Campus, News

Using the money where it counts

Veterans who have served are encouraged to wait to use their benefits until they get to a 4-year university where the money “really counts.”

According to the United States department of Veterans Affairs those who have served 36 months in active duty and were honorably discharged are able to use the benefits for their education.

California State University, Long Beach has 563 Veterans on campus. Veterans who are using benefits account for 265, and 295 veterans are using the post 9-11 G.I. Bill. The post 9-11 G.I. Bill benefits veterans who have served three years in active duty. The bill helps students pay for books and housing allowance.

Veterans who are currently using the G.I. Bill receive about $2,400 a month, Marshall Thomas, director of Veterans Service at CSULB, said.

The money they receive helps to cover their living expenses while attending college. Although Thomas acknowledges the money may not be a lot to work with, veterans are able to live off of it if they are working part-time, which many of them are.

“The Post 9-11 G.I. Bill is a tremendous resource,” Thomas said. “It really encouraged a lot of people to come get an education that might not have otherwise.”


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The main problem with the G.I. Bill is that many veterans end up using the benefits while attending community college instead of using the money when they enter a university, Thomas said.

“The reality is you get 36 months worth of education benefit,” Thomas said. “The idea being that we are a 4-year degree program, you go to school nine months a year, 36 months will cover your education.”

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website, veterans receive 36 months worth of benefits, but need to utilize those benefits within 15 years.

“We do find that a lot of people will run out of their benefits before they graduate,” Thomas said. “For that reason the Veterans Service office tries to encourage people to not use their benefits while they are attending community college. In theory the 36 months worth of benefits is awesome, but in reality who really graduates in four years?” Thomas said.

The Post 9-11 G.I. Bill pays tuition and fees at the in-state rate for veterans.

“We do have an increasing number of students that are using something called vocational rehabilitation,” Thomas said. “It is technically a vocational program, not an education program.

The vocational rehabilitation program is designed to help students who have a service-connected disability. Whether the disability is physical, emotional or mental.

It provides similar benefits like the Post 9-11 G.I. Bill as well as additional benefits. Veterans who are using the vocational program are given a little bit more flexibility adding time to the benefits as opposed the veterans who are using the Post 9-11 G.I. Bill, Thomas said.

Another benefit students are able to use while at CSULB is the Cal Vet Fee Waiver. The waiver is a benefit provided by the state of California and is for the children of veterans who have a disability rating from the VA, allowing them to have their tuition fee waived, Thomas said.

Students who are dependents of veterans are able to use the G.I. Bill benefits if the parent that served gives them the 36 months of benefits.

“With the post 9-11 G.I. Bill everything in higher education changed,” Thomas said. “We have had an influx of students using a much better program.

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