A college degree is a must-have if you want to be a strong candidate for consideration at a job with VA. As an Associate Director for Recruitment Marketing at VA I know how important the GI Bill® is while earning that degree.
Earning a college degree seems like an expensive proposition, but for today’s Veteran that shouldn’t be seen as unsurmountable. Especially since, according to a Pew Research Center report on higher education, a college diploma is more valuable than ever. Among the findings:
- A college education is worth more today: There’s a wider earnings gap between college-educated and less-educated millennials compared with previous generations.
- College benefits go beyond earnings: In addition to earning more, college-educated millennials also have lower unemployment and poverty rates than their less-educated peers.
- College grads are more satisfied with their jobs: College-educated millennials are more likely to see themselves on a career path, rather than just working at a job to get them by.
You can learn even more about the benefits of a college education by reading our Choosing a School Guide .
Yet, I know what you’re thinking…what about the biggest issue facing all students on campus? Yes, the dreaded tuition bill. We’ve all read about soaring tuition rates – and you don’t want to be in debt before you even crack a textbook.
But for our nation’s newest generation of Veterans, there’s good news: Your service entitles you to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The GI Bill will cover the full cost of an education at an approved public university or college – and many private schools – in the country.
Besides paying 100% of your qualifying tuition and fees the Post-9/11 GI Bill offers :
- A monthly housing allowance
- Up to $1,000 an academic year for books and supplies
- The option to transfer benefits to family members while serving in the Armed Forces
To get an easy-to-digest overview of all the Post-9/11 GI Bill offers, visit and considering applying today. Also, be sure to use our GI Bill Comparison Tool to research schools based on key measures of affordability and value. Before you pick a major consider how you can use your field of study to cultivate a career supporting your fellow Veterans.
Now, if you’re ready to begin a career among Veterans serving Veterans, please Join VA.
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God Bless the Vietnam Veterans, since obviously the VA thinks they are all dead or completely healthly!!!!
If some of these people that make these decisions lived with a veteran with PTSD maybe they would understand that
caregivers(alot of wives) deserve the same money that other wives get for being loving, caring wife caregivers 24/7.
Many of these women have been there for their husbands since the seventies with no Special applause or extra money.
We are still here, older,wiser and very disappointed to be forgotten. Our husbands fought just as horrible a war as any
war can be and then came home to be hit with tomatoes and called horrible names.
All veterans need to be remembered!!!!!!!
The 911 GI Bill is absolutely great! I retired from the AF in 2005. In 2009 I began using my Post 911 GI Bill benefits. I received an MBA degree with a concentration in Acquisition. 4.0 GPA. I work for DoD and my field is Acquisitions, therefore, I selected a degree program in Acquisitions. The degree enhanced my knowledge in government contracting tremendously.
The 911 GI Bill did exactly what it stated…I received 100 percent Tuition paid, a monthly housing allowance and up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies. Who could ask for anything more? I am now working on a second master’s in Government Contracting. Thank you to the ‘powers that be’ for providing veterans with this benefit. I have a 15 year who will be starting college in two years. No, I am not able to transfer my benefits to my son for his college expenses but if I was that pressed…I would just continue to go to school and give my son the monthly housing allowance to offset his expenses. I am thankful I have been investing in a 529 College Savings Plan since my son was born. It won’t cover a four year degree but it will help.
Sincerely, praying for all of my fellow veterans who are having a tough time. I am not only praying, I am an active member of the American Legion and donate to the Disabled Veterans Association.
We all need to really understand who makes the decisions on our benefits. Is it a person that has never served or another veteran that has good favor with the politians.
I too, would like to know how to transfer my education benefits to my kids. If we do not use the benefits before they are expired. Where does those benefits go? I’m thinking not to the other vets that deserve them. Please give me contact names and phone numbers to a person(s) with some real world answers.
I just retired this past June and was informed I would not be aloud to transfer my benifits to my daughter because when I returned from Afghanistan the paperwork was not filed correctly by my guard base in 2011. The answer I was given was that I can do 4 more years if I wanted to transfer it to my daughter. I have served proudly over 20 years and this is how they repay my family. I am still trying to figure out how to get in the VA system, my emails and calls go unanswrred from my former base. Serving in Afghanistan and Iraq I am not asking for anything above or beyond I just wanted to put my daughter through school. I pray for the future soliders that have to go through this bull crap
With the money that we give to other countries we could use that money to put a lot of vet’s to work. Instead of making them hope for hand outs from the VA. This country is fulling apart. Our infrastructure is fulling apart. We need to put our vet’s to work on the roads and bridges of this great country of ours. We can sent money to rebuild other countries, but we can’t rebuild our own cities and towns. The government needs to put this country first.
You want GI Bill? I can’t even get the VA to add my dependants to my benefits (they keep losing my paperwork, and apparently are unable to access or read the electronic information in eBenefits.
Now with the lack of health insurance for my family, I get a fine by the IRS. Yea, I get punched, not slapped!
My ten years is coming up fast and I want to make sure my G.I. Bill was transfer to one of my children so much as been said done, and changed. I want to know what forms; where they are; and how to obtain them . I want straight answers a CWO told me it was possible and would be taken care of but I have yet to see conformation.
V/R,
D.M.Green
http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_transfer.asp
Who can I contact to help answer question. I posted that my husband did 20 years of active services and retired. When my daughter graduated and picked a school she wanted to go to we applied for his G I bill they told my husband he didnt do the paperwork correctly before he retired he didn’t transfer the bill to her name before he got out. They told him he would be the only on that will be able to use the GI bill is this true?
Thanks
My Husband was in the navy, and passed away yrs later after he got out. I recently applied for his VA Benefits and we found out that my son his step who he raised will
be getting benefits age 321 for being disabled since birth . Can he use his dads GI Bill.
I personally had such a great experience using my GI Bill. I had no issues, everything promised was delivered, I am very surprised how many people have issues with it. I absolutely love it and I am so grateful I have such benefits.
Did you really expect answers…it’s just a blog. You could post nude pics and might get a rise from someone.
Not on my watch.
We’ve reached out to the education experts to come by Monday and answer the questions on this post as well as a couple more.
Obviously, the Veterans Administration should be run by 3/4 Veteran personnel who may be able to relate better to the problems of our veterans. You need to address these above problems and quickly. If the government can give $1 billion dollars to Iran (read that yesterday 1/28/16), than you can come up with enough money to help our veterans. Not to mention, start paying our soldiers in uniforms a decent salary. It’s pretty bad when I get a letter in the mail asking for money TO FEED OUR SOLDIERS’ FAMILIES HERE AT HOME!!!!
They do not cover all fees related to obtaining your educational degree. They don’t cover the distance learning fees, parking fees, or uniform fees related to your program.
Does anyone from the VA or military answer the questions in this blog?
ITS B.S.! There is nothing in the requirements that says “if you were on med hold, you can not benefit from the bill”. DoD denied my post 9-11 benefits because I was injured. I was activated for Hurricane Katrina and got seriously hurt and not by my own fault. Command waited until the end of the day, almost midnight, to send the people injured to a hospital. The emergency hospital in LA did an X-Ray and of course didn’t see anything wrong, but yet I came back to camp and worked as a search and rescue person. I also re-fueled units that were called to LA. WOW! They kept me in active status when our tour was completed and I was transferred to Ft. Sill for medical evaluation. During the entire time, I was NOT sitting on my butt, I was working in the OB/GYN hospital. I called e-benefits and they said I had it but DoD choses not to allow me to have this benefit, although I was injured while on active duty!
There should be a way to transfer the post 9/11 G.I. Bill to your children after you are out of the military if like me you were injured resulting in a medical yet honorable discharge. And your injury was 100% service related and connected. And due to the medication you were taking such as in my case Percocet, Morphine and Fentynal. I was unable to make any type of serious decisions. I was on con leave a year prior to my discharge and practically right after my injury and was on the medication from that time until two years after my discharge. There is no way I could’ve thought about or would be worrying about post-9/11 G.I. Bills or anything else on these meds. There should be a way that I could now that I’m thinking straight transfer those benefits to my children.
I have tried (unsuccessfully) for years to use my education benefits under the GI Bill (w/over 30 yrs of faithful service) only to find the VA places so many roadblocks in front that it is an extremely frustrating experience. I really don’t want to think this is by design, but it certainly seems that way to me. I would very much like to pursue a degree program but the VA makes me feel as though I’m invisible with absolutely no help at all.
The 9/11 GI BILL Was absolutely WORTHLESS tome. I already had a BA degree. I was planning on transferring the benefits to my kids because that’s what they told us w could do. I retired in 2006 after being deployed to Iraq for 18 months n 2004 and 2005 when the fighting was actually still going on and I actually EARNED that benefit!. When I tried to transfer it to my 2 sons going to college, I found I was ineligible and only those guys who were in after 2009, when the fighting was over, could actually transfer the benefits. What a rip-off and slap in the face!
I am wondering if I could ask to have my post 911 GI Bill (start) time extended. I am still working full time and would like to know who to contact to ask for an extension.
Grace Parmelee
Does the VA pay for dental and hearing aids?
Yes. Depending on your priority level you may have a copay. As soon as i was rated at 30% disability rating, my dental was paid for and performed by the va. I was discharged from the army may of 2006 with 20% disability rating half of which was for heating loss and the va has covered my hearing aids from the get go. I have since been awarded 100% . It is my understanding that the va will space a list or damaged hearing aid once èvery 4 yrs. Plus one you get enrolled in the battery program you never have to worry about hearing aid batteries because they are äutomatically sent to you.
Post 9 11…GI BILL…BULLSHIT…YOU ROBBED MINE WHILE I WAS STILL ON ACTIVE DUTY. I RETIRED FROM ACTIVE DUTY ON 1 DEC 87. YOU TOOK MINE ON 31 DEC 89. I SERVED MORE THAN 20 YEARS ACTIVE DUTY. YOU PEOPLE ARE,EVIL AND ROTTEN. I COULDN’T GET A JOB BECAUSE OF SERVICE CONNECTED INJURIES AND DISEASES. BUT YOU HID ALL THE EVIDENCE AND DENIED ME FOR 28 YEARS. YOU KEPT HIDDEN ALL MY MEDICAL EVIDENCE. XRAYS, REPORTS, ETC. AND STILL WON’T SEND IT TO ME .YOU ARE ALL LIARS.
I have a question my husband retired from the Marines and went to transfer his G I benefits to her after she got out of high school and applied to collage , but they told him he did not do the correct paperwork before he got out of the services so she can’t use it . He would be the only one that is allowed to use it .
Do I qualify for the post 911 go Bill. I was medically discharged in 5/1997. I was in desert storm/shield
No you don’t. Even people that were serving post 9/11 don’t qualify. I served almost 3 years after 9/11 and because this bill was not passed until 2008 or 2009 I am not eligible for any post 9/11 benifits for the time I went to school in 2005-2006. So if your benifits have run out of you went to school before 2008 then you are no longer eligible.
Post 9/11 is for people who served after 9/11/2001 the date of the Trade Center terrorists acts.
100 percent can be misleading too. If you can not pass a said class you have to pay for it on your own. You can also mount up quiet the debt. Also you can be overpaid (insert eye roll) Stipends and Housing allowance and have to pay back, even though you were in school and didnt make the grade.
What is the statute of limitations on the GI bill for older vets who want to get a college degree? It seems unfair that those of us who served during Vietnam era can no longer use our entitlement if we started but never completed degree
I totally agree!! Those that are entitled to the 9/11gibill are deserving!! No argument there!! But what makes me a 100% disabled veteran not good enough to have the same entitlements!!
I also agree. Both old and new vets should recieve the same benefits. Why should new war hostility be rewarded more than the old war hostile environment? War time is war time. So Compromise? All expense paid for accredited Online degrees for all vets with full vet health care.
The 90-10 loophole linking the GI Bill with student loans is the biggest reason that schools do not have transferability for their high end education while serving. It slower the college graduation rates for vets.It causes ALL schools to see veterans as cash cows with “invisible targets” on their backs. Don’t believe me? Google Holly Petraeus NY Times article 90-10 loophole victimizes or get Sen Carper’s Military Education Protection Act passed this session. It is opposed by for profits and banks. One veteran equals $135,000 per semester in student loans for non vets !!!!
Look at my submissions to the Cal Vet Governor’s Interagency Council on Education or on my Linkedin page under James Cahill.
Once you opt to transfer your benefits to your dependents, while on active duty, you would have to do it through your reenlistment NCO. And you would endure a couple of years added to your current enlistment. I know that if you’re medically discharged before you serve out the time you encured then they will give you a “pardon”, sort of speak, and you don’t have to serve those years and still get the benefits. But, once you’re out of the Army, I honestly don’t think you can do it.
Your last option for veterans to transfer Post 9/11 GI Bill is not correct or at the least misleading. The transfer of benefits has to be done while still serving.
What can be done after retiring is the revocation and reallocation of benefits to a family member already having or having had benefits.
I’m retired after 21 years, and still frustrated as to why I’m not able to transfer my (earned) benefits to my college-bound son.
My son in law post 9/11 is able to transfer his benefits to my daughter and he is no longer serving.
So how it is has to be done, any VA contact person?? what do I need to transfer it and where to go for help???