<p>Posted this in the CC thread, but thought to give it exposure here too:
I was wondering if a fellow veteran with some experience can give some advice on whether I should use my Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits while in community college or not?</p>
<p>I have applied to colleges, but am thinking of community college first, then transfer as an option. One of my main questions with that is should I save my educational benefits for when I get to a traditional college or university or will it not make a difference if I use them for CC as well?</p>
<p>If I attended a CC, I would be really motivated to get all the required classes out of the way and transfer asap. I can continue to work part-time where I am working full-time now, and my wife will be working full-time. I know for sure I can afford the tuition without using my benefits, but I'm not sure how other things will go with other school fees and books, etc. I'm thinking that even if I don't use my G.I. Benefits, I can still fill out the FAFSA and possibly use any grants and scholarships through that.</p>
<p>I don't necessarily have plans to go on to a master's or professional degree, but if I can save some of my months of benefits in case I decide to later, then that would be nice.</p>
<p>How long have you been out? Would you be past the point where you could use the benefits when you did decide if you wanted to go to grad school? Generally I would say if you can avoid using GI bill benefits for Community College then do it.</p>
<p>My EAS was Summer 2010 . . . so around the time I start school it would be 2 years leaving me 13 more to use up the benefits. I’ve never attended a CC, but for those I talk to who have, they are saying that most required classes fill up fast and it may perpetuate a stay at a CC. At the CC I would go to I would get priority registration b/c I’m a veteran. Should I be worried about being stuck in CC at all, or generally do ppl get in and out in a timely fashion?</p>
<p>That makes sense. Different communities can be, well, different. Before I’d start I would have a big talking to with the counselors on the path to transfer. It makes sense veterans would have priority registration since they would lose their VA benefits if they were not to get into a class they needed for thier “plan” they submit.</p>
<p>I had to chime in here. I used my P911GIB at a CC, and was very grateful to have it - but my situation was markedly different from yours. If I had the knowledge that I do now, especially in the situation you described, I think it would be wise to wait to use your benefits.</p>
<p>I was in serious money trouble when I went back to school, and with both me and my wife having lost our jobs in '09, the Post-9/11 bill was our only income for a significant amount of time. I worked several part-time jobs and attended school full-time, and my income plus the BAH kept us afloat until we got back on our feet. I was privileged to be able to go back to school to be sure, but at the time my educational goals were low (AA degree) and I had seriously underestimated my potential. In short - I really went back to school because I needed the money.</p>
<p>In that time I discovered a great deal of academic talent I didn’t realize I possessed, and plan to go much further academically than I ever anticipated. However, having exhausted all my GI Bill benefits at relatively inexpensive CC, I’m now at UCLA as a junior with no other option than to take loans. Now with my sights set on grad/law school, my debts will only multiply. </p>
<p>Had I had the foresight to see this happening, I would have used the Pell Grant and cash for my tuition and expenses at CC, taking every course I could that articulated with the UC curriculum, then started using my P911GIB here to pay for this much more expensive tuition.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would strongly consider that as an option. If you break it down in terms of total value, you will be selling yourself seriously short exhausting benefits in cheap tuition, rather than holding off until you get to a 4-year and getting the maximum amount possible. Even if you had to take loans to make it through CC, you might be looking at a few thousand total (after other, FAFSA related grants are factored) rather than the $15-30K you’ll need to pay for your BA at a good school after you realize what a great student you have likely become due to your military experience.</p>
<p>I am grateful for having the GI Bill to save my ass when I nearly lost everything. But if you are in anything less than an extreme situation like that, you should wait until you can get the absolute most out of it!</p>
<p>cortez, thanks a ton for your response. I have gathered a lot more information in regards to my situation since I first posted, so new responses are ever so helpful.</p>
<p>I’ve been accepted to a couple universities, but am still keeping CC an option mainly due to the money/income factor as well though. I’ve since filed the FAFSA and my EFC is 05500-05600, and I’m getting information that that makes me ineligible for Pell grants. . . so the only thing grants wise I MAY qualify for is the Cal Grant (HS GPA was 3.4). I had my old HS counselor fill out and send the form almost 2 months ago, but haven’t heard anything back and didn’t even think about it until now. Am I supposed to get some sort of notification in the mail? When? I haven’t received any FA packages from my schools yet - they say I’ll be notified of those mid-March to early-April.</p>
<p>The biggest money woe would be that while my wife is working full-time now, it’s kind of low pay for her field (her first job in that field) so doesn’t make a whole lot and it doesn’t have health benefits. If I went to CC I would still make some $ while going to school (along with BAH) and would keep the health benefits associated. The huge notion I get is that you obviously get more bang for your buck if the benefits are used at a traditional university, but I know that if my wife doesn’t move on to a better job by time I need to decide, then I will have to go CC with the GI Bill.</p>
<p>Any suggestions when thinking about all this? I have been maticulously studying the UC transfer process and would be proactive in attending all the UC transferrable classes needed and do it all in the quickest time possible. Best news of all this is that I found out that at the CC I would attend veterans ARE given registration priority even before athletes and student government members. So I should be able to get any class that I want when it is offered.</p>
<p>I believe I’m going to be able to go start to finish (4 years) on the GI Bill. A few things to keep in mind just in case you weren’t aware-</p>
<p>-When calculating how much GI Bill you are using, don’t count time in between semesters, you won’t get paid during that time(which is actually really nice)
-If you start your last semester with just 1 day remaining of GI Bill, they will finish you out</p>
<p>I think you should get all of the Gen eds done through an online college (like american military university). pick a school with a generous Financial aid package… AMU has free books… you might not even need to use the GI bill until after u transfer.</p>
<p>ps the post 9-11 bill does pay housing allowance on breaks and between semesters.</p>
<p>Really? I understand they would pay for December eventhough I may be on Winter break for half the month, but would they then just prorate that month? Same for Spring break.</p>
<p>Do they pay for July-August, when it would be Summer if I were not attending a Summer session?</p>
<p>No. The GI Bill used to give you gap BAH between two terms, but they no longer do. So if you have classes from Aug 15-Dec 15 you only get a half month of BAH for August and Dec. It used to be you got a full month of BAH for those months, but that was changed when they also changed the GI Bill to have a flat rate of $17,500 for private schools instead of going by the amount of the most expensive public tuition in that state. I can’t remember when that was, but I think it was around March 2011.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend planning out your entire degree timeline in as much detail as<br>
possible. </p>
<p>My experience:</p>
<p>I left the Marines in 2009 and started school immediately at a small, cheap institution. I<br>
then transferred to the CoE at the University of Michigan. I am an out of state student.<br>
First school gave me instate tuition because of vet status, but Michigan does not. UM costs about $22,000 a semester for OoS tuition. </p>
<p>In order to transfer, there were required courses I had to complete. When I planned it all<br>
out I saw that I would need one more semester than I had on my GI Bill. So I paid out of<br>
pocket (using Pell Grants mostly --FILL OUT YOUR FAFSA!!!) for one semester at the<br>
cheaper school so I wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for my last semester at Michigan.</p>
<p>Schools and the VA (usually) want to help you cover as much tuition as possible, but once<br>
your 36 months of benefits is up, there is nothing they can do. </p>
<p>So plan ahead; a semester of out of pocket (or student loans if needed) at a CC is always<br>
cheaper than a semester at a 4 year institution.</p>
<p>Nothing is guaranteed, but it has been noted on this forum and elsewhere that if your GIBill benefits run out, and all you need it that last semester or a couple moths to complete your degree or program, then the VA has been known to extend your benefits through the last couple months. Does this happen in every case? No. Should it be expected in your educational plan? Probably not, but I can imagine for some veterans that are in more dire financial situations the VA makes a few exceptions for the end.</p>
<p>Just pointing out that the guidleline most common to vets is the 36 months of benefit, but it is not the end all be all definition of the benefit.</p>
<p>If you exhaust your 36 months and still need 1 more full school year to go (~9 more months), then, yes, the VA will most likely say “Tough, you’re done.” But if you’ve noted to the school’s VA office and they are talking to the VA as well that you only have 1 more term (12-15 weeks depending on quarter or semester system) to complete a degree, then they’ve been known to be generous.</p>
<p>Don’t put yourself through undue financal hardship if you do not have to with the GIBill.</p>
<p>The question to really ask is can you afford to attend school without the BAH? If you can then sweet, hold off on using it for the more expensive school. You definitely do not get paid for any breaks in school anymore, to include spring break.</p>