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5 Things for Veterans to Know About Expanded GI Bill Benefits

By U.S. News & World Report

Lawmakers this month sent an expanded GI educational benefits bill, known as the “Forever GI Bill” to President Donald Trump’s desk to sign.

The Forever GI Bill, which passed the U.S. Senate unanimously , is estimated to cost more than $3 billion over 10 years.

“It restores benefits to veterans who were impacted by school closures since 2015 and has special benefits for our reservists, surviving dependents and Purple Heart recipients,” said Veteran s Affairs Secretary David Shulkin in a statement.

The new law will also eliminate the 15-year limit on educational benefits for new enlistees. As the bill’s nickname implies, veterans will no longer have a time limit for completing their education.

Since the GI Bill’s creation in 1944 during World War II, it has been updated several times to help veterans pay for college and training. The last expansion, the post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, often called the post-9/11 GI Bill, was eight years ago.

[See the Best Colleges for Veterans rankings.]

The 2009 expansion increased veteran student enrollment at colleges, says Liang Zhang, a professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, who studies higher education policies. Zhang found in his recent study that the last expansion increased enrollment rates by 3 percentage points from comparing the 2005-2008 period with 2010-2015.

According to the 2017 annual report by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 79 percent of veterans who enrolled in a higher education program in 2016 were beneficiaries from the post-9/11 program.

“If the last GI Bill had a significant enrollment, then we could probably expect an increase in general enrollment by the current expansions,” Zhang says.

[Explore ways community colleges serve veterans.]

Veteran advocacy groups say Trump is expected to sign the Forever GI Bill. Here are five big changes once the bill becomes law.

1. Veterans whose colleges shut down in the middle of the semester will have their benefits restored. The closure of several colleges and universities in 2015 and 2016, many of which were for-profit, adversely affected many student veterans, experts say.

“So those who were attending ITT when it closed will have a full restoration of the benefits and be able to use the benefit at a different school,” says James Schmeling, executive vice president of District of Columbia-based Student Veterans of America, a nonprofit advocacy group.

But this benefit is not just for those who attended ITT Technical Institute, it also applies to service members who attended a postsecondary institution that closed after January 2015. According to the Congressional Budget Office, $50 million will go toward restoring benefits to thousands of veterans next year.

2. New service members can use the benefit throughout their lifetimes. The caveat is it’s only for those who were discharged on or after Jan. 1, 2013.

For those who meet this cutoff, the expansion will eliminate the 15-year time limit to use these benefits.

Experts say this will enable more veterans to complete college or higher education courses for a career, which are necessary for wage gains.

3. The expanded benefits emphasize STEM programs. The expansion encourages veterans to enroll in science, technology, engineering or math degrees through financial incentives.

[Discover how veterans can afford pricey private university tuition.]

Schmeling says student veterans often voice that they had to choose other fields since some STEM bachelor’s degrees can take up to five years to complete.

“They were choosing other degrees that they could complete during the availability of their G I benefit. So extending them allows them to take STEM more seriously than they might have before,” he says.

Veterans interested in these fields will be eligible to receive either nine months more of educational benefits or up to $30,000 in a lump sum, the maximum amount.

While many of the bill’s provisions go into effect next year, this provision won’t be available until August 2019.

4. All Purple Heart recipients since Sept. 11, 2001 are now eligible for educational benefits. Previously, many reservists who were injured during active service didn’t meet the full requirements for the GI Bill.

With this expansion, 1,500 Purple Heart recipients will become eligible for GI benefits, veteran advocates say.

5. GI Bill entitlements can be transferred to another dependent or spouse. Veterans will be able to transfer the remainder of their entitlement to another dependent in cases where the dependent who initially received the transferred benefits dies.

A dependent will also be able to transfer the remaining benefits to another dependent after the death of the veteran, too.

“It’s not really a large expansion, but it’s a humanitarian need for those who need to transfer,” Schmeling says.

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.

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5 Things for Veterans to Know About Expanded GI Bill Benefits originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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