Welcoming in 2024
Greetings GI Bill® student,
With the start of a new year, we here at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Education Service (EDU) want to reiterate that we are here to support you as you pursue your education related resolutions.
In this month’s newsletter, we have reminders, tips and resources to provide you with some quick information on your GI Bill benefits. At the end of this edition, we also have an article called "Upcoming events and helpful resources" where we seek to consolidate some frequently used links that will hopefully help you quickly navigate our VA resources.
Veteran Benefits on Display at Student Veterans of America National Conference
From January 4-6, more than 70 VA staff members attended Student Veterans of America’s Annual NATCON where they spoke with thousands of Veterans, beneficiaries, and School Certifying Officials. During the conference, the team did everything from answering simple eligibility questions to processing claim adjustments on-site and collaborated on 11 breakout sessions.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough, paid VA’s EDU team a visit in the Claims Clinic, expressing thanks and appreciation for the work EDU is doing to support Veteran students. VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits, Josh Jacobs, also visited with the team, discussing the ways he and his office can continue to support the important work being done in VA Education Service to make VA Education Benefits as accessible and easy to use as possible.
Employment programs webinar series
 We are excited to extend an invitation to you to participate in our Employment Webinar series! We'll explore military historical programs, discuss exclusive internships and fellowships, and share new avenues for career growth and advancement.
Event Information:
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Date: Tuesday January 30, 2024
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Start Time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
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Platform: Adobe Connect
The Emerging Professionals webinar features a stellar lineup of speakers from the U.S. Army, National Park Service, and U.S. Air Force offering a deep dive in a variety of career and educational opportunities tailored to Veterans and their families.
Reminder to verify text messages will now be sent one week after the initial message
If you’re opted in to verify your enrollment each month through text, you will now receive a “reminder to verify” message seven days instead of three days after the initial message is sent. This change in timing will take place automatically and no action is needed from you.
This will provide you more time to verify your enrollment to receive your Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) and/or kicker payments without any interruptions. You will then have an additional seven days from the day the reminder message was sent to verify your enrollment before the conversation expires. If the verification conversation expires, please login to your VA.gov account to verify online. For more information about the enrollment verification process, head to the Enrollment Verification webpage.
Education Service visits Dillard University for the GI Bill® Roadshow
Education Service finished the Fall GI Bill Roadshow with a visit to Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the GI Bill Town Hall, Veterans, Service members and their families learned more about how VA is improving the GI Bill experience. Attendees also had the opportunity to connect with VA leadership and receive answers to their questions. One GI Bill student said, “I enjoyed the presentation. It was short and straight to the point. I loved the "real time" Q&A at the end. Most of all, I appreciate the training team coming to our area to provide knowledge and support. THANK YOU!”.
We value connecting with GI Bill students at each stop and can’t wait to connect with more students later this Spring. Stay tuned for where we go next!
Unleash Your Inner Warrior-Scholar
Unleash the warrior-scholar within by attending a Warrior-Scholar Project academic boot camp. Prepare for college-level reading and essay writing, brush up on math and physics, or build business and entrepreneurship skills at top colleges.
Learn more about attending a boot camp and fill out an interest form.
Pop quiz! Do you know what organization is the largest employer in the United States?
With more than two million employees, it's the Federal Government. For many Veterans, becoming a Federal employee is a great way to continue one’s service. In many cases, your military time can be counted towards your Federal service time for retirement. For those new to the Federal application process, it can admittedly be confusing. However, with a little time, patience, and lots of reading applicants can learn the process, along with the various hiring authorities which provide certain preferences and special hiring options for Veterans. You can learn more about working for the Federal government via USAJOBS.
Interested in working with the Department of Veterans Affairs specifically?
“I’m an Air Force Veteran and I used my GI Bill benefits to get a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Now I work for the VA as a clinical program coordinator connecting Veterans at risk of suicide with peers. I didn’t start out planning to work for VA, but it’s allowed me to grow my skills, build my career, and serve a population that matters to me.”
– Dr. Stacy Harris, Peer Support Outreach Center
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“I served in the Navy and when I first got out, I knew I wanted to work in this field because of all the opportunities for growth and it allowed me to translate my military experience towards my career. From the time I was a child, my parents told me that the federal government was a great place to work with great benefits. The VA was a very attractive and competitive employer and I’ve been able to grow and keep using my skills in interesting ways.”
– Andrew Dunaway, Information System Security Officer
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There are thousands of vacancies right now waiting for you to apply. Information about different kinds of jobs, different paths to employment, and where to apply are all at VA Careers. Current students and recent graduates may also want to learn more about VA internships and the Pathways Program. If you’re new to the federal government’s hiring process, VA has also created a guide on how it works.
There are special hiring programs for Veterans, military spouses, and applicants with a skill set where VA has a critical need, like medicine. Veterans can even receive retirement credit for their military service.
If you have student loan debt, you may be able to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program through VA employment. VA also has several incentive programs including scholarships for students in health fields who plan to work for VA, and loan repayment programs for VA employees.
GI Bill tutoring benefit
If you are having trouble in a required subject and need a tutor, you can be reimbursed by the GI Bill for up to $100 a month and a maximum total limit of $1,200.
Find more information and how to apply on our website.
STEM students: you may be eligible for added benefits
If you’re a Veteran using the Post-9/11 GI Bill or are a Fry Scholar, you may be eligible for additional benefits of up to nine months or $30,000. You must:
- Be enrolled in a qualifying Science Technology Engineering, or Math (STEM) program,
- Have completed a certain amount of time on your degree,
- Have six months or less of your benefits left (if you apply too soon, you’ll be denied)
Learn more about what types of degrees and what fields qualify, and apply, on our website.
Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fee payments, financial aid and scholarships
Post-9/11 tuition and fee payments:
- If you are attending a public school, VA can reimburse the full cost of your in-state tuition and mandatory fees, based on your individual benefit level.
- If you are attending a non-public school, VA can reimburse the cost of your tuition and mandatory fees, up to the maximum rate cap, based on your individual benefit level.
- These payments will be made directly to your school or training institution.
Yellow Ribbon payments:
- The Yellow Ribbon Program can help you pay for higher out-of-state, private school, foreign school or graduate school tuition and fees that the Post-9/11 GI Bill doesn’t cover.
- You must have an individual benefit level of 100% to be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
- Both you and your school must be approved for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
- These payments will be made directly to your school or training institution.
Financial Aid:
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Federal Financial Aid Programs (Title IV Financial Aid), such as Pell Grants, do not impact what your school can certify for your reimbursable Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fees.
- Eligibility for VA Education benefits does not affect your eligibility to receive Federal Financial aid.
Scholarships:
- Scholarships can impact what your school can certify for your reimbursable Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fees. This is regardless if your school or a third party agency is providing the scholarship.
- If the scholarship is tuition and fees specific – it must be deducted from what is certified to VA.
- If the scholarship is not tuition and fees specific (i.e. it can be used for housing or non-mandatory fees) – it does not need to be deducted from what is certified to VA.
Taxes:
If you have questions or concerns about the amount of tuition and fees certified by your school to VA, contact your school or training institution’s School Certifying Official. This individual will be able to explain how the tuition and fees amount certified to VA was determined and can help you understand (or help you connect with someone at your facility who can better explain) your tuition and fees bill.
If you have questions or concerns about the amount paid by VA, please contact us through the Ask VA or Education Call Center.
Upcoming events and helpful resources
Event links: Find both in-person and online job fairs, seminars and social events specifically for Veterans, Service members, and their dependents.
Applying for benefits links:
**If you need to request an additional or updated Certificate of Eligibility letter, you can request it through Ask VA or from the Education Call Center.
Choosing an educational training institution links:
Understanding your award letter link:
Enrollment Verification links:
Point of contact links:
If you have questions or concerns about ID.me or Login.gov you must contact them directly. These systems are not managed by EDU.
Has your name changed recently? Your address? Your phone number or email? Your Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) information?
If so, have you reported that change to VA?
If not, please make sure to update your information through the Ask VA (AVA) system as soon as possible. You can also report this updated information by contacting our Education Call Center.
We know one of your most important resources is time. By notifying VA of these changes early, we can help ensure that there is minimal impact on your benefits, avoiding potential payment delays or you missing critical information about your benefits.
If you haven’t already, please also:
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