Veterans Educational Benefits, Exploring Options

Using Veterans Educational Benefits was supposed to be easy! 

I suppose it is, IF you know HOW to use them.

Lets get right to it... Your first stop should be the VA right? WRONG!!! This is where a lot of people start, but isn't the optimal starting point. You want more than an education, you want to get back to work in a new (post-military) career. The first step is to figure out what you want to do in your next career phase. We can get more into this later, but lets keep it simple for now.

K.I.S.S.(Keep It Simple Stupid) method to break this down Barney Style:

Set your trajectory towards a better future 

5 TIPS for SUCCESS

1.  K.I.S.S.(Keep It Simple Stupid)

2. Figure out what YOU want to be when you grow up

What is the best way to get started doing what you want to do?

• Interest and Skills Assessment Time

• CareerOneStop has online assessment tools.

 3. Know your benefits... 

Explore VA educational benefits online

• Post - 9/11 GI Bill

• One of these must be true for you:

• Served at least 90 days on active duty (either all at once or with breaks in service) on or after September 11, 2001, or
• Received a Purple Heart on or after September 11, 2001, and were honorably discharged after any amount of service, or
• Served for at least 30 continuous days (all at once, without a break in service) on or after September 11, 2001, and were honorably discharged with a service-connected disability, or
• Are a dependent child using benefits transferred by a qualifying Veteran or service member

• Current Benefit Rates




• GI BILL Comparison Tool




• Frequently Asked Questions

4- Contact veterans coordinators at potential schools

Avoid unnecessary stress and streamline your process. Contact the veterans coordinating official at your school today. Every school is different, but they usually have an office on campus and coordinate often with the registrar and bursars offices.

If you are attending the University of Tampa like me, I recommend contacting the Veterans Admissions office ASAP. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with you; they will assist in any way they can.

Call / Email / Visit 

Go to the campus in person if you have to. Take a copy of your DD214 and VA Certificate of Eligibility for educational benefits with you.

5 - ADAPT and OVERCOME!

Are you still reading this?... Everything after this is details, details, details... If you made it through the first 8 steps, you will already know enough to not come back to this list... This is also where individual paths start to change... This is where you find out that every school has a slightly different process... This is where you find out that the VA has updated their programs since the blog you are currently reading was posted... This is where you dig into the character you built during your time in the military and start to ADAPT and OVERCOME!

Its time to kick in some doors and make things happen! Just remember to keep your end goal in mind, and keep moving forward!

Put your foot in the door... Or just knock it down!

* some images on this page are from DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service). Discover more images/videos/stories at DVIDS