Transitioning from the combat zone to college, returning soldiers are being welcomed by a new military GI Bill that should serve as a financial crutch to ease the stresses of the switch to college.The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which went into effect in August 2009, provides financial support for tuition and provides housing to veterans. The new GI Bill is only available to those veterans who served on or after September 11, 2001.
“The first year that I was here, I actually had to take out a $6,000 student loan to compensate for the lack of housing, because I didn’t get anything — you pretty much got chump change,” he said. “This year I’m scot-free, which was awesome. I was able to buy all my books. I got my housing, so I don’t have to worry about rent anymore. I can put food on the table, and it’s overall turned out to be a much better situation than it was last year” said Marine Corps veteran Justin Payne, a senior finance major who also serves as the vice president of Terp Vets.
Although the new military GI Bill is greatly welcomed, many veterans are experiencing a delay on their new military GI Bill benefits as an influx on applications have come in to the Department of Veteran Affairs. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that due to the 90-minute, four separate computer system application process, only about 52,000 of the 82,000 enrolled student veterans have received their payments, while about 275,000 total veterans have applied.
Fortunately, the government is taking measures to hold off these pressing college expenses.
As a temporary measure, student veterans that haven’t yet been processed into the Department of Veteran Affairs system can head down to the VA regional office and request a check for $3,000 to try and defer the college costs for now. The good thing also is it’s been reported that schools are also giving student vets a huge amount of leniency to help facilitate this backlog.
Not only faced with military GI Bill delays, student veterans are also facing an array of misconceptions from their fellow students concerning the nature of military service, creating yet another hurdle to overcome for student vets.
Instead of getting misinformation it’s advised that you get the right information you need and request your free copy of the Military.com Education Benefits Guide.
New Military GI Bill Faces Hurdles
Posted by College Spot in Student News
Transitioning from the combat zone to college, returning soldiers are being welcomed by a new military GI Bill that should serve as a financial crutch to ease the stresses of the switch to college.The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which went into effect in August 2009, provides financial support for tuition and provides housing to veterans. The new GI Bill is only available to those veterans who served on or after September 11, 2001.
“The first year that I was here, I actually had to take out a $6,000 student loan to compensate for the lack of housing, because I didn’t get anything — you pretty much got chump change,” he said. “This year I’m scot-free, which was awesome. I was able to buy all my books. I got my housing, so I don’t have to worry about rent anymore. I can put food on the table, and it’s overall turned out to be a much better situation than it was last year” said Marine Corps veteran Justin Payne, a senior finance major who also serves as the vice president of Terp Vets.
Although the new military GI Bill is greatly welcomed, many veterans are experiencing a delay on their new military GI Bill benefits as an influx on applications have come in to the Department of Veteran Affairs. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that due to the 90-minute, four separate computer system application process, only about 52,000 of the 82,000 enrolled student veterans have received their payments, while about 275,000 total veterans have applied.
Fortunately, the government is taking measures to hold off these pressing college expenses.
As a temporary measure, student veterans that haven’t yet been processed into the Department of Veteran Affairs system can head down to the VA regional office and request a check for $3,000 to try and defer the college costs for now. The good thing also is it’s been reported that schools are also giving student vets a huge amount of leniency to help facilitate this backlog.
Not only faced with military GI Bill delays, student veterans are also facing an array of misconceptions from their fellow students concerning the nature of military service, creating yet another hurdle to overcome for student vets.
Instead of getting misinformation it’s advised that you get the right information you need and request your free copy of the Military.com Education Benefits Guide.
Source: The Diamondback