5 Facts About the Post 9/11 GI Bill in 2010
This post is contributed by our friends at VeteransBenefitsGIBill.com. It’s a recap of where the Post 9/11 GI Bill stands, and we feel it’s important to keep our readers aware of military and VA benefits.
Now that the Spring semester is coming to a close, it’s time to start planning for using your New GI Bill benefits in the Fall of 2010. You may have heard of (or even experienced) problems with the roll-out of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, but we’re here to assure you that things have gotten better in recent months.
The new GI Bill program offers an incredible opportunity for all eligible active duty, reserve, and veteran members of the military (and their families), but actually using those benefits can be confusing. We’ve written this Post 9/11 GI Bill Fact Sheet to address some widespread questions and concerns regarding that process.
- What is the Average Processing Time? – In January 2010, the VA took an average of 47 days to process GI Bill applications and issue payments to students, starting from the date that their educational institutions had verified enrollment. You’ll want to plan for a similar delay for the Fall 2010 semester to make sure you can cover educational costs before you start receiving tuition assistance.
- How Large was the Increase in BAH? – The Department of Defense recently increased the 2010 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) by an average of 2.5%, with increases of up to 13.6% available for certain segments of the military student population. While this won’t affect students pursuing an online degree, this is a dramatic increase in benefits allowance for campus-based students, and one that you should take notice of.
- Do I Need to Anticipate Problems? – You may need to plan ahead for unexpected setbacks or mishaps. Just this month (April of 2010), the VA experienced a glitch in their Advance Payment Deduction system. They did, however, address the issue in near real-time. In fact, the VA posted a note of explanation to their official Post-9/11 GI Bill Facebook Fan Page on April 2nd, just a day after the mistake was originally made. The VA is on top of their game and correcting issues with lighting speed as they arise.
- Can I Trust the VA’s Projections? – The VA is doing a great job of living up to their promises at this point. In February 2010, Higher Ed reported that they have been hitting their GI Bill disbursement projections right on schedule for nearly all student applicants. When you’re promised a date for receiving funds, you can be quite confident that you’ll get it on time.
- How Many People Applied for Benefits? – Records indicated that the VA received 380,000 student applications in 2009, of which 330,000 were approved. 183,647 of these students actually enrolled in classes. That’s a big number, and should give you a better perspective on just how many students are using their education benefits.
If you qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits for the Fall 2010 semester and still haven’t applied to receive them, then you need to start getting serious about doing your research. Don’t procrastinate on applying for your own tuition assistance. Take advantage of this monumental program and get the education benefits that you’ve earned!
