I had the distinct honor of representing VetsFirst on the birthday of the Marine Corps at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York, at a terrific event sponsored by the New York State Department of Veterans Affairs. The audience included, among others, leaders of veterans service organizations and veterans counselors working at college and university admissions offices.
First, I have to say that this gathering brought me back to the time when I returned to school in 1969 with the VA’s help. It took me six years to get my degree because there was no way I was going to start without finishing. But it also reminded me how I “stood out” moving around a somewhat-accessible campus in my wheelchair.
Fitting in on a college campus wasn’t so easy then. From a short interview we saw of a post 9/11 vet currently enrolled at a university, it seems like nothing much has changed. So, one aspect of this event was sharing with the university veterans counselors ways to make their campus more “veteran friendly.”
These solutions included creating a physical or virtual gathering space for veterans, involving veteran-friendly faculty advisers, and encouraging returning veterans to use skills honed in the military to become student leaders. In New York State alone, some 80,000 men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let’s hope that all colleges and universities here and around our nation become veteran friendly as soon as possible.
Where the rubber truly hits the road is the benefits-the most sizeable increase in veterans education benefits since World War II. The maximum basic benefit under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is earned by serving an aggregate of 36 months of active duty service, or after 30 days of continuous service for those who were discharged for a service-connected disability. And vets who served between 90 days and 36 months are eligible for between 40% and 90% of the basic benefit, depending on the length of their time of service.
The maximum basic benefit includes the cost of tuition and fees, but not higher than the most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher learning within the state that the veteran is attending school; a monthly housing allowance equal to the basic allowance for housing payable to an E-5 with dependents, in the same zip code as the school; and, yearly books and supplies of up to $1,000 per year.
If the above sounds like a good deal, it is! And there is much more, like the VA Work Study Program and the Yellow Ribbon Program, through which the VA can enter into agreements with institutions of higher learning with tuition costs above the highest in-state undergraduate rate.
Don’t forget to check VetsFirst’s “Guide To State Veterans Benefits” also, right here on our Home page, because many states offer great education and other benefits for their resident veterans. Or, contact a highly-trained VetsFirst benefits service representative in your area from the list posted on this page for assistance in applying for education benefits under the Post-911 GI Bill. Continue your education to improve your life!
Terence Moakley
Chair, VetsFirst Board of Directors