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Post 9/11 GI Bill Increases Benefits for Veterans

by Lori Johnston

Improvements to the GI Bill are offering more opportunities for those who have served our country to afford a college education.

And more military veterans are taking advantage of the benefits by enrolling in college, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The program had paid for 272,131 spring 2010 enrollments, as of March.

Many veterans in the past complained that the GI Bill, which became law in 1944 to provide college education for 8 million World War II veterans, didn't provide enough financial benefits for them to go to school, on top of the difficulties they faced in transitioning from the military to campus and balancing family and other obligations.

The Post 9-11 GI Bill, which took effect on Aug. 1, 2009, beefed up the financial benefits for veterans, covering tuition and fees for graduate and undergraduate degrees, and vocational/technical training from in-state public universities in addition to a monthly housing allowance, and $1,000 a year for books and supplies, if attending full-time. The new GI Bill also provides financial benefits for veterans in school part-time.

Individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after Sept. 11, 2001, or individuals receiving an honorable discharge with a service-connected disability after 30 days are eligible to receive Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. That includes reservists and members of the National Guard.

To tackle some of the other issues veterans face in going to school, there has been an increase in counselors and meetings for veterans (at schools such as the University of West Florida in Pensacola, the University of California Los Angeles, and Austin Peay State University in Tennessee) and classes with all veterans (at schools such as Cleveland State and the University of Arizona) as well as changes to the enrollment process that can assist the soldiers opting to use GI Bill benefits.

To apply for the Post 9-11 GI Bill, you can fill out an application online at www.gibill.va.gov, or call 1-888-GI BILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) to receive a form in the mail, or request an application form at the school or training establishment you would like to attend.

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