My last semesters were fine, held a 2.53 GPA. But, I had a horrible semester and have failed all 4 of my classes for the first time (so I most likely will be on academic probation). I’m pretty sure my parents are under the G.I. Bill or some sort of VA aid, and would like some information before I go to my counselor for help.
How will this affect my current aid? Will I have to pay the VA back for this semester and the next to continue? Or will they continue to pay, and give me the next semester or so to up my GPA? If I don’t get it up, what will happen? I’m not so sure how this works.
I know this is t what you are asking…but if you failed all of your courses in the term, you need to identify why that happened, and have a plan for not repeating that. Even before that you did not have even a B average.
It is highly likely that you have not met satisfactory academic progress at your college. You need to find out what that means…and what your school procedure is for that.
I actually go to a community college and every semester I get an email that says whether I reach SAP or not, and each semester I have had that email. I doubt this semester I’ll get it though. I planned a counselor meeting and will ask about.
Usually your SAP policy is online, in the student handbook. Google for it, and read and understand it.
If you don’t meet SAP you can’t get federal aid. I don’t know how it applies to GI, but no Pell, no loan can be given until you are back in line, so you have to self pay until then. Ask what benefits you are wasting. All these have limits. You can only get them for limited time so try not to waste benefits on failed semesters. Go to class, get help early and often.
p.s. I forgot you could and likely will be put on academic probation too. That sholld be in there student handbook.
Also, be sure to save your benefits for the last 2 years when a 4 year college is more expensive. It might make sense to self pay for a while to preserve those benefits for later. Otherwise it might be hard to find the money to pay to finish. Work it out on paper how many semesters you have.
If you plan on getting a bachelors degree, you need to see how many semesters the GI bill covers. Is it possible that you shouldn’t be wasting them at a CC? You don’t want to get stuck paying all costs at a Univ because you wasted the GI bill at a cheap CC.
Definitely talk to your counselor at school for the most accurate information, but from what I know, one failed semester should not impact post 9/11 GI Bill entitlements. The only hitch I see is if your school requires as a condition of probation that you take less than a full time class load next semester. Then, that could impact any BAH that goes along with your tuition (if you are receiving that)
If you fail a class you receive what is called a “punitive grade” for that class. A punitive grade is a grade that doesn’t count as earned credit, but is used in determining a student’s progress toward graduation requirements. This means that the grade you receive counts in your overall degree progress, albeit negatively. Since this grade counts towards your graduation progress you are not required to repay any GI Bill money you received for that class.
You may take the class again in an attempt to receive credit towards graduation or raise your grade for it and you may receive GI Bill payment for the retaking of the class.
Just going to update here and say that it will most likely be a waste of time talking with a counselor about VA benefits, most don’t have any experience with it and will be clueless. Go to the Veterans desk at your school if you have one, or email the director of the veterans affairs at your school. They will be able to tell you straight up if you’ll lose benefits, or if you just need to bring your grades up. If you have a 2.5 while in CC, I would recommend you start taking either less classes, or need to study more and less friend time, VA benefits are an amazing thing to have, and if you plan to transfer to university, I would highly recommend that you save as much of the money you get at the moment for the times when you will really need it to pay for university.
@mom2collegekids - That is true, I plan to transfer to Fresno State afterwards… maybe I should talk to my parents about saving it for than. I didn’t know there was a limit to the benefits.
@Catmatmc - My academic probation for my community college says that I must retain a 2.0 GPA after every semester. After all this failing semester, I still have above 2.0 cumulative GPA (barely, around 2.1-2.2). But, I’ll still ask if I’m on it and ask what my next steps are.
@Erin’s Dad - Thanks, I’ll tell my parents about it. Like I said, I want to transfer to Fresno State and that will most likely cost more. And I think this semester’s classes are around a few hundred dollars.
@Sopopoi - Oh, okay, that is true. My community college is right near our Naval Base, so hopefully a few counselors will know about it or at least point me to someone who will know. And yes, I DEFINITELY will turn my grades around this coming semester. Thanks for your input, I keep getting encouraged to save my VA benefits for when I transfer. This semester’s classes I’m taking are a few hundred dollars, so, I will ask my parents about it. We don’t know much about benefits, so, my dad (the veteran) thinks that the benefits will keep paying my way through college.
My wife wanted to change careers and be a nurse. The program was one year (10 months and 12 days according to the VA). The Private school she attended was a Yellow Ribbon School. The tuition for the year was over 60K. My wife paid nothing.
Isn’t tuition free for the children of vets in California who have a service connected disability and attend a Community College?
If your dad transferred all benefits to you, you get 36 months of benefits. Months with breaks are prorated. You get a letter each semester that states how many months/days you have left.
Are you in a California CC? Did you graduate from a California HS? If you did for both then you might qualify for BOGFW. It will pay for your tuition while at a CCC. I used that in conjunction with my VA benefits. I wasn’t wise with my money however and am now going into CSU with no extra money to start off and wondering where all the money they gave me went… lol. I do have about 18 months left of VA though so that will really help.
@dadoftwingirls - Yeah, my dad didn’t really tell me any information at all. But, now that I read your reply; I’ll ask about it when I go to my meeting and also w/ my dad. It turns out, I’m on the College Fee Waiver Authorization (Plan B). I’ll ask more information about that.
@cap - Really? I didn’t know… the only letter, regarding our benefits (that I know of from last year), was a College Fee Waiver Authorization (Plan B) that outlined that I got my benefits for the academic year of 2014/2015, re-establish my eligibility the subsequent year, and meet the California Residency requirement. I’ll have to ask my dad about it.
@Sopopoi - Yes, to both questions. And I think my friend got approved for the BOG a few days ago, I’ll have to ask him how he did it and than ask my advisor. Lol, that sounds like what I’m heading into right now. But, good luck to the both of us. C:
@rosetamayo, here is some advice. You are responsible for your education. You need to find out what you are eligible and the associated benefits. I would schedule an appointment with the on post education counselor for you and your father. This way your father can give his service details so the counselor can determine what benefits you are entitled and you can hear it first hand. The post education counselors are not there only to help service members but also help their spouses and their children.
Don’t assume your father will pass on every detail of information, know what you consider important or ask the important follow up questions that are obvious to you. Information doesn’t always get passed or passed correctly when you use another person. Also, his sense of priority may not be the same as yours Example, did you always pass the information your parents gave you to the intended individual in the time your parents wanted? I still have this issue with my spouse when she wants a specific item fixed in the house but wants me to call the repairman without giving me all the details but she assumes I magically know what happened.
The benefits are yours and not your father’s. You need to take the lead. The resources he would use are available for you and don’t be afraid to use them.