Archive for 'GI Bill Information'
VA Contacting Veterans Concerning Benefits
Posted on Oct 20, 2009.
Reuters released a report today concerning the development of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Due to the extensive wait time that the Post 9/11 GI Bill has posed for veterans, reserve, and active duty that have anticipated benefits since August 1st, the VA is initiating a “call every applicant” process to make sure communication is in check until funds are dispersed. (Read the entire story here.)
This means that if you still have not received your funds, the VA should be contacting you–rather than the other way around–to address you questions, comments, and concerns.
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Banks Refuse to Cash Post 9/11 GI Bill Emergency Funds
Posted on Oct 12, 2009.
Due to the backlog of Post 9/11 GI Bill applications, many veterans, reserve, and active duty have thus far been unable to receive the financial aid they need for this fall semester. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has responded to this by posting how many financial benefits have been distributed on a continual basis–the last update, October 8, 2009, with 2,651 Post 9/11 GI Bill applications processed and 3,461 other government financial aid programs processed.
This does not even begin to squelch the staggering 75,000 applicants for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which raises up the question: what about the other 72,000+ military students? The answer was emergency funds, which would grant each of these individuals $3,000 in temporary financial aid benefits that would later be deducted from the total financial aid received by the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Combine this with several understanding colleges that are not dropping students because of overdue tuition bills, and you have a sustainable amount of money to hopefully cover textbooks and living expenses until all Post 9/11 GI Bill applications are taken care of. Housing funds is a whole other monster to conquer entirely.
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Emergency Funds Available for GI Bill Applicants
Posted on Sep 28, 2009.
The backlog for the Post 9/11 GI Bill continues to plague veterans, reserve and active duty that are now several weeks into school. In an effort to process the long-due education benefits of military students, the Department of Veteran Affairs has authorized up to $3,000 per student that has not yet received their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, translating into millions of dollars in emergency funds. The $3,000 is also available to military students that have applied for different military financial aid programs for school and have still not received funds.
There is an estimate 75,000 veterans, reserve, and active duty eligible for the emergency funds, including 25,000 that have served since September 11. Statistics also show, however, that over 27,5000 military students have already received benefits for housing or books under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and hundreds of thousands more have received benefits under its other available programs.
In a statement to CNN, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said that this is “an extraordinary action we’re taking,” a process that is prompted by the necessity to recognize the hardships of military students.
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September Answers to Post 9/11 GI Bill Questions
Posted on Sep 21, 2009.
For future and current Post 9/11 GI Bill applicants, the Army of Dude blog has answers to questions you might not find on the VA’s website. Dude’s answers come from his own experience with the Post 9/11 GI Bill, interaction with other applicants, and from interviews from friendlier representatives at the government agencies. As he [...]
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Post 9/11 GI Bill Falls Through
Posted on Sep 17, 2009.
Readers of the Veterans Benefits GI Bill blog know that the Post 9/11 GI Bill, Chapter 33, has been the center-point of many military students that are heading off to college and career schools. The benefits of the Post 9/11 GI Bill were scheduled to disperse on August 1st for the Fall 2009-2010 semester, but as per a standard many active duty, reserve, and veterans have gotten used to from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the system is falling through.
Army of Dude discusses the personal experience of faithfully supporting the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the unfortunate results as of this September: