THINGS VETERANS NEED TO KNOW: GI BILL FACTS

Does the GI Bill cover that?

By Carol Beard

I hear it all the time.  A veteran comes in to my office, fresh from their end of active duty status(or not), saying that so-and-so told them that the GI Bill won't cover this, that, or the other.  Often they are confused and sometimes mad about that supposed knowledge.  Until, that is, I correct them.

I know, I know.  The guys at TAPS or the installations college office are supposed to be the end all be all, know it all's for your transition to college.  But the thing is that those folks, though very knowledgeable, are not fully trained as School Certifying Officials and have not generally undergone the in-depth training on how the GI Bill is actually structured to work.

So, here's the real life experience of a veteran, me, who has used GI Bill benefits and who then went on to become a School Certifying Official.  The GI Bill, in most cases, can be used towards any authorized program that an institution offers.  It does not matter if that program is a transfer degree, like an Associate of Arts; an applied science degree, like Gunsmithing; or if is a simple certificate in something like bookkeeping.  What does matter is that the institution has been approved by the VA as a training site and that their programs have been reviewed and approved.

Yes, the GI Bill will pay for certificate programs.  Yes, the GI Bill will pay for degree programs.  And here's the really neat thing, the GI Bill will allow you to pursue two of these things at once.  Each school and training facility has it's own regulations regarding programs and program combinations, but there are very few exceptions to what the GI Bill will not cover at an approved institution.

Instead of asking if the GI Bill covers something, you might want to ask what the GI Bill does not cover at your school.  You might just be surprised to learn that the answer is not much of anything!