Castagnera on Risk Management in Higher Education… and more: Vets: A GI Bill comparison tool

Friday, February 7, 2014

Vets: A GI Bill comparison tool

Injuries incurred by service members are covered by the Veteran Administration. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Colleagues and Fellow Veterans,

What’s the first thing you do when shopping for a big ticket item? You might shop around, ask friends and relatives for their opinion or compare items online. In today’s world of instant online access to a wealth of consumer information – from online reviews to info graphics comparing products, product websites and online shopping sites – consumers are used to finding and comparing information online before they buy.

Thanks to VA’s new GI Bill® Comparison Tool, you can now find information online about Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and the schools and training programs available to education beneficiaries. Before this tool launched, estimating how much beneficiaries may receive under the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit was challenging. The new comparison tool makes it easy to estimate Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits with just one click.

In addition, you can find and compare information on our 10,000+ approved education and training programs, including estimated tuition and fee amounts and your projected housing allowance. Also available are each school’s graduation rate, student loan default rate and Yellow Ribbon participation. Together, the GI Bill benefit estimator and school comparison information enable students to compare education options and make the best decision for their future. In the future, VA will add additional functionality to the tool, including the ability to compare up to three schools side-by-side.

V/R,

Curtis L. Coy
Deputy Under Secretary for Economic Opportunity
Veterans Benefits Administration
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington, DC 20420

Note: We apologize in advance if we are unable to respond directly to your questions.

Please Remember:

· If you would like to review prior messages sent through this listserv, click http://benefits.va.gov/vow/economic_opportunity.htm.

· If you would like to research, find, access, and, in time, manage your VA benefits and personal information please visit and/or register at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal.

· If you are seeking employment in the federal government, particularly the VA, our VA for Vets resources can help. Visit online at http://vaforvets.va.gov/Pages/default.aspx.

If you would like to contact us about your VA education benefits:

· You can send us a secure email that will usually be answered within 48 hours. You can also search for answers to frequently asked questions and register to be notified of any updates to the information. This contact method is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can also be utilized worldwide. Click here to enter the "Ask A Question" site or here to review our frequently asked questions.

· You can call 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551). This line only accepts calls from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM central time Monday – Friday, though you are able to schedule a call back from a Customer Service Representative.