Every Ivy (except Princeton) to participate in Yellow Ribbon

Princeton is the only Ivy League institution that will not participate in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' new Yellow Ribbon Program to partially waive tuition for veterans.

That news coming from the Philly Inquirer, which reported today that 700 colleges and universities around the country are taking part in the program.

Last month, University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 told the 'Prince' that Princeton decided not to participate because it already provides substantial need-based financial aid.

"The key point in our consideration was that we have a financial aid program that admits students on a need-blind basis," she explained. "We meet the full assessed need of all qualifying students through a generous no-loan program in which grants don't have to be repaid."

Cliatt added that the average student aid grant for next year is expected to reach $36,000, and she said, "Any veteran who applies to Princeton and is admitted would be very generously supported."

Yellow Ribbon is the largest expansion in veteran education since the GI Bill in 1944 and is expected to cost the feds $68 billion over the next decade. The government will pay up to the highest in-state tuition and then match every dollar a school offers in financial aid. To be eligible, veterans must have served three years on active duty or at least 30 days before being discharged for an injury since 9/11/2001.

The program -- which kicks off this August -- could increase the number of vets in college (there are currently 350,000 of them) by 25 percent.