Using "Leftover" Benefits

If you’ve finished your degree program, congratulations!  The road to that college degree was long and hard, but you made it!

If you were fortunate enough to finish your degree without running out of GI Bill benefits, you might now be wondering what to do with the “leftover” benefits.  If so, read on…

Option 1:  Do nothing for now

Your GI Bill benefits don’t “expire” until you reach your delimiting date, which is 10 years after your ETS for MGIB benefits, or 15 years after your ETS for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  So, even if you're SO done with school right now, it’s nice to know that your “leftover” GI Bill benefits are still good for a little while longer, in case you change your mind later and decide to go back to school a few years from now.  You don’t have to do anything to put them on hold or reactivate your benefits later.  Just hang onto a copy of your GI Bill eligibility documentation, and take it to your future school of choice.  Once they certify you for courses, your benefits will kick in again, almost automatically.

Option 2: Transfer Your Remaining Benefits

If you’re still serving, or decide to go back in, you can elect to transfer your remaining Post-9/11 entitlement to a spouse or child.  You’ll have an additional 4-year service obligation if you transfer benefits, so make sure that’s what you want to do before you commit.  You can also transfer if you’re serving in Guard or Reserve components, as long as you’re actively drilling.  You can even transfer benefits to young kids - your delimiting date will transfer with your benefits, so your kids will be able to use the benefit until age 26 or 15 years after your (future) ETS date.  For more information on transferring Post-9/11 entitlement, please visit the DOD's website or contact your Education Services Officer.

Option 3:  Bachelor’s Degree

If you’ve just completed your Associate’s Degree, then your next step is to begin working toward your Bachelor’s degree.  The Bachelor’s degree is usually worth a lot more in the workplace and will provide a good return on the investment.  Talk to the career counselor at your current school to ask about employment prospects and additional schooling required to meet your career goals.

If you don’t have a lot of GI Bill entitlement left, then you want to budget the remaining months carefully.  Fortunately, there’s usually a lot of financial aid available at the undergraduate level, such as Pell Grants, work-study, student loans, and scholarships.  If you have enough financial aid, you might be able to reduce your GI Bill “certification load,” meaning you can elect to be certified for fewer classes than your actual course load to conserve remaining entitlement.  If you can stretch it enough, you might even be able to get an extra semester out of your benefits!  Talk to your VA certifying official at your school about how to budget your remaining benefits.

Option 4: Grad School, or something similar

If you finished your Bachelor’s degree, you can still use your GI Bill!  Despite common misconceptions, you can definitely use your GI Bill toward a Master's or Professional degree.  People often ask whether they should try for a Master's degree, or just work on a second Bachelor’s degree.  The answer really depends on your career goals, but generally speaking, a Master's degree is worth a LOT more in the workplace than a second Bachelor’s degree, which really isn’t worth any more than the first one.  Plus, you can usually complete a Master's degree in two years, so if you have, say, 10 months of GI Bill left, that will get you about halfway through your degree program.  If you qualify for other financial assistance, you can stretch your benefits even further, possibly completing the entire program with very little out-of-pocket costs.

However, it’s important to consider the return on investment: if you don’t have enough benefits or financial assistance to cover your entire degree, then you’ll have to either pay for the rest out of your own savings, or quit.  If you quit, you’ll have wasted all that time and effort with nothing to show for it.  If you finish the degree out of your own savings, will it help you land a better job that pays enough money to make it worthwhile?  Talk to a career counselor to find out what the employment prospects are in your field of choice, and whether or not that extra degree is worth it.

Another option is a graduate-level (also called post-baccalaureate) professional certificate, licensing, or credentialing program.  Most of these programs can be completed in a year or less, and are a good option for using up remaining GI Bill entitlement, as they add extra credentials (and added value) to your Bachelor’s degree.  Most Universities or University Extension offices offer graduate-level (post-baccalaureate) certificate programs, but not all of them are approved for GI Bill benefits, so be sure to ask appropriate questions.

What to do next?

If you’ve decided that you want to continue or return to school, there are a few things you have to figure out first.  Do you know what you want to study?  If not, that's going to be your first task.  Talk with a career coach or do some research online to focus your academic and career goals.

Next, you need to decide what kind of program you are going to pursue: a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree, a certificate program, or something else.  Again, this goes back to your career goals.  The field you want to work in will determine whether a degree or a certificate will be more valuable, and you also have to weigh the potential outcome against the time/money it will cost to complete.  If you aren't able to afford to complete the program, then it will just be time wasted with nothing to show for it, so you need to think carefully about what you want to do and if it's worth the investment.

Third, once you've decided what you want to learn and what kind of program you're looking for, you can start looking for a school that offers the program you want on the schedule you want.  If you are working, then you may need a school that offers evening/weekend, online, or flexible scheduling.  If you are planning to go to school full time, you may have more options.  Either way, you’ll need to sit down with a notebook and computer to start comparing colleges and programs.  Once you've narrowed down your choices, you will want to call each of the schools on your list to speak with a graduate admissions counselor, ask questions about the program, scheduling, costs, financial aid, and application process, and also ask about services and resources for veterans.

Then, it’s just a matter of timing, planning, and paperwork.  Be sure to meet all the deadlines for admissions, financial aid, scholarships, and so forth.  It will be a lengthy process, so you may need to look for work in the interim.  If you plan ahead and budget carefully, you can have a fairly seamless transition between your academic programs with minimal financial disruption.

What Happens if I Drop or Fail a Class?

You’re a student veteran, you’re collecting GI Bill educational benefits from the VA, and everything is finally working smoothly.  Then you find yourself in a particularly difficult class and start worrying about your grade.  If you’re like most other veterans, you’ll probably also start worrying about a new problem: what will happen to your VA benefits if you fail a class?  What if you drop it instead?

 First of all, don’t worry, and don’t give up.  Be proactive, take a deep breath, and focus on your class, first.  Talk to your instructor and your academic advisor, and try to identify your stumbling block.  If you need tutoring, counseling, a stress-break (exercise is a great way to clear your brain!), or academic accommodations to get you through, visit the appropriate offices on your campus for some additional support.  You’ve pushed through difficult stuff before, and you can get through this, with the right tools.

 Next, you’ll need to discuss your options with your academic advisor and your school certifying official, and perhaps your financial aid counselor.  You may have several options available to you, depending on your situation, and each option may - or may not - have significant academic or penalties attached, which you will have to consider carefully before deciding what to do.

 There are two factors that will weigh heavily on your decision, so let’s look at these first: 

• What is your current academic standing?  If you’ve been doing fairly well so far and you're in good academic standing, then one or two bad grades aren’t going to be the end of your college career.  You might even be able to replace a bad grade with a better one later on, and salvage your GPA.  On the other hand, if you haven’t been doing well for the past few terms and you are already on academic probation, one more bad grade might get you kicked out, and you wouldn’t want to risk that.  If you’re on academic probation, you need to have a long talk with your academic advisor about your options.  Make an appointment today. 

• If you drop a class, will you still be a full-time student?  If you are taking a particularly full load, dropping the class might give you more time to focus on your remaining classes, securing better grades overall.  If you drop a class, you may have to pay back Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, but that may be better than risking a bad grade.  If you aren’t using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and will still be full-time, you might not have to repay anything.  On the other hand, if dropping the class will put you below full-time status, you may have to pay back a LOT of VA money.  Talk this over with your School Certifying Official before you decide to drop. 

Below are some common scenarios, with typical outcomes.  Remember that your situation may be different, so be sure to discuss it with the appropriate people on your campus.

 

Option 1: Stay in the Class

This is usually the best option for most students, unless you’re already on academic probation and can’t risk another failing grade.   With a little tutoring and some extra study time, you may end up passing the class after all!  If you don’t pass, you can probably repeat it, and it is usually easier the second time around. 

Effect on VA benefits: usually nothing.  If you stay in the class all the way to the end, you don’t have to pay money back, whether you pass or fail.  The main thing is that you tried.  Your school may require some additional documentation for your VA records to prove that you stayed in your class to the end, so be sure to check with your School Certifying Official after your grade is posted.  There’s a catch, though: if you barely passed the class and find the next class even harder, you can’t use VA benefits to repeat the class you passed, unless your college requires you to repeat it.  Also, if you end up repeating the class more than twice, you may have to pay back benefits for the first or second (or more) unsuccessful attempts. 

Effect on GPA: potentially significant.  Your current-term GPA is determined by calculating a numeric value for your letter grade, multiplied by the number of units (credits) for your class to get your grade points for the class.  Add up the total grade points for all your classes in the term and divide by the total units you attempted in that term to get the Grade Point Average (GPA) for the term.  Your cumulative GPA is calculated the same way, but with your total points divided by your total units.  An “F” grade is assigned a value of zero, which is an instant GPA killer, especially if you haven’t taken many classes yet.  It can take a long time and a lot of hard work to drag that GPA back up again.  On the other hand, if your college has a “grade forgiveness policy” that will let you repeat the class and remove the former grade from your GPA calculations, you might be able to repair the damage fairly easily.  Just be sure to discuss this with your academic advisor. 

 

Option 2: Drop the class 

If you are concerned about the damage that a bad grade can do to your GPA, or if your class is consuming so much of your time that you can’t focus on your other classes and are at risk of failing them all, then dropping a class may be your best option, if there’s still time to drop.  There’s almost always a deadline, so you’ll need to check your academic calendar.  Some colleges have different deadlines for dropping without a grade on the transcript, dropping with a “W” grade (or something similar), or dropping with a Withdraw-Failing grade.  You’ll need to ask your academic advisor or your registrar’s office about the differences if you aren’t sure. 

Effect on VA benefits: potentially significant.  If your drop will take you down to part-time status, you will have to pay back some of your monthly housing allowance, either back to the day you stopped attending class, or all the way back to the beginning of the term, depending on your circumstances.  If you will still be a full-time student after the drop and are using any other benefit besides the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the drop will probably not affect your benefits at all.  On the other hand, if you are using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you will have to pay back a portion of the tuition and fees that the VA paid on your behalf for the class that you drop.  Depending on your situation, this could potentially add up to thousands of dollars, especially if the monthly housing allowance is reduced.  Be sure to discuss this with your School Certifying Official.  If you decide to take the drop and get charged for the overpayment, you can always make repayment arrangements with the VA, and set up a payment plan. 

Effect on GPA: usually nothing.  Most colleges do not have an academic penalty for dropping a class, but you should check with your college to make sure. 

 

Option 3: Stop going to class 

This is probably the worst thing you could do.  The VA considers “not attending” the same as if you had formally dropped, so you’ll still have to pay back some of your benefits.  In addition, if you don’t go to class, you’ll probably end up failing, so your GPA will suffer as well. 

Effect on VA benefits: potentially significant

Effect on GPA: potentially significant

 

Option 4: Incomplete grade

If you are struggling in class because of an extenuating circumstance – such as an undiagnosed learning disability, military orders that caused you to miss several classes, an extended illness or hospitalization, a family emergency, etc. – you may be able to request an “incomplete” grade from your instructor, which will grant you some extra time to finish the course, and take the pressure off.  If your professor agrees, you will need to work out the details with him/her about what exactly you will need to do to complete the class, and how long you will have to do so.  If you complete the course requirements on time, your incomplete grade will change to the grade you’ve earned.  If you fail to complete the course before the deadline, you may be automatically assigned a failing grade, a withdraw grade, or the grade you had in the class at the time your instructor extended the deadline, depending on your college’s policies.  

Effect on VA benefits: usually nothing.  If you complete the course and earn a grade, your benefits will remain unaffected.  If you don’t complete the course and earn a letter grade (or a “punitive” withdraw grade), your benefits are still unaffected.  If you don’t complete the course and your incomplete converts to a “non-punitive” withdraw, then you will have to pay back benefits as though you had fomally dropped the course.  The catch: depending on how your college converts incomplete grades, your School Certifying Official may have to report the incomplete grade to the VA as a “drop” initially, and then re-certify it when you complete the course.  So you may end up temporarily owing money to the VA while you are finishing the class. 

Effect on GPA: it depends on your final grade, but you will have more time to complete the work, and hopefully you’ll earn a better grade than if you tried to tough it out.  If you have the option to take an incomplete grade, this may be the best option.  Just make sure that you dedicate the necessary time to complete the course requirements and get it turned in.  Some people procrastinate and miss the deadline, so don’t let that happen to you. 

One more thing to consider: if you are receiving scholarships or financial aid, you may be subject to additional restrictions on course load and GPA.  Be sure to talk to your financial aid counselor if you are in this situation.

The bottom line is that every student’s situation is different, and you need to weigh and discuss your options with the experts on your campus.  It’s far better to know all your alternatives and make an informed decision, then to simply “let things happen.”  You may find that there are additional resources on your campus that can help you if you choose to stick with it.  Good luck!

Calculating Pro-Rated Housing Payments

The provisions of all of the various forms of GI Bill benefits include a monthly allowance, which is intended for you to use for your educational expenses, or housing while you're in school.  The payment amounts vary considerably according which GI Bill program you're using, as well as a number of other factors.  But, once you've gotten it all figured out and started attending classes, you'd expect that your allowance would be the same every month, right?

Wrong.

Thanks to Public Law 111-377, which went into effect on August 1, 2011, the monthly allowance benefit is pro-rated at the beginning and ending of every academic term, and no longer pays for breaks between terms.  This means that you won't be getting the posted benefit rate every month. Since students are often on a tight budget, it helps to know in advance how much your monthly payments will be.  This article will tell you how you can calculate your monthly payments yourself, so you know what to expect when payday comes around.

Here's the most important rule to keep in mind, before we begin: the VA always uses a 30-day month for their calculations, regardless of how many days the month actually has.  That makes the math easier!

Also, you need to know how much your full monthly benefit rate is, which you can find out from your school certifying official, from your VA certification confirmation letter, by calculating it yourself from the posted rate tables on the VA's website, looking up your personalized information in the VA's eBenefits portal, or by contacting the VA directly (Call 1-888-GI-Bill-1).  If you qualify for an enlistment contract kicker, it should also be included in your monthly amount.

Lastly, you need to know when your academic term actually begins and ends, as certified to the VA by your school.  This may be different from when your class actually begins and ends.  Check your school's catalog or website for a published academic calendar, or check with your school certifying official.

Now, here's how it works.  First, calculate your daily pay rate by taking your monthly benefit and divide by 30.  Write it down so you don't forget!  For example, if your benefit is $1500 per month, then the daily rate would be $50 per day (1500 / 30 = 50).

Then, look at the month in which your term begins.  Start with 30 days and subtract all the days in the month BEFORE your term begins.  The number you end up with is your number of payment days for that month.  Multiply that by your daily rate, and presto! You'll know exactly how much to expect for the first month's pay. 

For example: if your semester starts on August 20, you subtract 30-19 to come up with 11 days. Multiply 11 days by $50 per day (from the example above), and you can expect $550 for August.

When your term ends, you just count the number of days in the month that were in the term, before it ended (and don't forget that the term includes final exam week, too!).  Again, multiply the number of payment days in the month by your daily rate, and you'll have your answer.

To continue our example above, if the semester will end on December 10, you'll be paid for 10 days in December, or $500.

If you are in consecutive terms that begin and end in the same month, you take 30 days and subtract the number of days in between terms to figure out how many days you'll be paid for that month. For example, if Spring semester ends on May 5 and your Summer Intersession begins on May 15, then there are 9 days in between that you will not be paid, or 21 days that you will (30 - 9 = 21).

Make sense?  There's just a few more caveats to keep in mind:

1. The VA always pays the monthly allowance in arrears, or after the fact.  This means that if your classes begin in August, your first (prorated) monthly allowance payment will be around September 1st.
2. Your entitlement (the 36 months of benefits you start with) is also pro-rated at the beginning and ending of each term, so you can figure out how many months and days of benefits you'll use up during the term in the same way.
3. If you are a part-time student, your benefits will be pro-rated even further.
4. If you started the term as a full-time student, and then drop a class and end up below full-time, you'll have to pay the difference back to the VA.

Happy calculating!

VA Stipend for Books and Supplies

If you're using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you are eligible for a stipend for books and supplies. The stipend is capped at $1,000 per year, but your payment amount actually depends on how many units or credits you're enrolled in. The payment and the cap are also pro-rated according to your eligibility tier.

Here's the formula: $41.67 x number of credits x your eligibility tier = book stipend, not to exceed $1,000 per academic year.

For example, if you are in the 100% eligibility tier, and you enrolled in 12 credits (units), then you would receive $41.67 x 12, or $500.04 for the Fall term. Next term, if you are enrolled in 12 more units, you would only get $499.96 because you would have reached the limit of $1,000 per year.

If you enroll in more units in the first term, you will get more book money the first term, but less in the second. If you are less than 100% eligible, your payments will be reduced accordingly, as well as the cap. Once you reach the annual limit, you won't get any more book money until next Fall, as the VA's academic year runs from August 1 - July 31.

So, what do you need to do to get the stipend?

Nothing, other than enroll in classes and request VA certification for the term from your School Certifying Official. When the VA processes your certification, they will check to see if you are eligible and still have funds remaining, and send your payment to you automatically. You don't need to submit any receipts. The stipend may not cover the cost of all your books, so you may wish to consider purchasing used books or applying for financial aid to help cover the rest of the cost. You don't have to use the stipend for books either - you can use it for parking passes, a computer, meals on campus, or whatever you need. The benefit is intended to help you cover the cost of miscellaneous college expenses.

One last reminder: your payment goes to you by direct deposit, so you need to make sure your bank account and contact information is correct, and update it immediately if you move or change banks. You can verify your information by calling the VA's Direct Deposit Center at 877-838-2778. We also suggest that you check your payments with a calculator each term, to ensure you are being paid correctly.

Showing "Proof" of your GI BIll Housing Allowance

When student veterans are apartment-hunting, they often find themselves having to show "proof" of their GI Bill housing allowance. The best supporting document: your enrollment and payment verification letter.

What letter, you ask?

At the start of each academic term, once your VA enrollment certification has been submitted and processed, the VA mails you a letter that verifies the information that the school submitted on your behalf, including the start and end of the term, how many credits you're enrolled in and your net tuition and fee charges. You should always double-check these numbers to make sure they are correct, and let your school certifying official know if there are any discrepancies.

The letter also says how much the VA will pay you in tuition/fee benefits, book & supply stipend, and monthly housing allowance until the end of the term, and then tells you how much entitlement you will have remaining when the term is over.

Your term verification letter is an important document that you should file carefully - don't just toss it aside. If you haven't been getting your letters, call the VA - you might need to update your mailing address.

For some students, this letter by itself is good enough for a potential landlord. If you need more information, here's what else you might need:

1. Print out a copy of the BAH rates for your school's ZIP code, here: https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm

2. Find a copy of your certificate of eligibilty (COE) for Post-9/11 benefits, which you got from the VA when your application was approved. You may need to request a new letter from the VA (call 888-GI-Bill-1) if your COE was dated a while ago. Your eligibility information is usually included in your term confirmation letter, but if (for some reason) it isn't, or if someone wants to see something else, then this would be the document.

3. Print out information from the GI Bill website (www.gibill.va.gov) that explains what benefits the GI Bill provides.

Take all of this information to your prospective landlord. If they need additional information, find out exactly what they are looking for, and contact the VA or your school certifying official for help gathering the information they need.


GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK! Veterans - if you've been in this situation, comment on this post to tell us what worked for you!

Scholarships, Financial Aid, and your GI Bill

Many veterans, servicemembers, and military family members don't apply for college financial aid, because they feel that they don't need it, or won't qualify for it.  However, most colleges strongly suggest it, and here's a few reasons why:

• Financial aid can be used to secure your enrollment while you're waiting for VA funding, so you don't have to pay "up front" and wait for VA reimbursement
• Financial aid is a good "backup" plan in case of delays in VA processing
• Most forms of financial aid can also be used for books, technology or lab equipment, school supplies, room & board, transportation, childcare, or any other expense related to your education
• You might want to save your VA educational benefits for a future term, in which case you can use financial aid to cover your current-term expenses
• You might want to transfer some of your VA benefits to a family member (if you're eligible), and use financial aid to cover your own expenses instead
• You'll eventually exhaust your benefits; careful management of your benefit entitlement and financial aid awards will help you maximize your benefits and achieve your educational goals
• VA benefits are usually not counted as income on financial aid applications, which means you may qualify for more money than you think!

There are basically four forms of financial aid available to college students:

• Federal (Title IV) Financial Aid, which includes the Pell grant, work study awards, subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and parent supplemental loans.  To apply, go to www.fafsa.gov.  You will need to apply every year, and can apply as early as January 1, but you'll need the previous year's tax information to complete your FAFSA.  Check with your school's financial aid office to find out when the priority application deadline is, usually early spring.  After the priority deadline, you can still apply for financial aid, but funds are usually awarded first-come, first-served until all awards are gone.  The Pell grant does not need to be repaid, but the loans do.  It's usually a good idea to fill out the FAFSA to have a financial aid record on file, even if you don't need it and decline any offer of student loans.  If your situation changes and you find that you need that loan after all, you can usually get it fairly quickly (in a few days), once you've been approved.
• State awards vary by state; check with your school's financial aid office for more information.
• Campus awards may include scholarships, grants, tuition waivers, teaching assistant-ships, research awards, fellowships, stipends, loans, a campus job, or any combination.  Again, check with your school's financial aid office for more information.  Most schools will automatically consider you for applicable state and campus awards once you complete the FAFSA, but some awards may need additional information or an application.
• Private funding comes from any source not affiliated with your college or state, and may include scholarships, grants, tuition subsidies, or fellowships from civic organizations, religions organizations, clubs, fraternal orders, banks, local businesses, employers, philanthropic organizations, charitable foundations, unions, private foundations, etc.  There are many websites that list scholarship opportunities; avoid references that charge a fee for information.  For veterans and military families, a good resource is the National Resource Directory, http://www.nrd.gov/.   Eligiblity criteria, application procedures, funding amounts, and deadlines vary by award, so take the time to research them carefully.  Here's a tip: smaller scholarships are not as competitive, so you may have a better chance to nab several small awards rather than one big one!

If you're using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, there's one big catch that you need to keep in mind: the Net Payer Rule.  This rule went into effect on August 1, 2011, and may significantly impact your net financial award package.  Take the time to read the information below, and compare it against the financial aid awards you have or are considering applying for.  You may not want to spend the time on an application if the funds will be subject to the net-payer rule.

Net Payer Rule:  Under Public Law 111-377, any funding you receive that is paid directly to the University, and specifically for the sole purpose of defraying tuition and fees, must be applied before your Post-9/11 GI Bill and subtracted from the total tuition and fees reported on your enrollment certification.

What this means for you: if you receive a waiver, scholarship, or grant that pays your tuition and fees, you don’t get a refund of excess VA money. Plus, if you are retroactively awarded a waiver, scholarship, or grant that pays your fees, your school must return your excess VA money back to the VA.

Your responsibilities: You must ensure you are certified only for courses that satisfy graduation requirements, and that any restricted funding is subtracted from your reported tuition and fees. Ultimately, it’s YOUR responsibility to make sure your certification is correct.  You also have a responsibility to complete the classes you are certified for. If you don’t get credit for a class, you may have to pay back the VA.