G.I. Bill
Why didn't Frank take advantage of federal aid for returning veterans? Even if he hadn't known of it originally, after the interviewer mentioned it he should have pursued at once.
shareWhy didn't Frank take advantage of federal aid for returning veterans? Even if he hadn't known of it originally, after the interviewer mentioned it he should have pursued at once.
sharethere are a few reasons, and as a vet (infantry), i thank you for your curiosity - there are a lot of misconceptions about the gi bill.
what i'm about to tell you applies to the gi bill prior to the new, post 9-11 gi bill signed into effect by bush. the post 9-11 gi bill is a thousand times better than what frank or i had.
1. in order to get the gi bill, you had to voluntarily sign up for it. signing up for it meant that for the first 12 months of your service you would pay roughly 15-20% of you monthly salary to the gi bill. now this is important for two reasons.
1. a lot of young guys never enroll in the program because they think, in no particular order A. i'm going to die and never use it. B. i'm never going to college C. i'm going to re-enlist D. just don't think that far ahead and E. first year privates really don't make much money at all, and being young, and voluntarily giving up a noticeable portion of your check for the future hurts.
and 2. the gi bill was completely funded by active soldiers. the interest accrued in conjunction with new soldiers paying into the system kept the program funded - without tax payer dollars.
Please note, that you could change your mind at anytime during your service. you could even decide with one month left on your contract that you would pay the amount in full and still be eligible for the gi bill.
and finally the other kicker - the reason why frank couldn't use it after the reporter mentioned it
you have ten years to use the gi bill. frank clearly was past his ten year mark.
one final note, the gi bill only paid for 36 months of school. which meant it rarely ever covered your entire degree.
.......................................
on a personal note, the gi bill, which i loved don't get me wrong, it was the best investment you could ever make, kind of bit you when it came to financial aid. the school and fasfa looked at the gi bill as sort of a 401 k, they viewed it as money in the bank which lowered your overall eligibility for school loans.
AND if you just got out of the military, fasfa looked at your last years income. and something NOBODY ever tells you is that all that "free" room, board, food, and medicine - well you're taxed on that. so if you made 20,000 in actually salary, you were actually taxed around 45,000. which wiped your financial aid eligibility.