Skip to main content

Maximize Your Education Benefits

Hi everyone and welcome (or welcome back) to the blog “Soldier to Student”. In this post I am going to link a website called Best Colleges, specifically an article they wrote titled “5 Ways Student Veterans Can Maximize GI Bill® Benefits”. Please feel free to read through the article below and beneath the link I will add some of my own commentary. 


https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/five-ways-to-maximize-gi-bill-benefits/ 


First I want to say that I think the article was well written and brings up great points. Point number one, is something those people who are considering doing all online classes should keep in mind. This is something I never looked into, but financially it may be worth it to take at least one class in-person. As for the second point, I completely agree and would love to dedicate a blog post into different forms of financial aid to look into. The article talks about FAFSA as well as scholarships and both are great options. The third point is another big one. While your TA maxes out at 12 credit hours that does not mean if you take more they aren’t covered, it just means you won’t receive any extra money for taking extra classes. This semester I am taking 18 credit hours and it is all covered by my TA, so take as many as you can (keep in mind not doing too many so that your grades drop) so that you can save as much of your benefits as possible. This last idea leads to the fourth point, which is to strategically use your benefits. This is so important and my best recommendation to you is to plan out your goals according to the funding you have. Personally, I knew I only needed two years worth of funding to get my bachelors so the thing I had to consider is how to make my benefits work for me if I want my masters. Think strategically and do your research! The last point the article addresses is to test out of classes. CLEP is a good option if you are a good test taker and willing to study to pass the exam. If you can, passing one test will save you from taking a 3 credit hour class so if that is something you are interested in look it up. While my commentary was not the most helpful as it really just agreed with everything in the article, I am happy to post it as it does reiterate the usefulness of these ideas. Also I recommend exploring that website for any other articles that interest you. As always, feel free to comment on my posts or shoot me an email with any questions! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Grants that Could Apply to You

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog ‘Soldier to Student”. This blog is going to cover the four educational grants you may or may not be eligible for. Since these grants are very complex, this post will be more of a broad overview with future posts going more into depth on individual grants. These grants include the Post 9-11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill, the Illinois Veterans Grant, and the Illinois National Guard Grant. The Post 9-11 GI Bill (PGIB or Chapter 33): This is a federal grant given to those who have served on active duty or in the Selected Reserve for 90 or more days after Sep. 10, 2001. The payment rate depends on how much active-duty time or federal service a member has. What it can pay may include… Tuition and fees Money for housing  Money for books and supplies Money to help you move from a rural area to go to school      Below I am going to link the official page for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs  which will include a more in-depth...
Post a Comment
Read more

College is For You

Hi everyone and welcome (or welcome back) to the blog “Soldier to Student”. In this post I want to talk about college, and my personal feeling on how being back in school after the military is. I want to start by saying any personal feelings you have through this transition are so valid and real. It is different for everyone and there is nothing wrong with feeling a specific way when there are major changes happening in your life. I was so terrified to get out of the Army, it was familiar and all I knew for the past three years. I had a gut feeling it was the time to get out and get my civilian education but that didn't mean I didn't have doubts about going to college. I got my associates degree online but I knew online school was not the same as in-person. I can now say after successfully completing one semester and beginning my second that college is great. Classes are demanding but manageable, and you will find that you have a lot of time to do assignments and that you can p...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Apply for the GI Bill

Hi everyone and welcome (or welcome back) to the blog ‘Soldier to Student”. This blog is going to cover how to apply for the GI Bill.  Step 1 : Find out if you are eligible! Click on the following link and read through to determine if you meet the criteria. https://www.va.gov/education/eligibility/   Step 2 : Gather the following documents and information. Social Security number Bank account direct deposit information Education and military history Basic information about the school or training facility you want to attend or are attending now Step 3 : Click on the link below that directs you to the application for VA education benefits. https://www.va.gov/education/apply-for-education-benefits/application/1990/introduction   Step 4 : Sign in (or create an account) and follow the on-screen instructions for the application. Step 5 : Submit application, you should receive a confirmation message which you can print out for your records.  Step 6 : The VA will review your ...
Post a Comment
Read more