Anyone have experience using Post-9/11 GI Bill at UA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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I mentioned in a post earlier this week that I will be traveling to Tuscaloosa this summer with my high school son for him to attend SITE.

He will be using the Post-9/11 GI Bill for at least two years of his college education. I was wondering if any other UA families here on CC have experience with the process of applying for the benefits, working with the folks at the Veteran and Military Affairs office, etc. I’ve emailed them to request an appointment during my time in Alabama.

Also, does anyone have experience with how health insurance works for military dependents? We are on Tricare Prime. I’m not sure what happens with my son’s health insurance once he goes to college.

I appreciate any information you can share.

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This has been discussed quite a bit on the UA Parents FB page, but I’m sure a couple of those parents will chime in here. I know that several families have used Post-9/11 GI Bill at UA and from what I’ve heard at least, it seems to be going smoothly. Enjoy your trip to UA this summer!

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I’ll see if I can get @Longsx3 to answer…she knows a LOT about all of this.

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This coming fall will be my daughter’s 3rd yr ( and Final) at UA using my Husbands Post 9/11 Gi Bill, as well as the Presidential Scholarship. The VA office at Bama has been a dream to work with, we have not had one single issue.

You apply for the actual benefits through the VA, using E-Benefits. The process was simple and smooth. If you have specific questions I will do my best to answer.

As far as Tricare, we are Tricare Prime South and D has only been sick twice. We kept her PCM here as well as her specialists, when she needed medical care there she went to the SHC and her Dr here wrote a referral. There are not any Tricare Prime PCM’s in Tuscaloosa as of 2013.
For Specialist appts she comes home, we are in Florida and Southwest flights make it easy enough to come home. In 2016 when she starts law school we may change her medical care. If you are not in the South region you may need to check your options, I know there are some that have switched to standard for their college Student.

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Longsx3, thank you so much for the info. I saw an article recently describing the best universities for veterans/military families and UA was high on the list. I’ve had my husband print out all of his paperwork and I’m going to bring it with me to UA when I meet with the VA office.

Congratulations to your daughter! She must have come in with lots of AP credits (?) to be finished in 3 years. What an accomplishment. I’m going to try and join the UA Parents Facebook group so I can learn more about using the GI Bill.

Thank you! I’ll be in touch if I have future questions. We still have two more years of high school to get through.

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@try2figureitout Good luck with your search!

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My son just finished his freshman year UA and is using Post 9/11 benefits. I absolutely agree with Longsx3 that the Veterans and Military Affairs office has been an extremely positive experience. They are very responsive and helpful (Longsx3 has also been helpful :slight_smile: ).

As far as Tricare, my son is Prime and we are in the North region. We did not switch him to south region because it was too much of hassle to switch back and forth for the summers, etc. especially without the guarantee that we would be assigned to the same PCM each time we need to switch regions. My son did not get sick once this past year - but if he had, we were just planning to pay out of pocket for the Student Health Center or in an extreme case have him go the the ER.

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My DD just finished up her first year and prior, we were Tricare Prime -south region. There are no Drs. within 30 minutes of T-town that accepted this and because we were having issues ourselves finding Drs. who accepted Prime in B’ham, I did a lot of research and switched to Tricare Standard and then also picked up MOAA supplemental insurance which was pretty cost-effective. MOAA picks up what standard doesn’t pay. My DD used the campus health center 4 or 5 times and it’s ease couldn’t be beat. Of course, my other DD and I needed to switch to Standard as well, so you will need to check and see if something like that is cost effective to do for your UA student alone. Like someone mentioned above, it may be better to pay per visit, out of pocket.

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I’m so glad to hear that V&MA has been easy to work with - it’s the way it should be for you military families! :wink:

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@MontessoriMom2 It is my understanding because your D is a College student away from home that you should have been able to switch only your D to standard?

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That may very well be the case on switching the student only. I never looked into that option only, though because my other D and I had no Dr. choices in B’ham under Prime ourselves, so we all switched. And again, with it being three of us, it was cost-effective to add the supplemental insurance through MOAA, which pays what Standard doesn’t. Also my college D is able to also have a primary care Dr. here in B’ham when she is home.

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Gonna switch to standard this summer and do the MOAA supplemental too. I’ve heard so many problems with delays and hassles getting a referral from your child’s PCM. We’re moving this summer anyway so it’s not like we’ll be tied to a PCM.

New rules for GI a Bill and if I’m not mistaken the VA office at UA just updated their website with the new info that takes effect Fall 2015. We opted not to use GI bill benefits due to scholarship but we visited the va office and they have one person assigned to just the post 9-11 bill chapter whatever it was. And there are other benefits just being a milkid that they’ll share with you so definitely visit them!

Join their facebook page too.

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Thank you, Rdtsmith! I’m sharing the information below for other veterans/military families reading this thread. I will be going into their offices to confirm in person that my interpretation is correct.

Copied this from the UA Registrar’s Office website documenting the new Fall 2015 residency guidelines for veterans/military:

IV. VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES

For purposes of admission and tuition, the University of Alabama shall consider that the term “resident student” includes any of the following:

A. One who, at the time of registration, satisfies one of the following conditions:

  1. Military personnel on active duty, along with their spouse or dependent child(ren), who are either stationed in Alabama for reasons other than attending school or whose State of Residence on their Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) is Alabama;
  2. Has been a member of the Alabama National Guard for a period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the academic term in which the student qualifies for resident tuition, and continues to be a member of the Alabama National Guard while enrolled at the The University of Alabama;
  3. Beginning with the fall 2015 semester, is receiving or entitled to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI-Bill or Montgomery GI-Bill programs, or other federal law authorizing veterans’ educational benefits, and satisfies as least one of the following conditions:

a. A Veteran who is physically present in the state of Alabama (as evidenced by documentation of one’s physical address in Alabama while enrolled) and enrolls within 3 years of receiving an honorable discharge, as verified by a United States Department of Defense Form 214, from a period of active duty service of 90 days or more;

b. A spouse or dependent child using transferred benefits who is physically present in the state of Alabama (as evidenced by documentation of one’s physical address in Alabama while enrolled) and enrolls within 3 years of the transferor’s honorable discharge, as verified by a United States Department of Defense Form 214, from a period of active duty service of 90 days or more;

c. A spouse or dependent child using benefits under the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship who is physically present in the state of Alabama (as evidenced by documentation of one’s physical address in Alabama while enrolled) and enrolls within 3 years of the Servicemember’s death in the line of duty following a period of active duty service of 90 days or more;

  1. Is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States, not eligible under subsection 3 above, provided that the veteran is physically present in the state of Alabama (as evidenced by documentation of one’s physical address in Alabama while enrolled) and satisfies at least one of the following conditions:

a. The veteran has served on active duty for a continuous period of time, not less than 2 years, and has received an honorable discharge as verified by a United States Department of Defense Form 214 within 5 years of enrolling at The University of Alabama;

b. Has been a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States for a period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the academic term in which the student qualifies for resident tuition and continues to be an active drilling member of their respective Reserve Unit while enrolled at The University of Alabama;

c. The veteran has been assigned a service-connected disability by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.

B. To be eligible for resident tuition as provided for in subsection A, and to maintain eligibility, the student shall:

  1. Have secured admission to and enrolled full-time or part-time at The University of Alabama
  2. Maintain full-time or part-time enrollment at The University of Alabama
  3. Satisfy the admission and retention standards at The University of Alabama

C. A student who has previously met the requirements of this section shall continue to be classified as a resident student as long as the qualifying student maintains physical presence in the State of Alabama while enrolled at The University of Alabama. If an individual provided for in subsection A is released or discharged dishonorably, such release shall be grounds for revocation of in-state resident status for tuition purposes.