By Terry Howell
2009-2010 In-State Tuition and Fee Rates Set - The VA has posted the final 2009-2010 Maximum In-State Tuition & Fees table. It has taken much longer than the VA would have hoped with Guam and Ohio finally reporting their 2009-2010 tuition and fee rates this week. This means veterans and school administrators nation-wide can finally get to work determining exactly how much the New Post-9/11 GI Bill will cover. View the latest Post-9/11 GI Bill Maximum In-State Tuition and Fees rates.
Delays in Payments - As of August 15, 2009 the VA was reporting a backlog of 211,251 GI Bill claims. That represents a an up tick of more than 10 percent from the previous week and a 480 percent increase over same time last year. According to many reports, including an article posted by WBAL-TV, this will likely result in a 10 week (or more) delay in payments for many veterans whose claims are currently pending. The VA has hired an additional 760 people to help address the overwhelming response to the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
Payment Errors - Several school officials are reporting that they have received payments based on the VA's 2008-2009 maximum in-state tuition & fees table, resulting in underpayments for many schools. This error doesn't directly affect the payments made to veterans, but it could potentially affect the amount of money a veteran may be required to pay the school if it is not resolved.
I am a 52 year old vet that completed their masters degree last year by neans of subsidized and unsubsidized government loans. Do I have any recourse under this new GI Bill to recoup or even possibly forgive my school loans. I maintained a 4.0 in the field of Educational Psychology and am presently working at a substandard rate for the state. The point I am making here is that the training I received during a 20 year Naval career had little to no bearing on job oppurtunities available in the civilian sectors. I am not asking for a free ride, just an entitlement that I feel I earned while honorably serving my country in the Armed Forces rather than the civilian alternative… One more valid point is that their was not the technology available that there exists today and therefore, being on long extended employments at sea, did'nt afford me to take advantage of the technology of today……Paul K.
Paul – The quick answer is no. The benefit is not retroactive – it will not pay for classes taken before August 1, 2009. And to take advantage of this benefit you had to have been on active duty for at least 90 days after 9/11/2001.
We had just submitted our Chp 33 last week, currently using the Chp 30. How long does it take to process and will we be taking of the 30 while waiting for the 33?
I have been waiting for 90 dyas filled out my gi bill paper work in march 09, still no answere had to pay out of my pocket 2600.00 dollars for tuition and books for this fall quarter. thanks v.a. once again you have shown just how un-funtional you are. even tried to use their web site anather useless gov site. can someone in the gov. do there job in a profecient manner. guess Ill be done by the time I get anything from them.
I'm considering enlisting in the reserve. I need to know how does 90 day active duty requirement apply to the reserves. 1wkend per mo and 2wks per yr will take almost 6yrs to add up to 90 days. Can someone give me some ensight.
Thanks
Armstead – The active duty requirement is for all servicemembers – reserve and guard too. But your drill periods 2 days a month and 2 weeks a year do NOT count. The active duty time that counts would be situations like being "activated" under orders to accomplish a specific purpose – like deploying to OIF or OEF – or being put on orders to temporarily go on active duty to fill a billet.
A recruiter can help explain this in greater detail.
David and Jen – The VA has a backlog of over 200K claims right now. It is impossible to say how long your wait may be. I suggest you contact the VA to ask them directly. 1-888-GIBILL-1.
Is there any addendum to the post GI bill that is under study that will provide for transferability option for personnel who retired after Sep 11 and meets the requirements for 100 percent full benefit (over 3 years active service after Sep 11.