<p>I applied to UW Tacoma and UW Seattle and I'm just wondering if there are any veterans out there who have applied in the past or are applying now and can provide any insight into the process or how it may differ for veterans. Any kind of discussion helps. Any tips for using VA benefits such as the Post 9/11 GI Bill would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Hi @wils2797 , there isn’t anything special or specific for vets until you get to the financial part which I am pretty experienced with! What exactly is it you want to know? I have a whole slew of knowledge but I don’t want to insult what you might already know by starting from the top. Are you a transfer or is this your first college experience? </p>
<p>Also, if you are deployed or not in the area and want to get some leniency out of them in terms of extending the application due date, it won’t happen. Many schools that cater to vets will (Any CC you can think of in WA state tends to be good, and Saint Martin’s and PLU are also very flexible as they don’t have such a huge application intake). This doesn’t mean UW isn’t vet friendly, they just don’t have the time to deal with all of that and vets tend to be in and out of their education unless they have some very established goals that they can dedicate their time to. I speak from experience on this as I have been working towards a University since 2008 and am only just now finishing up my Associates!</p>
<p>Now that I am off Active duty, my education goal is set and I am aggressively pursuing it. For the sake of your sanity and educational record, I do not recommend UW if this isn’t the case for you. There are many other options like SMU and PLU I mentioned above that will work with you.</p>
<p>I’m transferring. I separate from the military in a few weeks. I’m waiting to hear back from Seattle, I was accepted to UW Tacoma. I guess I want to know how the gi bill process works. I have the certificate of eligibility. From what I understand you bring this to the VA official at the school and they send it to the VA. How long does it take to for payments to start? Is there anything else I should know beyond that? </p>
<p>In addition to that, give them a copy of your DD 214. Also, you have to submit your VONAPP and change your home school in addition to giving them your NOBE or whatever it is called now. Some schools will have the form available, and some have better VA reps than others, but it is much quicker and more reliable to use the VONAPP with changing your home school. Also mail a copy of your NOBE to the VA office itself to make sure they have that on file, in addition to your DD 214.</p>
<p><a href=“https://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp_ssl/login.asp”>https://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp_ssl/login.asp</a></p>
<p>After you get some snail mail from the VA asking you to verify the change, mail it back, and keep an eye on your ebenefits education page. This will tell you what your percentage is and how many months you have left. I don’t know for sure if UW does this, but my previous school’s rep asked me to send her a screen shot of this page. Just be prepared for that in case they do.</p>
<p><a href=“VAAFI Login-SSOe”>VAAFI Login-SSOe;
<p>The way the GI Bill pays out (depending on which you get) can happen in a couple different ways:</p>
<p>1) If you get the Montgomery, you have to certify yourself every month via the GI Bill WAVE system.</p>
<p><a href=“Welcome to the GI Bill Website - U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs”>https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave/index.do</a></p>
<p>2) If you get the Post 9/11, this pays out automatically towards the end of the month direct deposit into your bank account for your BAH. The tuition portion will automatically go to the school. After you register EVERY QUARTER/SEMESTER, email your VA rep to tell them that you registered and what classes and what the hours are. This helps them out a ton! Unless of course, they are on the ball and don’t want you in their business lol. Usually they appreciate that in my experience. </p>
<p>The biggest difference between the two is for the first one, you must certify your own enrollment. For the second one, the VA rep must certify you. </p>
<p>As far as how long payments take, you must wait until the end of each month at school until you see a payment, because you only get paid after you complete the month of classes. Same goes regardless of who certifies. You can only certify the Montgomery at a certain time at the end of the month, and it will give you a pay schedule for when to expect your EFT after every certification. I usually see my BAH around the 28th of the month in a lump sum. No more 1st and 15th payments. </p>
<p>For UW Tacoma, give Bruce a call at (253) 692-5721 if you haven’t linked up with him already. He is really good about calling back voice mails. He can also link you up with UW Seattle’s VA rep too!</p>
<p>Again, UW might have their own unique quirks, and stuff changes after every fiscal year. Not even a joke. I have chased this system around each year not because I am uniformed, but because it literally changes every effing year. </p>
<p>Hopefully this helps!</p>
<p>BTW the VONAPP form you need is the Form 22-1995</p>
<p>If you get out with any disability %, look into chapter 31 GI bill.</p>
<p>Also - Don’t expect any credits to transfer. I had about 110 credits, including multiple years/credits of Physics/chem/math (I was a Navy Nuke) on my SMART, and I got 3 for PE…for boot camp.</p>
<p>Lol @SeattleSleuth I totally feel your pain. Unfortunately UW does specify that they won’t accept any credit for MOS or job specific training- even if you have a legitimately transferable skill and school; like how an Army Medic has their EMT-B. Which is kind of understandable because UW doesn’t have any EMT programs or classes.</p>
<p>However, some community colleges (TCC specifically) will give AARTS credit as electives towards their Associates programs, but UW won’t take take any individual credit. The most I’ve ever gotten out of my military experience thus far is a high five for serving and some cool leadership and experience points for my personal statements.</p>
<p><a href=“https://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Transfer/CreditPolicies#military-credit”>https://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Transfer/CreditPolicies#military-credit</a></p>
<p>@SeattleSleuth @nornorbalina Thanks for the advice</p>