Army Promotes College Aid Plan for New Recruits
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NEW YORK — With all the talk of cuts in federal student aid, TV viewers may be surprised by a new commercial featuring a high school student relieved that, thanks to Washington, his college tuition worries are over.
The not-so-fine print: a hitch in the Army.
The Army wants college-bound high school students to know that as of July 1, they can get up to $25,200 in federal college aid for four years of active duty under a “New GI Bill Plus New Army College Fund” signed into law last October by President Reagan.
For three years of service, benefits total $22,800, and a two-year hitch earns $17,000. In addition, the Army offers a “2-plus-2-plus-2” program, which means two years in college, two in the Army and two more in college, with $21,000 in benefits.
To be eligible, a person must enlist and enter active duty between July 1, 1985, and June 30, 1988, have a high school diploma or equivalency diploma, score 50 or better on the Armed Forces qualification test and enlist in what the Army considers a “critical skill.”
Approved skills include infantryman, combat engineer, metal worker, Pershing missile crew member and food service specialist.
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