Getting Supplies

As I said in an earlier post, I hope I can motivate veterans to take advantage of their GI bill, live where they want, and study where they like.

My school is located in the heart of San Francisco and the bad part about it is that the teachers some times ask of things that are hard to find in the suburbs.

I had to go to the city to buy two boards... a total of about $6... yeah... 6 bucks and had to drive a whole 45min so I made it a day trip out of it with the family.

After fighting traffic in the city we went down by the Bay Bridge since we usually make our way over to pier 39, golden gate, golden gate bridge or just the beach.



We had a nice stroll through the city checking out the cool large buildings and a bunch of other things.







After a long stroll we headed back to the car and took off back to are home across the bay.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill August Update

Source of story - military.com

By Terry Howell

The Post-9/11 GI Bill became reality for thousands of veterans this week. Several veterans have already started receiving their benefits under the new program. Although there are some reports of payment errors – including both under and over payments – the VA is working in earnest to process the claims as quickly and correctly as possible. As of August 3, the VA had a back log of over 174K education assistance claims. That is a 500% increase over the same time last year.

A Major Tuition Glitch Fixed - In addition, this week brought some welcome news that the VA and the State of California had reached a compromise that eliminated the glitch that would have denied veterans tuition payments if they attended privately operated colleges and universities located in California. To learn more read the full story.

New Tools to Aid Veterans Choice - One draw back to the Post-9/11 GI Bill is that it is not always the best option for every veteran. (See “GI Bill No Longer One Size Fits All”) The issue is compounded by the fact that the choice to switch is irrevocable, making it very important for veterans to choose wisely.

Last week the VA released a helpful tool to aid vets in their research on which GI Bill (MGIB or P911 GIB) best fits their needs. The tool is a step-by-step guide that helps veterans see how their needs align (or not) with the new P911 GIB. The guide also helps veterans with gathering paperwork, comparing actual costs to benefits, a side-by-side comparison of the benefits and a benefit “estimator” which estimates the cash value of each member’s basic P911 GIB benefit. Visit the VA website to learn more.

New 2010 Tuition and Fees Payment Rates - This week the VA updated the State-by-State Tuition and Fees table for 2010. The tuition rates have increased as much as 10 percent for some states. The latest update includes changes for California, Minnesota and New Jersey in-state undergraduate tuition and fee rates. Several states and locations have yet to update their rates for 2010: Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Guam has also failed to report new figures as of the last posted update on Aug. 5, 2009. The new 2010 Tuition and Fees table is available at Military.com.

First Day of School

My first day of school was on Aug., 20, 2009. I chose to go to the Art Institute of California - San Francisco to study Web Design and Interactive Media.

After spending 3 years being a photojournalist at a paper in the Bay Area I chose web design because it made the most sense and it was something I found interest in.

I was fortunate enough to find a couple military people and hit it off right away since we had so much in common already. Transition into civilian life is not that easy. Military is a whole other world. Though we think we are not respected we probably get more respect while in the military than in the real world. That said... all three of us did not receive any of our money yet. Granted this is a very new program and there seems to be confusion with the schools its best to ask a lot of questions and push what you think is right.

The old GI bill you called and let them know you are enrolled in class and then the school would go ahead and send in your paperwork after the add/drop date. Now since there is BAH involved and the money to the school goes directly to them... the school needs to certify you.

When I spoke to the VA people over the phone they had told me everything is alright and ill get my money on the first day of school but since there is a back up with a lot of vets going to school, the process is taking 4-6 weeks to where it used to take 10 days. so it is imperative that the school certifies you when you register for classes.

To break it down this is what I did:

Met up with the admissions folks.
Enrolled in school.
Applied for benefits using VONAPP - https://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp
Received my certificate of eligibility.
Met with a financial officer at the school.
Applied for the yellow ribbon program (more money for school).

After all the approval process I called the VA and asked what to do next. They told me once I receive another letter telling me they got my enrollment stuff and I can move to the next step is have my school send them a form (the school should know the name) that I am enrolled for classes... now this is where you will have to beg them to send it since there are a lot of mix-up with the old and new GI bill.

To this day I still have not received a dime and probably will not see it till later on but now I have everything in place so I should be able to see my money soon :)

One thing I do recomend is if the school asked you of something as far as GI related do not give it to them until you speak to one of the people at the VA to confirm that is what you need. You can get a hold of a VA person at this number: 1-888-GIBILL-1

Predident Obama and the Post 9/11 GI Bill

The new presidents view of the GI Bill

Informational video on the GI Bill

This video explains a lot about the GI Bill.

New benefit, New life

A friend of mine told me that the government came out with a plan, a plan that would change my life. The new Montgomery GI bill for veterans who served under the 9/11 war on terror would actually be rewarded with something, the post 9/11 GI Bill.

I had no idea this existed and did not understand what kind of benefits I was going to receive, and if I qualified.

After a lot of research I came to find out I did qualify and it was something I wanted to do.

This was great! Granted I was one of the lucky ones who landed a job as soon as I got out of the military, this was still a great thing since the economy was so bad and there was no where to go at my job and had no idea how long it would stay open.

Now what is the point of this blog... well I want to share my experiences with everyone and hope to encourage and inform as many veterans as possible to take advantage of this great opportunity that has come to us.