provided by Joan and Art Barron, a navy veteran, they are able to fund The Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center to provide support and resources to the numerous veterans at San Diego State University.
School: University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Name of endowment: Harper Family Foundation Endowment
Amount: $10 million
What it funds: While there is no specific program tied with this beyond financial support to veterans, the amount makes this a significant contribution to student veterans. The University of Chicago is one of the best universities in the country and this helps their business school be a top university choice for veterans seeking a graduate business education.
Related:
Military to MBA (Part 1/7): Is It for You?
Military to Medical School: Ralph Bogan
Veteran Pathway to the State Department
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