Though recent cuts to the GI Bill have limited their academic options, returning troops are finding ways to offset the exorbitant costs of an Ivy League education, the Huffington Post reports. Up until January, the revamped GI Bill paid for the full tuition at public two- and four-year schools for those who had served for a minimum of three years since Sept. 11, 2001. But recent cuts to that program capped tuition at $17,500, threatening to take away the opportunity to study in the hallowed halls of prestigious institutions, like Columbia University. Cameron Baker, an Air Force veteran, was already enrolled at Columbia when the cuts were made. He feared that he would have to transfer out.
“I come from a very low socio-economic background,” Baker told the Huffington Post back in April. “My family can’t afford to help me out. I mean, at this point, I’m the one who’s supposed to be helping them out.”