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Hi everyone, I'm SGT L and I write the blog 'Soldier to Student'. The purpose of this blog is to help recently separated veterans gather information on their education benefits. Transitioning from the military to civilian life can be very overwhelming, so my hope is that veterans looking to start school can read my blog and feel more comfortable and confident while going through the process. I got out of the Army last July and started school at Illinois State University last August. Now that I have completed one semester and have started my second, there is so much I wish I knew when I was just starting the process. Again, that is why I hope this blog is able to help someone feel a little less lost than I once felt. To give a bit more of my military background, I served just over three years active duty Army as a Fire Support Control Specialist. I transferred to the National Guard in August starting a three year contract still in FA (field artillery). I am a Sergeant and love being able to mentor and lead soldiers. I also love being able to share my experiences which is why I chose to make this blog. Lastly, a bit about me outside the uniform. I am super active and love working out, I'm an avid gym goer and when the weather is good I'm also a very slow outdoor runner (and walker). In my free time I fall victim to binging TV shows and currently just finished Lioness (10/10 recommend)! I also prioritize spending time with my friends and family as much as possible. This year I made a new year's resolution to read a book every month, so hopefully I can add that I am a dedicated reader to my list of hobbies a year from now. As for right now my biggest trait is being a student though because that takes up most of my time. I look forward to writing content that can be helpful and relatable to those starting a new chapter in their life. Please leave me comments and interact with my posts, I would love to hear from you all! Also if you do not want to leave a public comment feel free to email me at soldiertostudent@gmail.com :)

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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...
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Post 9-11 GI Bill vs. Montgomery GI Bill

Hi everyone and welcome (or welcome back) to the blog “Soldier to Student”. In this post I am going to compare the Post 9-11 GI Bill with the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). Both of these are federal education grants offered to qualifying veterans. To qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill you must have started your service on or after September 11, 2001, and one of these must be true: you served for at least 90 days total on active duty, you served for at least 30 days on active duty (without a break) and were honorably discharged with a service-connected disability, or you received a Purple Heart. To qualify for the MGIB, the required service start date depends on certain factors, like when you served on active duty and whether your military pay decreased. Y ou must have served between 2 and 4 years. The minimum amount of time you must have served depends on other factors. Both benefits provide 36 months of coverage but note, in certain situations, you may be eligible for more than 1 educa...
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What If the Illinois Veterans Grant Went Away?

Hi everyone and welcome (or welcome back) to the blog “Soldier to Student”. In this post I want to talk about what would happen if the Illinois Veterans Grant went away. Now I just want to preface this by saying this is all hypothetical and I am only bringing this up because it would be interesting to analyze the impacts it would have. Unfortunately I was unable to find the number of veterans using this grant, which I was going to use to illustrate the number of veterans who would be affected, but regardless of how many it affects I am going to talk about what we would see. First of all, veterans would receive no state funding. The Illinois Veterans Grant pays tuition and mandatory fees at all Illinois state-supported colleges, universities and community colleges for veterans who served a minimum of two years and enlisted from and returned to Illinois. I personally use this grant and losing this money would mean solely relying on federal funding for school. Right now since I am using t...
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