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TonyDigital

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by TonyDigital » Fri May 15, 2009 12:06 pm

Cole S. Law wrote:I'm going to say the 27 months I spent in Iraq (and 15 more they had me scheduled for) had more to do with my decision than the GI Bill.
Hmmm...retention problems because of the new GI Bill or 2 wars with no end in sight? I'm going to go with the latter...

And thanks for the info Boyk! If it works out that way that those of us that have already used some of our Ch 30 benefits can convert the remainder AND get an additional 12 months of GI Bill it'll make quitting my career to pursue law school alot easier to stomach!

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nicoz

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by nicoz » Fri May 15, 2009 12:24 pm

I've been working with my schools VA rep with the apps for the new GI Bill. If you convert even 1 day of CH 30 benefits to the new program you only get what you have remaining (in this scenario 1 day). If you use all your CH. 30 benefits, once it is exhausted you can apply for up to 12 months of the new GI Bill, with total monthly benefits not to exceed 48 months. So, if you have only a few months of CH 30, like I do, it is better to use them up and then apply for the new bill. In my opinion, if you have most of your benefits left, and you're starting law school, it is better to convert now. Hope this helps and good luck.

This is for the active duty GI Bill. SR and REAP is different and I am not familiar with the exact regs.

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TonyDigital

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by TonyDigital » Fri May 15, 2009 12:27 pm

nicoz wrote:I've been working with my schools VA rep with the apps for the new GI Bill. If you convert even 1 day of CH 30 benefits to the new program you only get what you have remaining (in this scenario 1 day). If you use all your CH. 30 benefits, once it is exhausted you can apply for up to 12 months of the new GI Bill, with total monthly benefits not to exceed 48 months. So, if you have only a few months of CH 30, like I do, it is better to use them up and then apply for the new bill. In my opinion, if you have most of your benefits left, and you're starting law school, it is better to convert now. Hope this helps and good luck.
Ok that falls in line with Rsrcht posted the other day. I still have 16 months of ch 30 benefits...so it'd be smart of me to exhaust all that then request the additional 12 months of Post 9/11 benefits. Thanks for the info.

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Rsrcht

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rsrcht » Fri May 15, 2009 12:42 pm

Rotor wrote:From today's Christian Science Monitor:
New GI Bill too popular for the Pentagon's own good?
Veterans are rushing to take advantage of the comprehensive education benefits, raising the question of whether the bill will hurt retention.
By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0515/p02s03-usmi.html
This was one of the original criticisms of the bill while it was being written and reviewed. I have a lot of problems with the criticism.

First off, it was my impression of the critics that they thought that it cost too much to implement and were scrambling to come up with reasons to support their goal of preventing the passage of yet another "expensive" bill. The focus on retention in the criticism relative to recruitment rates is also ignored - if recruitment goes up and retention goes down, it is still possible that the military retains more troops than before. To be fair, the critics' fears could happen. But it is the sort of fear relative to something sensationalized in the media versus the everyday risks we encounter, like swine flu versus car crashes. More people die of car crashes than swine flu in a given year, yet because swine flu could become the next pandemic, it is given more coverage on the news. It could happen, but the odds are better that you will get into a fender-bender at the whole-foods parking lot because somebody on their cellphone wasn't looking.

Second, the number of applications for this benefit is currently high because there are a lot of veterans and soldiers who are applying, not just soldiers - the rate of applications will trickle down to mostly soldiers once the VA handles the first wave. Attributing the number of applications to the number of soldiers who could leave the military is misleading or just a reflection of the misunderstanding of how things work in the military.

Third, on the grounds of it being enough of a financial incentive to leave, the military has been trying to lure people to join with college $ for years. Newly joined soldiers are forced to sign away $1200 their first year for the MGIB, even if they never use it. The 911 bill is voluntary. If the new bill is suspected of providing an incentive to leave, it isn't as different from the MGIB as the critics think in that the soldier who leaves service for college will still have to take out college loans like before in a poor economy. On the basis of money alone, at the end of the 4 or 6 year term, a soldier will be making enough money to seriously reconsider his/her thoughts of leaving for college. The soldier has housing provided, healthcare provided, a gym, food, etc. and can grow accustomed and comfortable with these things. The military does a bad job of adequately preparing those leaving service for the real world - which could be on purpose for reasons of retention. This can be frightening for someone who has taken their situation (the many expenses and services they receive at little to no cost) for granted.

Finally, as Cole S. Law suggested, if they are leaving right now it could be more likely because of how much our leaders have abused our fellow service members in the last 8 years. The military is not an environment for everyone. War zones are an environment tolerated by even fewer individuals.

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Boyk1182

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Boyk1182 » Fri May 15, 2009 1:00 pm

TonyDigital wrote:
nicoz wrote:I've been working with my schools VA rep with the apps for the new GI Bill. If you convert even 1 day of CH 30 benefits to the new program you only get what you have remaining (in this scenario 1 day). If you use all your CH. 30 benefits, once it is exhausted you can apply for up to 12 months of the new GI Bill, with total monthly benefits not to exceed 48 months. So, if you have only a few months of CH 30, like I do, it is better to use them up and then apply for the new bill. In my opinion, if you have most of your benefits left, and you're starting law school, it is better to convert now. Hope this helps and good luck.
Ok that falls in line with Rsrcht posted the other day. I still have 16 months of ch 30 benefits...so it'd be smart of me to exhaust all that then request the additional 12 months of Post 9/11 benefits. Thanks for the info.
I'd call that toll free number and ask...
The way they explained it to me: If you convert (regardless of how much you have left), and run out of months, you can get that 12 month extension. The guy brought it up without me asking, just saying, "You know you can get 12 extra months if you run out, right?" I have just enough left to make it 3 years, but I think he was assuming I was talking about undergrad. I understood it as it being better to convert (because you'll get more money for the remainder of your months), but can apply for the 12 months extra either way. Anyone know for sure?

Edit:

P.S. Just something to throw out there... I called yesterday about something, and when they were verifying who I was, the guy found that my street address was wrong (the numbers were jumbled). He said he fixed it. I called back today to check, and the numbers were correct, but the apartment number I had given him to add wasn't there, so the lady added that. On my application, all of this was correct. Kind of an important detail when it comes time to send me the info :wink:

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Rotor

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rotor » Fri May 15, 2009 6:16 pm

Got my "We're swamped. Don't call us; we'll call you" letter today. Applied 1 May & assigned to the Oklahoma office.

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dapoetic1

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by dapoetic1 » Sat May 16, 2009 10:49 am

Rotor wrote:Got my "We're swamped. Don't call us; we'll call you" letter today. Applied 1 May & assigned to the Oklahoma office.
Same here! Buffalo office.
When I saw the VA letter I was actually excited for a split second when I thought they had already processed my application. I'm hoping since I've used education benefits before they won't have to hard of a problem getting this rolling. They've got about 3 months before school starts so I'm not too worried. Hopefully since these benefits are paid directly to the school then they'll have some kind of process in place to accept a letter from the VA stating that you are in fact going to receive the benefits.

@Rsrcht--I could not agree with you more about the military not preparing people to leave the military and enter the civilian world. They make military life very comforting. When I did my transition assistance it was almost like they were scaring people into staying in if they were voluntarily separating. They kept bringing up that you'll no longer be guaranteed a paycheck on the 1st and 15th and you'll never have the kind of access to health care (which in itself is a huge joke). It seemed like a huge scare tactic to tell people they'll never have it as good when they leave. And then when it came time to talk about education benefits the VA rep of 20 years had no information about Ch 33 benefits. She didn't even know the same basic information we've all learned from just looking at the VA website. Of the 30 people in my class I was the only one that knew how the new GI Bill worked...it was pathetic.
I've made sure to tell my troops since day one what their rights and benefits are if they decide to separate. Apparently the military doesn't want them to know.
Last edited by dapoetic1 on Sat May 16, 2009 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Rotor

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rotor » Sat May 16, 2009 2:06 pm

TonyDigital wrote:
Cole S. Law wrote:I'm going to say the 27 months I spent in Iraq (and 15 more they had me scheduled for) had more to do with my decision than the GI Bill.
Hmmm...retention problems because of the new GI Bill or 2 wars with no end in sight? I'm going to go with the latter...

And thanks for the info Boyk! If it works out that way that those of us that have already used some of our Ch 30 benefits can convert the remainder AND get an additional 12 months of GI Bill it'll make quitting my career to pursue law school alot easier to stomach!
I agree with you, the deployment tempo is a much bigger concern, but it isn't an either/or proposition. The contra-retention pressure (I won't say it's as strong as "anti-" retention pressure) of the GI Bill is additive to the effects of over-stretching the force. In this economic environment, it's not that big a deal since all the DOD services MilPers accounts don't have enough to make it through the FY (Navy has already stopped PCS moves for the FY and that's still not enough to balance the checkbook).

However, as the economy improves, more people who MIGHT have stayed will find the GI Bill attractive enough to leave. This is why the transferability option is so important-- to try and counteract some of that. I think I've said this before, I think there should be a modest increase in the amount of time to get 100% vested-- say to 5 years. Then, you'll have people in real leadership positions making the stay-or-go decision rather than some of the dead-weight do-nothings getting the max benefits for a single tour of duty which in some cases wouldn't have even involved a deployment ANYWHERE, let alone to CENTCOM. (I lost count of how many sailors I had working for me who said their "goal" during their time in the Navy was to "not get in trouble". I told them that isn't a goal, it's the minimum requirement!) On the minimum qualifying time, I don't think any change is necessary. We need to protect the benefits of those who may not get called up often or for long, but go and do a harder job in the desert/mountains than I've ever had to do in 25 years. On a personal opinion level, it just seems like 30 days isn't a big bar to cross.

As for the recruiting making up for the increased retention, I'm sure this was the logic behind the Bill as written. I don't doubt that it will off-set the reduced retention some and at the end of the day it very well may completely balance. The issue I have with that philosophy is that you're trading a trained, productive (hopefully) member for a completely untrained boot and it will increase the costs to train to maintain the same capability. It also in some ways turns the military into a social program and I just find that distasteful.

At the end of the day, it's fussing at the margins of a pretty darned good program-- especially how far outside the normal legislative box they went in creating it!

As for the comment above that you won't be able to accurately judge the numbers leaving by this season's applications is spot on because there's a bow wave of vets between 2001-2009 who are part of that pool who crashed the servers on 1 May. Of course not all will apply for this year, but I'm guessing it will normalize for that pool to a much lower per year rate next year and beyond.

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by babyt8_99 » Sun May 17, 2009 9:36 pm

We're looking at the transferability aspect of the new GI bill. We did the online application and am hoping that it all works smoothly. Even a little help at this point would be nice. My husband has served 17 years and 2 tours in Iraq. I've been with him for 16 of those years. I hope I can qualify for the BAH. I couldn't get a clear answer on that one.

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Rotor

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rotor » Sun May 17, 2009 10:08 pm

babyt8_99 wrote:We're looking at the transferability aspect of the new GI bill. We did the online application and am hoping that it all works smoothly. Even a little help at this point would be nice. My husband has served 17 years and 2 tours in Iraq. I've been with him for 16 of those years. I hope I can qualify for the BAH. I couldn't get a clear answer on that one.
From the CFR:
§ 21.9570 Transfer of entitlement.

[paragraphs (a)-(j) deleted)

(k) Rate of payment of educational assistance. VA will apply the rules in §21.9640 (and §§21.9650 and 21.9655 when applicable) to determine the educational assistance rate that would apply to the transferor. VA will pay the dependent and/or the dependent's institution of higher learning (or school, educational institution, or institution as defined in §21.4200(a) if the dependent is using transferred entitlement to pursue and complete the requirements of a secondary school diploma or equivalency certificate) the amounts of educational assistance payable under 38 U.S.C. chapter 33 in the same manner and at the same rate as if the transferor were enrolled in the dependent's program of education
The bolded phrase is key. If your husband is on active duty when you go to school, you won't get the housing allowance while he is drawing active duty BAH. If you go to school after he retires, then you will get it.

As always, you should consult with the VA to be 100% sure, since some of the transferability rules get complicated. Good luck!

Edit: Thanks for supporting your husband and to him for his service. The link to the CFR:
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/te ... =1;size=25

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by babyt8_99 » Sun May 17, 2009 10:37 pm

Rotor wrote:
babyt8_99 wrote:We're looking at the transferability aspect of the new GI bill. We did the online application and am hoping that it all works smoothly. Even a little help at this point would be nice. My husband has served 17 years and 2 tours in Iraq. I've been with him for 16 of those years. I hope I can qualify for the BAH. I couldn't get a clear answer on that one.
From the CFR:
§ 21.9570 Transfer of entitlement.

[paragraphs (a)-(j) deleted)

(k) Rate of payment of educational assistance. VA will apply the rules in §21.9640 (and §§21.9650 and 21.9655 when applicable) to determine the educational assistance rate that would apply to the transferor. VA will pay the dependent and/or the dependent's institution of higher learning (or school, educational institution, or institution as defined in §21.4200(a) if the dependent is using transferred entitlement to pursue and complete the requirements of a secondary school diploma or equivalency certificate) the amounts of educational assistance payable under 38 U.S.C. chapter 33 in the same manner and at the same rate as if the transferor were enrolled in the dependent's program of education
The bolded phrase is key. If your husband is on active duty when you go to school, you won't get the housing allowance while he is drawing active duty BAH. If you go to school after he retires, then you will get it.

As always, you should consult with the VA to be 100% sure, since some of the transferability rules get complicated. Good luck!

Edit: Thanks for supporting your husband and to him for his service. The link to the CFR:
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/te ... =1;size=25

That sucks!! I could really use that BAH. This will be the first time in 9 years that I haven't worked. Add that to commuting and the whole financial situation scares the crap out of me!!!

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rotor » Tue May 26, 2009 12:53 pm

Posted last week on NavyTimes.com, though I'm sure it made all the service websites. (http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/05/m ... a_052009w/)

Essentially, California's Congressional delegation is trying to make it so that students can get the full 6K+/term for tuition or fees since CA doesn't charge "tuition" in state. For me, it's no change because my fees far outstrip the fees I'll be charged and tuition at the public is zero. However, the vet who decides to go to Stanford Law would only get $1,200 per year and nothing to help cover the $42K/year tuition (the article uses Stanford undergrad as an example, but these are SLS numbers). Same would apply in varying amounts for USC, USD, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, et al.

So, while I defended CA earlier in this thread (or maybe it was the YRP thread), I have to qualify that to include only publics. Unless the law does indeed get changed, those attending private schools are hosed (or should probably stick with MGIB, if eligible, until the law is changed).

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by bumblebeetoona » Tue May 26, 2009 7:55 pm

bumblebeetoona wrote:Can somebody help me figure this out?

-I have about 24 months left of the MGIB.
-I was eligible for both the buy-up kicker and the Marine Corps College Fund (so I was getting two kicker payments every month in addition to my regular payment).
-I was in from 00 to 05 so I am eligible for the new GI Bill.

My question is, what happens to my Marine Corps College Fund? I know the other kicker won't count anymore. But the MCCF was in my contract as part of my enlistment bonus. Does that extra bump just disappear with the new fund? Plus I have no idea which way will get me more money - old GI Bill or new. What should I do?
Update on this: I finally got a response from the VA, and I WILL receive the college fund in addition to the regular GI Bill payments as long as I provide them with a copy of my enlistment contract. Thank God I made a copy of it!

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TonyDigital

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by TonyDigital » Tue May 26, 2009 8:07 pm

Boyk1182 wrote:
TonyDigital wrote:
nicoz wrote:I've been working with my schools VA rep with the apps for the new GI Bill. If you convert even 1 day of CH 30 benefits to the new program you only get what you have remaining (in this scenario 1 day). If you use all your CH. 30 benefits, once it is exhausted you can apply for up to 12 months of the new GI Bill, with total monthly benefits not to exceed 48 months. So, if you have only a few months of CH 30, like I do, it is better to use them up and then apply for the new bill. In my opinion, if you have most of your benefits left, and you're starting law school, it is better to convert now. Hope this helps and good luck.
Ok that falls in line with Rsrcht posted the other day. I still have 16 months of ch 30 benefits...so it'd be smart of me to exhaust all that then request the additional 12 months of Post 9/11 benefits. Thanks for the info.
I'd call that toll free number and ask...
The way they explained it to me: If you convert (regardless of how much you have left), and run out of months, you can get that 12 month extension. The guy brought it up without me asking, just saying, "You know you can get 12 extra months if you run out, right?" I have just enough left to make it 3 years, but I think he was assuming I was talking about undergrad. I understood it as it being better to convert (because you'll get more money for the remainder of your months), but can apply for the 12 months extra either way. Anyone know for sure?

Edit:

P.S. Just something to throw out there... I called yesterday about something, and when they were verifying who I was, the guy found that my street address was wrong (the numbers were jumbled). He said he fixed it. I called back today to check, and the numbers were correct, but the apartment number I had given him to add wasn't there, so the lady added that. On my application, all of this was correct. Kind of an important detail when it comes time to send me the info :wink:
I'll try to check this thread periodically. For the vets that are going through this process this Fall could you please update here for the rest of us vets that will be figuring out how the conversion of the MGIB to Post 9/11 Bill works out? Thanks... The extra 12 months of benefits totally rocks just thinking about it!

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Boyk1182

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Boyk1182 » Fri May 29, 2009 8:08 am

Quick question for other GI Bill people out there...

I just got a mysterious $1,048.12 in my account, with the source being (copied from my bank statement): ACH CREDIT US TREASURY VA ED CH ON 05/29. Anyone know what this is for??

I switched to the new GI Bill on May 1, but I haven't heard anything from them about it, no letter in the mail or anything yet. I wouldn't expect any money for school yet.

P.S. I'm not complaining lol just wondering :mrgreen:

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Rsrcht

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rsrcht » Fri May 29, 2009 8:22 am

Boyk1182 wrote:Quick question for other GI Bill people out there...

I just got a mysterious $1,048.12 in my account, with the source being (copied from my bank statement): ACH CREDIT US TREASURY VA ED CH ON 05/29. Anyone know what this is for??

I switched to the new GI Bill on May 1, but I haven't heard anything from them about it, no letter in the mail or anything yet. I wouldn't expect any money for school yet.

P.S. I'm not complaining lol just wondering :mrgreen:
Figure it out, otherwise you may be wondering later on why the same amount was withdrawn from your account.

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Boyk1182

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Boyk1182 » Fri May 29, 2009 8:49 am

Rsrcht wrote:
Boyk1182 wrote:Quick question for other GI Bill people out there...

I just got a mysterious $1,048.12 in my account, with the source being (copied from my bank statement): ACH CREDIT US TREASURY VA ED CH ON 05/29. Anyone know what this is for??

I switched to the new GI Bill on May 1, but I haven't heard anything from them about it, no letter in the mail or anything yet. I wouldn't expect any money for school yet.

P.S. I'm not complaining lol just wondering :mrgreen:
Figure it out, otherwise you may be wondering later on why the same amount was withdrawn from your account.
Ohh trust me, I know how that works...
Just wondering if anyone else got this and figured it out already so I don't have to :wink:

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Cole S. Law

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Cole S. Law » Fri May 29, 2009 10:13 am

Boyk1182 wrote:Quick question for other GI Bill people out there...

I just got a mysterious $1,048.12 in my account, with the source being (copied from my bank statement): ACH CREDIT US TREASURY VA ED CH ON 05/29. Anyone know what this is for??

I switched to the new GI Bill on May 1, but I haven't heard anything from them about it, no letter in the mail or anything yet. I wouldn't expect any money for school yet.

P.S. I'm not complaining lol just wondering :mrgreen:
You won't be eligible for new GI Bill benefits until August, so that can't be it. Is it possibly a payment from your current GI Bill enrollment?

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Boyk1182

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Boyk1182 » Fri May 29, 2009 10:22 am

Cole S. Law wrote:
Boyk1182 wrote:Quick question for other GI Bill people out there...

I just got a mysterious $1,048.12 in my account, with the source being (copied from my bank statement): ACH CREDIT US TREASURY VA ED CH ON 05/29. Anyone know what this is for??

I switched to the new GI Bill on May 1, but I haven't heard anything from them about it, no letter in the mail or anything yet. I wouldn't expect any money for school yet.

P.S. I'm not complaining lol just wondering :mrgreen:
You won't be eligible for new GI Bill benefits until August, so that can't be it. Is it possibly a payment from your current GI Bill enrollment?
Well I just called and she said she thinks it's reimbursement from when I used the old GI Bill a few years ago. She said it was for the kicker that I wasn't getting, but I'm pretty sure I was getting it.

She said to handwrite a letter to request an audit, so I'll do that I guess... If anyone runs into a similar situation PM me and I'll give you the address and details of what you have to do. It seems too good to be true so I'm going to make sure it isn't before that money gets spent!

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Cole S. Law

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Cole S. Law » Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:37 pm

Got my certificate of eligibility...for 60%!!!???!!! Now I have to file an appeal. Not sure how they came up with 60%. I have 4 years of qualifying active duty service. Starting to get frustrated. :?

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rotor » Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:49 pm

Cole S. Law wrote:Got my certificate of eligibility...for 60%!!!???!!! Now I have to file an appeal. Not sure how they came up with 60%. I have 4 years of qualifying active duty service. Starting to get frustrated. :?
Wow....about the ONLY easy part of the program is the % qualification bit. Sorry you're going to have to fight the system when it should be fighting for you.

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by babyt8_99 » Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:21 pm

We got hubby's cert for 100% and I did my application for the transfer. Now we just wait. Does anyone know how the kicker works with the new GI Bill?

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by dapoetic1 » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:51 pm

Cole S. Law wrote:Got my certificate of eligibility...for 60%!!!???!!! Now I have to file an appeal. Not sure how they came up with 60%. I have 4 years of qualifying active duty service. Starting to get frustrated. :?
Hey sorry to hear about the screw up? Do you think there is anyway they could've mixed something up? Any breaks in service time, cross branches....anything you can think of???
I'm with Rotor the eligibility percentage is seriously about the easiest thing you have to figure out 3 years after 9-11=100% This doesn't give me a lot of hope.

I applied May 1 got the "Don't call us" letter and haven't received anything else. I'm getting a little worried since I was thinking sending a letter that says you qualify for full benefits should be fairly cut-n-dry--or so I thought.
Let us know how it turns out.

Slightly off topic--Does anyone know if you do qualify for full benefits and your school isn't doing Yellow Ribbon if they will deduct the amount of mone you can take in Stafford Loans by the amount of your GI Bill payments.

Ex. Tuition only is $20,000 (not including full cost of attendance, fees, R&B). You are given the full stafford amount of $20,500 which leave just the $500 left. You qualify for $5,000 in GI Bill payments. Will they limit the amount of stafford loans by $5,000 to $15,500? Or do you get the full amount of Stafford Loans applied to your bill, and then the GI Bill payments applied leaving you with an overage (to be refunded back to you).
I asked the VA rep at my school this question and she was not 100% sure. She thought you would keep the full loan amounts and then get the credit.

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by LSATfromNC » Thu Jul 09, 2009 1:00 pm

dapoetic1 wrote:
Cole S. Law wrote:Got my certificate of eligibility...for 60%!!!???!!! Now I have to file an appeal. Not sure how they came up with 60%. I have 4 years of qualifying active duty service. Starting to get frustrated. :?
Hey sorry to hear about the screw up? Do you think there is anyway they could've mixed something up? Any breaks in service time, cross branches....anything you can think of???
I'm with Rotor the eligibility percentage is seriously about the easiest thing you have to figure out 3 years after 9-11=100% This doesn't give me a lot of hope.

I applied May 1 got the "Don't call us" letter and haven't received anything else. I'm getting a little worried since I was thinking sending a letter that says you qualify for full benefits should be fairly cut-n-dry--or so I thought.
Let us know how it turns out.

Slightly off topic--Does anyone know if you do qualify for full benefits and your school isn't doing Yellow Ribbon if they will deduct the amount of mone you can take in Stafford Loans by the amount of your GI Bill payments.

Ex. Tuition only is $20,000 (not including full cost of attendance, fees, R&B). You are given the full stafford amount of $20,500 which leave just the $500 left. You qualify for $5,000 in GI Bill payments. Will they limit the amount of stafford loans by $5,000 to $15,500? Or do you get the full amount of Stafford Loans applied to your bill, and then the GI Bill payments applied leaving you with an overage (to be refunded back to you).
I asked the VA rep at my school this question and she was not 100% sure. She thought you would keep the full loan amounts and then get the credit.
My guess would be the school would remove that money from your total COA (Cost of Attendance) budget, if your outstanding budget is below 20,500 they may.

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Rotor

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Re: New GI Bill

Post by Rotor » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:07 pm

I agree with NC, it has to do with COA, but I think that only get measured against your EFC from your FAFSA. I don't think they offset for other scholarships, so why GI Bill? (a grant where tuition itself is lowered and thence COA would be different)

Anyone else have something definitive?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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