New GI Bill Forum

[Zojirushi]

All of a sudden my bank account got $2600 added to it from the US Treasury. I haven't heard anything at all from the VA, but I have filed my papers with my university and I was expecting payment anytime. I haven't filed my taxes or anything, so I would assume that this has to be it, but I was just curious if it is supposed to come from the US Treasury. I got one $500 payment (50% benefit for $1000 book stipend) and one payment of like $2100 (which is more like 100% of the tuition it cost me...) so I am really confused. Perhaps they lumped together a BAH payment with the tuition (1500 + 600 would probably be 50% benefit each, makes sense)? I'll email my VA rep at my school, but she isn't very helpful so I was just wondering if your guys' payments also came from the US Treasury. Thank you.


Also, how hard is it going to be to switch from one school to another. I'm using about 6 months of benefits for my last semester at my school, then planning on using it for law school at a different school. Is there going to be a problem? Anyone have any experience?

Lantern, yes the payments come posted from US Treasury ("Deposit - US TREASURY 220 VA ED CH33" according to my online account). I also got two deposits: one is definitely the book stipend and the other, I'm guessing, is my BAH deposit. Only problem is, it's more than double what I was expecting for the 1/30/10 payment. (should have just been ~ 1,300 for the pro-rated month). Initially, I thought they may have changed from an EOM payment to BOM and combined both Jan and Feb into one-- but the deposit wasn't enough to be that scenario.

[Edit: Also going back to your question about whether they lumped tuition with BAH: Under post 9/11 GI Bill, tuition goes straight to the school. You won't ever see it. I also know it wasn't tuition in my case because it would have to be about 3x higer than it was to be a mistaken tuition/fees payment)]

Not sure what's going on. If we're not owed it, I'm sure they'll come after it eventually. I've just moved what I think is the over-payment to savings. So when they short me in a future month to recoup, I'll have the money available. (I also got overpaid 1st sem since I was still ACDU and got the books. I called and told them, and that's what they told me to do. They don't ask for a cash repayment. They just withhold future benefits until the overage is settled.) Anyone else?

Sorry can't help you with your transferring question. Though I'm sure you won't be the only one in that situation.

Did you receive your break pay for December? I know at our University they send the remainder of Fall 09 semester (which covered the part of the semester remaining in December) in one check, and a few weeks later, (after they certified the spring certification) they sent January's stipend + the break pay to cover the remainder of December through January. They had to see if students were enrolled in Spring before they could pay break pay.

Tony Digital the living stipend for UH is $1557/month. That is pretty sweet for Houston.

[jlnoa0915]

Did you guys apply for the new GI Bill before or after you knew which school you were going to?

[Rotor]

Did you guys apply for the new GI Bill before or after you knew which school you were going to?

Get on it as soon as you can. You'll have to get the Letter of Eligibility first, so get that ball rolling. The window for applications hadn't opened up for the new program so I knew where I was going already, but I'm pretty sure it's possible to do. When you register for your first semester, your school will want to see your LOE and then they will notify the VA you are attending/how many credits/etc.

We had long waits for processing because of the flood of applicants at the start. It seems the backlog is taken care of (2nd Sem went much quicker), so good luck.

[Rotor]

Did you receive your break pay for December? I know at our University they send the remainder of Fall 09 semester (which covered the part of the semester remaining in December) in one check, and a few weeks later, (after they certified the spring certification) they sent January's stipend + the break pay to cover the remainder of December through January. They had to see if students were enrolled in Spring before they could pay break pay.

Break pay?? I thought VA pro-rated day for day and when the semester stopped, so did the BAH. Can you point me to a link to show me how this works?

Is there a snowball's chance in hell we can get the same methodology over the summer? (guessing no, since 36 mos was designed to pay for 4 years UG).

[Cole S. Law]

Does anyone know how the SLRP works in conjunction with IBR? Can you use SLRP to make IBR payments, or is SLRP only to pay down principal in a lump sum? If it only pays down principal, and you have mounds of debt, isn't it better to reject the 65k so you don't have to pay taxes on it and just make IBR payments for 10 years and have the principal forgiven?

Risky. Any number of things might prevent you from being able to fulfill the 10 year requirement. Also consider that the 65K is spread over 3 years, and the fact that a significant portion of military pay isn't taxable. I had 65K in undergrad loans paid off by the Army, and because so much of military income isn't taxed I still had a substantial tax refund every year. You're absolutely correct that you should weight the tax consequences, but IMHO the risk isn't worth forgoing the increased certainty of the Army incentive. You also need to weigh the cost of making monthly payments for 10 years vs. 3.

[CyLaw]

Did you receive your break pay for December? I know at our University they send the remainder of Fall 09 semester (which covered the part of the semester remaining in December) in one check, and a few weeks later, (after they certified the spring certification) they sent January's stipend + the break pay to cover the remainder of December through January. They had to see if students were enrolled in Spring before they could pay break pay.

Break pay?? I thought VA pro-rated day for day and when the semester stopped, so did the BAH. Can you point me to a link to show me how this works?

Is there a snowball's chance in hell we can get the same methodology over the summer? (guessing no, since 36 mos was designed to pay for 4 years UG).

There is no break pay for Chapter 33. Chapter 30 had it, but it is not in the Post 9/11 bill (Chapter 33), to the best of my knowledge.

--LinkRemoved--

[big_blue79]

Hello All,

This is my first post, and if I'm rehashing an old question, I apologize and would be happy to be pointed to the older discussion. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out how the per credit hour part of the new G.I. Bill will work for law school, given that most law schools don't seem to have clear credit hour requirements. Or perhaps I'm unfamiliar with the curriculum?

To concretize matters a bit. The VA will pay $1010 per credit hour in the state of New York. Let's say (VERY hypothetically) I got into Columbia. It appears (and please, let me know if I'm misconstruing things) that as a 1L I would have to take eight courses worth four "points" each. I assume this would work out to: 8 courses x 4 pts/course x $1010/pts = $32320 for that year. Am I doing that about right? Any nuances I've missed?

I'd love to hear some specific hard data from people actually using the new G.I. Bill this year. Thanks much,

Graham

I have the same question, just because it's too good to be true. I thought there was a cap on total payouts (money cap; I'm aware of the 36 month cap) even under the Post-911 GI Bill, but it appears not. I'm 100% eligible, so... Using http://www.newgibill.org/calculator with 15 credits/term and $1000 in fees at NYU/Columbia, I come up with $57059/year in total (tuition/fees plus books plus BAH). Over 3 years that's... wow.

I realize downtown NY (NYC has highest BAH and NY state has 2nd highest $/credit hour) is "best case", but, seriously, that's a lot of money. I've been budgeting a flat $50k for the GI Bill, so if I attend NYU this is like finding $121,000 just laying around.

I've read the entire bill (my first doc review?), been to every site, and asked my "local" (base in Iraq) VA rep, and I can't see any news about a cap on total payouts. Anyone know otherwise? Thanks everyone!

[jakeedw7]

I'm currently using it for UG out here in Hawaii. There isn't a cap yet. So you can take up to as many credit hours as your school allows and the VA will cover it, as long as it's within the highest state school credit hour. Also be aware that the new GI Bill only pays when your in school. So if your only taking classes for two semesters, you'll only get BAH for 8 months, and book money(up to $1,000 per year).

[helfer snooterbagon]

There is no break pay for Chapter 33. Chapter 30 had it, but it is not in the Post 9/11 bill (Chapter 33), to the best of my knowledge.

I think that my school gave me break pay. My deposit only came in today, but it looks like it must have covered the break as well.

[03121202698008]

Do any of you currently using the Post 9/11 GI Bill know how it handles BAH is class only goes for a few days that month? e.g. Class starts on 30th of Aug and ends on like 5 May.

[LSATfromNC]

I hope that VA only pays from the day classes start until the day finals end, and that they do not pay over the winter break. If my math is correct I will have 2-3 days left once 3L 2nd semester starts (I'm a 0l now) meaning I will get the GI Bill all six semesters please please don't let the school I am probably attending increase the length of the school year.

[MURPH]

Several pages back on this discussion board some people mentioned that they were getting health insurance paid for through the new GI Bill if the school lists it as a fee. Does anyone know if this is individual insurance or can we get health care insurance for the wife and kids too?
Does it vary from school to school? I am likely going to go to UCLA.

[CyLaw]

Several pages back on this discussion board some people mentioned that they were getting health insurance paid for through the new GI Bill if the school lists it as a fee. Does anyone know if this is individual insurance or can we get health care insurance for the wife and kids too?
Does it vary from school to school? I am likely going to go to UCLA.

Varies from school to school. VA will pay from the mandate fees of the school, so it depends on if the school tells the VA that it is a mandated fee. Contact the Veteran's rep at the school.

[MURPH]

Thanks CyLaw, I'll do it on Monday

[jlnoa0915]

Per advice on the other thread asking this here:

To those who have received the bill already:

When did your funds for tuition/BAH disburse? Was their a delay in your payments? If they were did you have to take out loans to cover the late payments?

Thanks in advance.

[Rotor]

Per advice on the other thread asking this here:

To those who have received the bill already:

When did your funds for tuition/BAH disburse? Was their a delay in your payments? If they were did you have to take out loans to cover the late payments?

Thanks in advance.

Last year was the first year of the program and the VA was innundated with applications. There were substantial delays, but the VA advanced a little bit if you wanted it (I didn't take it so I'll not comment on the sufficiency of the amount nor the effectiveness of the recoupment process, though I've read complaints about both). Second semester went pretty seamlessly for me and (hopefully) is more representative of how it will go this Fall.

That said, if you have already applied via VONAPP and have your Letter of Eligibility, your best bet is to work with your school registrar/VA certification official to make sure the certification gets done as early as possible. That way, you will have the best shot at $ showing at the start of the semester.

[rulagi]

There is no break pay for Chapter 33. Chapter 30 had it, but it is not in the Post 9/11 bill (Chapter 33), to the best of my knowledge.

I think that my school gave me break pay. My deposit only came in today, but it looks like it must have covered the break as well.

Yes, Ch 33 gives break pay also. The confusion is the fact that there is no break poay when you change programs (i.e. ch 30 to 33)

Break pay is only if the break is less than half the length of the preceding and following semester.

[03121202698008]

There is no break pay for Chapter 33. Chapter 30 had it, but it is not in the Post 9/11 bill (Chapter 33), to the best of my knowledge.

I think that my school gave me break pay. My deposit only came in today, but it looks like it must have covered the break as well.

Yes, Ch 33 gives break pay also. The confusion is the fact that there is no break poay when you change programs (i.e. ch 30 to 33)

Break pay is only if the break is less than half the length of the preceding and following semester.

How much is break pay?

[CyLaw]

There is no break pay for Chapter 33. Chapter 30 had it, but it is not in the Post 9/11 bill (Chapter 33), to the best of my knowledge.

I think that my school gave me break pay. My deposit only came in today, but it looks like it must have covered the break as well.

Yes, Ch 33 gives break pay also. The confusion is the fact that there is no break poay when you change programs (i.e. ch 30 to 33)

Break pay is only if the break is less than half the length of the preceding and following semester.

How much is break pay?

When I posted my initial comment, many moons ago the VA was trying to decide if there was break pay under 33. They recently , about 6 months back, decided there was and posted about it on the VA FAQ page.

Break pay is a continuation of BAH during short breaks (such as winter break).

What is "break" or "interval" pay?
A break (also called "interval") payment is a payment you receive for the days between two consecutive school terms. In most cases, VA will pay you for the break between semesters, quarters, or summer sessions.

[CyLaw]

BTW, Yellow Ribbon Information for 2010-2011 is now up for some schools. The list will expand over the next few months.

http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/C ... t_2010.htm

[duckz]

Just checking in here guys, still in the USAR so hoping to pair TA with 911 GI Bill for when I get back from Afghanistan. IMHO it sucks that they only count Title X time for reservists. I will have 2 mobilizations when I return and still be at 80% of the benefit, trying to decide if it's worth it to do a 1 year tour when i get home from Afghanistan to get all the way to 100% and be eligible for the yellow ribbon programs which require 100% benefit for matching, or not delay law school any more and just roll with the 80% (I will be 28 when I get back from Afghanistan).

[Rawlsian]

I had a quick question:

I'm using the ch. 30 GI bill right now, and will use it up until it exhausts itself in a month or so. How do I apply for a certificate of eligibility for the new GI bill (for the yellow ribbon program) without permanently switching over before I've used my original remaining benefits?

[CyLaw]

I had a quick question:

I'm using the ch. 30 GI bill right now, and will use it up until it exhausts itself in a month or so. How do I apply for a certificate of eligibility for the new GI bill (for the yellow ribbon program) without permanently switching over before I've used my original remaining benefits?

Once it is all used go to the VA website and apply for chapter 33 benefits as if you had never applied before. They will then certify you for the 12 month extension on benefits under 33.

[GIBilled]

So you get paid less during the summer months than during the semester??? How much less!!!???

[Rotor]

So you get paid less during the summer months than during the semester??? How much less!!!???

100% less. School not in session=no educational benefits (including BAH). The break pay was a nice surprise, but the rule clearly spells out we won't get it over the summer. (Unless you happen to go to a school that goes over the summer. Are there any?)