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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogPosts Tagged ‘applying for school’
August 8th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I have two sons that I would love to put through college but told them I couldn’t afford it, but my uncle could. So my first son joined the U.S. Air Force and now he’s on his way after his tour and honorable discharge. My other son on the other hand was not interested in joining and wasn’t healthy enough, but damn he’s extremely smart. I sure do hate to see all this talent go to waste. Is there any way to get this boy in a college of some sort even if the GI Bill won’t cover it, is there an alternative, some sort of gov. grants anything to get this young man an education. I mean I gave 20 YEARS AND MY FIRST BORN TO THIS COUNTRY! – Oscar
My first recommendation would be to have him fill out and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFAS) to see what he qualifies for in education funding. I would also further recommend he searches the Internet for other scholarships, grants and loans.
Many organizations offer scholarships including many service organizations, so if you belong to the American Legion or VFW, that would be a good place to start. Some of the colleges themselves offer their own scholarships along with work study programs. A work study program is where he would do some type of job for the school for a certain number of hours per week in exchange for a certain amount of his tuition forgiven. A nice thing about a scholarship is it doesn’t have to be repaid.
Grants are another source of funding not require repayment. An Internet search using the search phrase of “college grants” will bring up a long list of available grants. Third on the list are loans. Many have low interest rates and long pay-back periods.
The bottom line is if there is a will, there is a way. However, the will has to be in the boy himself and not you, so make sure he really wants to go to college. If he is as bright as you say, he will find a way.
March 8th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Recently enrolled in a community college and I am having a hard time requesting and receiving my transcripts for the college. What information is needed to get my transcripts to the appropriate individuals at the college I’m attending?
I served my country from 18 May 1989 thru 17 May 1993 in the United States Air Force. I did not spend the $100 a month for the Montgomery GI Bill, so in turn, I do not receive the benefits of college.
Could you give me some information to get my transcripts to the college? The college said they had sent for them but with confusion on their behalf, I don’t know if they are going to get them. Please help with any information you have to offer. – Kristopher
It shouldn’t be a problem Kristopher. You can request your transcript from the Community College of the Air Force. Send the following information to CCAF/DESS, 100 South Turner Blvd, Maxwell-Gunter AFB AL 36114-3011:
- Submit copies of course completion certificates.
- Copy of an identification card, front and back.
- Social security number and date of birth.
- A complete address of the GI Bill school or non-GI Bill school where you want your transcript mailed.
- Your signature is required for release of a transcript.
The Air Force started keeping track of the information for transcripts in 1990, so you should be able to get one. Another option is to request a Verification of Military Education and Training (VMET). It has the credits and in what category that your counselor could extract out.
If for some reason you can’t get either document, your school counselor can use the American Council on Education reference to figure out what credits you have from your military training and experience. All schools have them; you will have to bring in your military occupation specialty and training information though.
February 15th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hi, my ETS date is Dec 9th 2011 and I want to start attending school full time as soon as I can once I’m off active duty. My question is, will I have time to apply and start school in the spring of 2012 or should I wait until the fall semester to start? – Crystal
No you will have time Crystal. It will take up to 8 to 10 weeks to process your Post 9/11 GI Bill or Montgomery GI Bill application, so factor in that lag time so you can have your Certificate of Eligibility by the time you want to register for school as you will need that certificate when you enroll as a GI Bill student. To get your certificate, go to the VONAPP website and submit VA Form 22-1990.
Just so you know, there will be a lag time until you get paid by the VA, so you will have to plan for that financially. I tell students to have enough funds before they start school to carry them through the first semester. That way you won’t run into a financial bind until your GI Bill payments start coming. The VA is always a month behind in paying, but once you get your first check, the rest will come approximately the same time each month.
January 25th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I was curious about attending college overseas, maybe in Australia, is that possible with either GI bill? – James
Hi James. It is possible to attend school in Australia and use either GI Bill, however, the pay structure will vary depending on which GI Bill you use.
If you use the Montgomery GI Bill, then you will get the same amount as if you are attending school here in the U.S. – $1,421 per month of you have at least three years of service and attend school full-time.
If you are going to use the Post 9/11 GI Bill, then as a foreign school student, the VA will pay your school for your tuition, up to $439.69, and fees up to $13,713.88 per term. You will get a flat $1,311 per month for a housing allowance and up to $1,000 per year in a book stipend.
Right now, the VA has 67 schools listed as approved in Australia. Good Luck!
January 10th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
My name is Julian. I am currently in the Army and will be getting out in May 2012. I plan on enrolling in either the University of Texas or the University of Hawaii and pursue a commission through AFROTC. I wanted to know if I could use my GI Bill benefits along with an AFROTC scholarship. I also wanted to know if I can use my GI Bill rate as a Texas resident at schools outside of Texas; like Hawaii. — Julian
Yes you can use your GI Bill along with an Air Force ROTC scholarship Julian. Just be aware that depending on how much scholarship money your get, you may incur a service obligation once you are commissioned. As far as the second part of your question, I’m not sure I fully understand it, but here goes.
If you are referring to the Hazelwood Act, then no, you can’t use that outside of Texas and the school you choose can’t be a private school either, even if it is in Texas. You referenced the University of Texas, so that would qualify as an authorized school under the Hazelwood Act, but you could not use the Act to go to school in Hawaii.
If you are talking about the Post 9/11 GI Bill in-state maximum, the amount of tuition the VA will pay is based on the zip code of your school, so no you couldn’t use the in-state maximums for Texas ($1,549/$12,130.00 – tuition per credit/fees respectively) to go to school in Hawaii ($316/$1,325.70). Also, be aware that if you go to school in Hawaii, you may have to pay out-state tuition which would most likely make your tuition per credit higher than what the VA will pay. If you are at the 100% Post 9/11 GI Bill level, then you might want to look for a Yellow Ribbon school in Hawaii to help offset the additional tuition cost.
December 22nd, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
When I was in the service I applied for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and need to know if it was approved, so I can start school. – Jennifer
My first question Jennifer is the “how” when you applied for it? You don’t say the method you used to apply or how long you were in the service, but assuming you had at least 90 days on active duty after September 10, 2001 and you got out with an honorable discharge, you would be eligible for 36 months of benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Your tier percentage, as far as payment, would be dependent on how much time you served after the September date. The minimum of 90 days would put you on the 40% tier. Three years of service would max you out at 100%. Other term lengths of service would put you somewhere in between.
To apply, you should have went to the VONAPP website and submitted VA Form 22-1990. Once your application was approved, you should have received back a Certificate of Eligibility. You use that certificate when you enroll in school as a GI Bill student. If you did not get your certificate, re-submit the form. Allow 8 to 10 weeks for your application to be approved.
October 27th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I am 18 and will be attending college next fall. I know that my father served in the military sometime in the early 1980s. Is there any way that I could receive benefits while in college? Katie
Hi Katie, The only GI Bill that allows the transfer of benefits to a dependent child is the Post 9/11 GI Bill and that didn’t go into effect until 10 September 2001. The GI Bill that your father probably had was the VEAP, and even that would have only been if he elected to contribute to it. The way it was set up was that for every dollar the service member contributed the government would contribute two dollars.
Service members had 10 years from the time they left active duty to use the benefits and if they didn’t, then their contributions were returned to them. Some service members had the opportunity to switch their VEAP benefits over to the Montgomery GI Bill, but those had to be used within that 10 year period also.
So any GI Bill benefits your father had would have expired a long time ago and they couldn’t have been transferred anyway. You might want to think about applying for an ROTC Scholarship. That would pay for just about all of your undergraduate degree costs and you would get a chance to see the world by serving on active duty for a period of time after graduation.
If you don’t want to go into the military, you might check with your state’s Department of Veterans Affairs. Some states have education benefits for the children of military veterans that can be used to attend state supported colleges and universities.
October 4th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I would like to study abroad in England using the Post 9/11 GI Bill. When searching under the United Kingdom on the WEAMS site I could not determine whether the universities were approved for my specific subject, which is undergraduate history. Is there a way I could check for it, or could you tell me of any approved schools? Thanks for your help, Taylor
Hi Taylor, as someone who enjoys history and spent some time in England while in the military I can’t think of a better place to earn an undergraduate degree in history than England. I think you have a great plan.
Finding a school in England with an approved history undergraduate program for the Post 9/11 GI Bill might be a little time consuming, but you should be able to get started on the WEAMS site you were on. When you clicked on search for an approved institution of higher learning in the United Kingdom a list of schools should have come up; actually I think there are about three pages of schools.
When you click on each individual school a page for the school comes up and in the top right corner is a heading called “program.” Click on” program” and the schools I tried had a heading called institution of higher learning that popped up. When you click on that heading a list of the approved Post 9/11 GI Bill programs for the school comes onto the screen. The second one I tried had an approved PhD program in history. You are just going to have to work your way down the list of schools and make a list of the possibilities that offer what you’re looking for in an undergraduate program.
Once you have your list and narrow it down I think you should contact the schools to find out more about their programs and to verify that they’re covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Good luck!
October 1st, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
With the Post 9/11 GI Bill it does not cover flight school, yet the pre-9/11 GI Bill does. Is there a way to convert the Post 9/11 GI Bill to the older pre-9/11 GI Bill? Or to get approved with the Post 9/11 GI Bill for flight school? David
Hi David, I assume you’re talking about the Montgomery GI Bill when you refer to the pre-Post 9/11 GI Bill and the only way to be eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill is if you elected to participate in it when you entered the military. You would have had to have contributed $100 a month for the first 12 months you were on active duty.
If you did not do this, then you can’t use the Montgomery GI Bill even if you’re eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Now if you did do this and switched your benefits to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, it may be possible to switch back, but it could be a long process and you have no guarantees you’ll be able to do it.
It is possible to attend flight school using Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits as long as the flight school is affiliated with an institution of higher learning that’s approved for Post 9/11 GI Bill use. The Post 9/11 GI Bill must be used at a school that can award at least an associate’s degree and there are aeronautical education programs around the country that can award degrees and also have flight school as a part of their curriculum. You might try one of those.
September 23rd, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
Hello, I am getting chaptered out of the Army and my chapter is under Honorable Conditions. I have served 26 months. I would like to know can I go to school in Maryland, but transfer my benefits in 5 months to a school in North Carolina because we will be relocating and I would like to start school right away? Nianca
Hi Nianca, You can transfer schools with Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. I would do it between semesters as it might make it a little less complicated and give less chance for errors. If you are sure that is what you plan to do, I would let the VA Certifying Official know the plan when you are getting started in Maryland, and if you already know what school you plan to attend in North Carolina, you might touch base with that VA Certifying Official as well.
This is one of those issues where the more that’s done ahead of time and the more people you keep in the loop, the smoother it may go and the less possible interruption to your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits.
One thing to keep in mind is that until you’re an official resident of North Carolina you’ll probably have to pay out of state tuition to attend school there. This could cause you to pay quite a bit of your tuition out of pocket unless you attend a Yellow Ribbon Program school and are accepted into the program by the school. You might want to continue to take some online classes at the school in Maryland while you’re establishing your North Carolina residency. Just a thought.
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