RE: http://forums.military.com/money-for-school/gi-bill/gi-...ps?ESRC=education.nl

Well I dont know what some people are fussing about but I will graduate with 2 degrees at the same time with in the 36 month period of the old GI Bill (I graduate less than a month before this new one will be instituted)and I had to bend over backwards to find scholarships and pay book expenses out of pocket. Even if the new GI Bill covers 75% of school the pell grant will cover the rest and still be able to pocket some of it. I would have been in hog heaven with this new one!!!!!

I'm surprised with such an important topic as this new post 911 G.I. bill the author of the article would make such a blatant error and no one would pick it up before publishing it! The article states the BAH would be based on a SINGLE E-5. That is INCORRECT! It will be based on a MARRIED E-5. That may seem to some as no big deal, but the difference in pay between the two can be pretty substantial.

The article does not point out that the amount of education benefits that a veteran receives is based on where the school is --- not where the veteran lives. Therefore, a veteran living in Arkansas can still receive the same benefits as a Texas veteran if he goes to a Texas school. Every veteran will receive the same amount as any other veteran attending the same school. The difference in tuition costs is not always related to institutional prestige or academic achievement of the school --- the cost of living in the state has an enormous effect on tuition costs. Any plan to cap benefits should take that into account.

Bryan Markward


MOT HAT ON

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: stillkit,

Make it even for all vets. Leave it to a group
of idiots to screw it up.

If they throw out the tuition cap idea and just pay for what ever school that Veteran can get into, regardless state or private school. And make it full coverage for any vet deployed to a combat zone / Eminent Danger pay zone. And, have the tiered coverage for any Reserve / active veteran on CONUS duty, That would make the process simpler.

Active Army side has the Army college fund and all the Reservist that got deployed, the only get the GI Bill. We had to duck bullets too.

My question is this, basically because of the seeking of multiple degrees I am a junior and my chapter 30 GI Bill, just happens to run out in August 2009, when this new-GI Bill begins. So I have one year out of pocket. The original GI Bill is 36 months and the new GI BILL is 48 months, I've heard rumors that people in my situation will be able to pick up the last 12 months of the new GI Bill. Anybody know anything about this?

quote:

Originally posted by fredevans:
If they throw out the tuition cap idea and just pay for what ever school that Veteran can get into, regardless state or private school. And make it full coverage for any vet deployed to a combat zone / Eminent Danger pay zone. And, have the tiered coverage for any Reserve / active veteran on CONUS duty, That would make the process simpler.

Active Army side has the Army college fund and all the Reservist that got deployed, the only get the GI Bill. We had to duck bullets too.

And how much additional taxes are you and your family/friends willing to pay for a benefit program such as this?????? But your idea does have merit but Congress will never allocate that much money to pay for a program such as this. They need more money to line their pockets with and to benifit all the new social programs that will be passed over the next 4 years under America wakes up and votes for some non-liberal socialist congress people.

quote:

Originally posted by 10566766:
My question is this, basically because of the seeking of multiple degrees I am a junior and my chapter 30 GI Bill, just happens to run out in August 2009, when this new-GI Bill begins. So I have one year out of pocket. The original GI Bill is 36 months and the new GI BILL is 48 months, I've heard rumors that people in my situation will be able to pick up the last 12 months of the new GI Bill. Anybody know anything about this?

Answered this in your other post.

I am going to keep it simple for all those that think this is unfair:

If you go to school in Texas, you will get the Texas rate.

If you want more of a benefit, go to a better school. This is a great benefit that doesn't need the "fairness doctrine" principles applied to it. KEEP IT SIMPLE SAILORS!

how does this sound 17834442 An Iraq war veteran living in Texarkana, Texas, could get more than $56,000 in tuition benefits under the GI Bill next year. But if the same veteran lives a few miles east on the Arkansas side of the city, he'll get only about $5,300 a year for his college education. Well i guess that you did not read this artical that well. This is saying that no matter where you go to school that you will get paid what your home state is paying out for schooling not what a nother state is paying out!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by 11842024:
how does this sound 17834442 An Iraq war veteran living in Texarkana, Texas, could get more than $56,000 in tuition benefits under the GI Bill next year. But if the same veteran lives a few miles east on the Arkansas side of the city, he'll get only about $5,300 a year for his college education. Well i guess that you did not read this artical that well. This is saying that no matter where you go to school that you will get paid what your home state is paying out for schooling not what a nother state is paying out!!!!

Ooppsss Your looking at it wrong. What the VA can pay is based on the institution you choose to attend - doesn't matter what your home state is unless your attending a school in that state. The tuition/fees and BAH are based on the school.

The New Post 9/11 GI Bill will pay the tuition and fees at the rate set for the highest public institution in that state, so the school you choose to attend might have tuition/fees higher or lower than that. If it is higher - the veteran could have to pay the differance depending or not if the institution chooses to participate in the yellow ribbon program or not - either way the Veteran does not get to pocket the differance if he chooses to attend a school with the lower tuition/fees rate. THE BAH rate is based on the institutions Zip Code. So you could live in a low cost of living town many miles away but drive to a school in a higher cost of living area and be paid a higher BAH rate since its the institutions Zip Code that determines the BAH rate. Veterans should not be chooseing where to get their education based on the Zip Code/BAH, but whether it is a quality institution and if the VA will be able to cover the cost of the tuition/fees based on the rate for that state.

So if your living in Arkansas and driving to school in Texas - you will receive the BAH rate and tuition/fees for the Texas school, $56,000 not $5,300 per your example. It doesn't matter where your home or home of record is. This program is based on the school you choose to attend, the tuition/fees rates for the state the school is located in and the BAH for that school's Zip Code.

This is part of the reason that if you only take online courses you don't receive the BAH rate. It would be easy for an institution from Arkansas to set up a new Campus in New York that only offers online courses, get a bunch of veterans to sign up by offering tuition/fees lower than the rate set for New York state because the BAH rate for New York would be way higher than Arkansas so a veteran living in a low cost area like Arkansas could make a profit off of the high New York BAH rate and the institution to make a big profit because their expenses would be low, paying the professors a whole lot less than they would have to if the professers lived in New York and it was a resident institution.

This article misses the most basic point of the benefit. It is foolish and shortsighted to look at just dollars and compare one guy to another on that basis.
The benefit is not really the money - the benefit bestowed by the legislation and earned by our fellow servicemen is an EDUCATION. Best part is you get to chose your education source. Stop jealously comparing among apples and oranges; it is really foolish and ignorant.

If the service member does not actually get the money and it goes to the college, I don't think anyone should be concerned about one veteran getting more than another veteran. The veteran can't pocket any of the money since it doesn't pass through their hands.

I totally agree with 18062802 and Sandy777. People need to focus on the fact that now Veterans will be able to attend colleges they could not financially afford to attend and receive the education degree they desire from the institution they desire and stop all the crying about he's getting more than me. That kind of attitude should be left behind in grade school but unfortunately that attitude to becoming more and more the American standard. It's not enough to keep up with the Jones family - now adays everyone wants to be better than the Jones.

Not to complain, but I served for 22 years and it would seem I retired about 11 days too early to be included in this. I did get some help from the military on my degree, they paid almost a third of the cost of my degree and I still have $20,000 that have pay on my student loans. But I have to say the last program they claimed was 100% tuition assistance was totally bunk unless you only take one or two classes a year, it had a cap of $3600. I think the to call it uneven scholarships is an understatement.

Here's something to think about. Some folks posting here are less than happy about folks down in say Texas getting more money for college than let's say in Arkansas. Well, no matter how you slice it this new education program will pay for almost every school in the country. The dollar amount does not matter unless you are better off staying with the old programs like chapter 30.

Now think about this...the folks going to college at say the U of Texas under the old chapter 30 program had to take out massive school loans to get a degree because thier benefit simply did not pay for that school's tuition and fees. A person going to an Arkansas school under the old program probably did not have to take out the loans because chapter 30 probably paid all tuition and fees. Or at least a much greater percentage. And the folks from Texas weren't complaining about that inequitible situation. So let's all stop the complaining. Just a thought.

I think that the people that are complaining do not really understand how the system works. The tuition is based off of where you go to school, not where you live. There is a difference in benefits for people going to school in AK than TX, but who really cares. The point is that the veteran gets to go to school for free. The amount of money is going to the school for tuition. It really does not give a better benefit to one veteran over another. It seems more like a back door way to try and save money by deceiving confused veterans into believing they will not be afforded equal benefits. Poor reporting and shame on the organizations that are supposed to be supporting veterans.

Wow, some people need to do their research. First of all, the new GI Bill will still only pay out for 36 months, not 48.
Second, the reason Texas has such a maximum rate for tuition and fees is because they went and found the most obscure degrees with high tuition and fees at universities here in Texas and made sure to include them in their report. (One that was included was a bachelors in aviation that included flying lessons. You can imagine the fees for that degree.) That way, every veteran in Texas is covered for their degree and school. That is why Texas has a maximum of $56,000. I learned this from our VA rep at school.
Finally, this is fair for every veteran. If there is an institution that offers a specific degree in which you are interested, you are more likely to apply to that school. Correct? So why should it matter how much it costs if you are getting the education you want and, frankly, deserve? My tuition is only $6,000 and some change a year. However, this is the only public institution that offers my degree where I live. If it cost $36,000 a year, I'd still attend because it offers my degree. I use the Hazlewood Act, which pays for tuition and fees. So no matter where I attend school, that is paid for. It works the same for the GI Bill, except there is a living stipend included. I wish that had been the case when I was using the GI Bill, but that's okay. At least it's been remedied for others.
And if anyone thinks they can put a cap on benefits better be prepared for a political fight with student veteran organizations across the country. We won't stand for it.