I commissioned as an Air Force ROTC 2Lt in the Spring of 2013 and utilized the USAA Career Start Loan. I was offered the standard $25K at 2.99% to be paid off in 5 years but with a payment deferment of 6 months after my commissioning date. Monthly payments came out to about $471 a month. However, as a single Lt, I wanted to try and get it paid off as soon as possible so I rounded up to $250 per each bi-weekly check to equal $500/m. I used the majority of it to pay off my higher interest loans at 6% or above. I saved a couple thousand to help with some end of year expenses and getting set up in my new location before my PCS reimbursement funds kicked in. I never calculated how much I saved by doing so, but I'm happy to report that I was able to get student loan free by 2017. I commissioned in May so I didn't have to pay USAA anything until November of that year. I was a lucky one and got orders right away and reported to my first duty station in July. So I started getting paid by August. I had a couple peers that didn't get orders until 6 or 10 moths after commissioning (all about timing and needs of the Air Force). Remember you have 12 months within your commissioning date to apply for it. So if you think you may be delayed to get orders and don't have a part time job lined up to fill the gap, you may want to wait a little after commissioning to ensure you'll have a job by the time the 6 month deferment is up.

I started my online MBA when I was an 0-1 (Air Force). My goal was to not accrue any additional student loans nor to utilize any of my VA Top-Up benefit once that became available. I used the TA benefit to help cover my online MBA through Liberty University. Starting out in the Fall of 2015, the standard semester rate was $3,540 + $35 class fee. They offered a Military Tuition discount of $1,890 which brought the total to $1,685. Military TA covered $1,500. So my out of pocket expense for the semester was $185. I was able to finish the program with 1 semester left of my total graduate TA benefit left. Note - I actually had to first start a Masters in Leadership since I didn't have enough undergraduate background to jump into a Masters in Business Admin. Luckily, by completing one of the approved courses in the Leadership program I was then eligible to change to the MBA program. (You are allowed 1 degree program change with less than 50% of course work complete with the original) >Here is a link to the current Liberty University Military Benefits page< The big items are For undergrad degrees: Tuition discounts – reduces tuition rate to $250 per credit hour for undergraduate courses For graduate degrees: Tuition discounts – reduces tuition rate to $275 per credit hour for graduate courses College Credit for Military Training Your military training and experience could potentially qualify you for undergraduate or graduate credit through Liberty’s free evaluation of military training. Please note that credit is granted based on the American Council on Education (ACE)’s guideline recommendations. Additionally, Liberty University has partnered with the Air University – Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC) program and the College of the American Soldier to maximize college credit received for military training in specific degree programs. Liberty also accepts CLEP and DSST tests to earn credit toward your online degree