Readers React: For-profit colleges take advantage of vets -- and taxpayers

To the editor: It’s hard to decide which is more infuriating: the shabby treatment of veterans preyed upon by for-profit colleges, or the many billions of dollars in tax money used to support the colleges in their efforts. (“For-profit colleges are using the GI Bill to make money off veterans,” Aug. 18)

I find no statistics on what percentage of those few vets who actually graduate find employment, but it probably mirrors the high numbers who never complete the programs.

I would like to see a comparison of what it would cost to give veterans free tuition and a housing allowance at community colleges and prohibit using taxpayer dollars to line the pockets of the for-profit college pushers. I’ll bet we’d save millions and give these students some real opportunities and not just crippling debt that both the students and the taxpayers now share.

Barbara H. Bergen, Los Angeles

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To the editor: It’s a shame that veterans are not made aware of the cost-effective public education options for obtaining a vocational certificate or an associate’s degree for programs such as medical assisting and criminal justice.

Veterans should check out their local regional occupational program or center, adult school or community college, where such programs are offered at a very low cost.

Nancy Wagner, Yorba Linda

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