The G.I. Bill covers the cost of a private college education to the tune of $17,500 per year, according to the Stars and Stripes. KPBS reporter Alison St John attended a jobs fair yesterday at Camp Pendleton, and discovered what I found to be a surprising consequence of the G.I. Bill: for-profit colleges outnumbered the number of employers at the jobs expo. Schools like the Art Institute were attempting to woo veterans and active troops with classes in culinary arts and interior design. Alison tells me since most of the 700 attendees at the job fair were in their 40s and 50s, not many of them were interested in talking with the for-profit schools. Click here to listen to Alison's story.
The New York Times reported last year how 36 percent of G.I. Bill funds went to for-profit college tuition. Congress made some changes to the G.I. Bill recently to prevent abuses by for-profit schools. But based on the for-profit colleges' attendance yesterday at the jobs fair, it sounds like the schools are still very interested in G.I. Bill money.
