Stipends lowered?
- Thread starter koneacre
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Actually stipend is being raised for freshmen and sophomores...rumor is stipend will be going to a flat $425 a month for all contracted Cadets. As someone who got paid $100 a month my last two years of school (a few years ago)
Well, sounds like the rumor must be true based on what she said about her pay going to $425. Kind of a bummer though, for those who were expecting $500 this year. Wish they could have been grandfathered in . . . she has said she will just budget better and is now looking for a part-time job to get a savings started before graduation. All that adulting stuff 
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Don't forget that graduation/commissioning loan. It CAN be a smart way to get started. You can get the $$$$ while still a senior, which is how DS paid for his pretty Marine dress blues and got started on a Roth IRA, among other things.
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There are some outfits (USAA is one) which will loan an about to be commissioned officer up to $25,000 at pretty low interest rates. It can help them get started in life. DS used it to pay off student loans (maybe smart, maybe not), opened a Roth IRA, and socked a lot into savings to have on hand as needed. He's not missing the payback money since he went into with only the stipend as income. I think folks in one of the academies can borrow even more. Many folks use it to buy their first car.
My son is a senior and just received 241.67 which is a weird amount. They typically send you the money on the 1st and on the 15th. two times 241.67 is 483.34 which is a weird number. I can only imagine that they prorated the amount because his last payment was 225 which is right for being a junior but school started August 21 so maybe they are giving him more for the being in school for the last two weeks of August. Will find out after he receives his September 15 payment. In any case, i dont think they are make 425 the standard amount for everyone unless my son has been grandfathered in
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They haven't implemented the change, as far as I know. No one needs to jump the gun. Still $500 a months for now.
Day-Tripper
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Always smarter to have an outstanding personal loan (or any other kind of loan, i.e. mortgage, auto, credit card, etc.) than having an outstanding student loan. Always. Under any circumstances.
Student loans are to be avoided, or escaped from, at any cost. Isn't that why 80% or more of parents are on this forum to begin with?
Thanks everyone. My DD received $105.00 on Friday. Her July payments were both $225 (appropriate for a junior) but then she got $575.74 on Aug 1 and $309.18 Aug 15 - both odd figures. But she went to Advanced Camp so we thought it was more for that. And then she went straight to Ft Stewart for 3 weeks of CTLT and she has no idea if she gets paid for that. It's always hard to get answers. We shall wait and see what the Sept 15 deposit brings. And she is looking into the commissioning loan. Thanks for all the info!!
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For AROTC, it would be best to contact the HR person for the Battalion, or the ROO.
For AROTC the stipend starts the day the contract is signed and processed, if they contract say two weeks after school started they will not receive any stipend for those first two weeks. If they contract in the middle of the pay period then their first payment will include the current stipend plus the portion of the previous pay period from the date they contracted.