WASHINGTON -- Starting next month, veterans who served after 9/11 can get a free ride to public and private colleges in Texas.

It's part of the expanded benefits under the new GI Bill. Effective Aug. 1st, veterans attending an in-state public university (like the University of Texas and New Mexico State University) won't have to pay a cent for tuition, housing, books and supplies.

Through the new Yellow Ribbon program, Uncle Sam is also helping to foot the bill for 65 private universities in Texas and New Mexico, including Rice University, St. John's College, and Texas A & M.

To find out which other private schools in Texas are participating, click here.
For more participating private schools in New Mexico, click here.

The expanded educational benefits are also being extended to troops in the National Guard and Reserve who served on active duty for more than 90 days since Sept. 11, 2001. Veterans may also receive full benefits if they were honorably discharged after 30 days of service due to injury.

Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran, said she's excited about the education opportunities the new GI Bill will open.

"What a great future," Duckworth said. "We have men and women who not only are going to have the best education in the country. They're also going to come with real leadership experience that they gain the military, and I'm so proud of them."

The program, however, is not without controversy because there could be huge discrepancies in the amount that veterans can receive. Some veterans won't receive anything close to a free ride if they choose to attend a private school.

Critics say there's something wrong with the funding formula created by the government because benefits are pegged to tuition at the most expensive public university in the state. So if veterans living in a low-tuition state want to attend a pricey private college, the benefit will only cover a small fraction of the cost.