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GI Bill limits vets' schooling options

BY MARTIN C. EVANS | martin.evans@newsday.com; Staff writer Kristin Daum contr

May 9, 2008

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Oswald Angulo, 28, once hoped to attend undergraduate school at New York University - tuition and room and board total $52,200 per year - then go on for a PhD in biotechnology.

But the former Marine, who is studying liberal arts at Nassau Community College, said the GI Bill covers so little of today's education costs that private colleges and universities are off-limits for most veterans who joined the military to fund college careers.

"Personally, I don't have many options," said Angulo, who has been living with his parents in Hollis, Queens. "For now, I only see a future in community or state-funded colleges."

He said his childhood best friend has decided to put off his schooling altogether after serving in the Marines. Instead, his friend works as a cook at a Port Washington restaurant so he can save toward the $33,000 per year it would cost to attend the Culinary Institute of America.

"Right now, you're lucky to get a bachelor's degree on the GI Bill," Angulo said. "And the way the job market is now, you need more than a bachelor's degree."

When Toros Asadourian joined the U.S. military after finishing high school, he signed over $150 per month of his paycheck for a year to make him eligible for GI Bill benefits to pay his way through college.

Now, the 23-year-old Navy veteran sleeps on the couch at his parents' home in Woodside, Queens, to save on rent and cuts corners on other expenses so he can pay for classes at Nassau Community College.

He said the $1,251 per month he receives in GI Bill benefits during the school year covers the cost of tuition and books at the two-year college, where tuition for noncounty residents is $3,434 per semester. But he said it falls far short of paying for housing, commuting and other expenses related to his education.

Asadourian, a former submarine machinist mate now studying information technology, plans to transfer in September to St. Joseph's University, a private college near Philadelphia. But he will only have enough money for part-time night school, meaning it will take him an extra year to earn a bachelor's degree there.

"I'm grateful that I have it, but would I like to see it cover what it did for our fathers and grandfathers, sure," said Asadourian, who estimates he'll be as much as $80,000 in debt by the time he transfers to a four-year college and completes a bachelor's degree.

Staff writer Kristin Daum contributed to this story.

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