Let me give some background. I work full time and am pursuing my degree in criminal justice. I served in the Marines for 4 years. I qualify for the post 9/11 CH 33 GI bill, however have only been using the CH 30 because my schedule was fluctuating. I finally discovered that I could consistently go to school half time. I looked on the VA's website and saw this under the frequently asked questions:
It states that you will not receive the housing allowance "if you are attending school at the less than 1/2 time rate". So to me that states as long as I am half time, I will receive the benefits. So I change to the CH 33, which is irrevocable so I cannot go back to the Ch 30. I sign up for two classes and am ready to start the semester.
Fast forward to yesterday at 12:30. I work late shift so I was asleep when the call came in. I woke up anyways because it was the VA rep at Ivy Tech. She asks me why I switched and I explain to her that it will benefit me more now that I feel I can consistently go to school half time. She proceeds to tell me that in order to get that, you must be at least 51% enrolled, meaning my two classes will not qualify. I state that this differs from the VA website and tell her I will get into contact with the VA.
I immediately get on the phone with the GI Bill section of the VA. The first gentleman I speak to is less then helpful and simply states, that is the law and if you don't like it you should write your senator. THIS IS COMING FROM THE VA!!! THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP VETERANS!!!! So I say ok, if there is nothing else you can do for me, then I need to speak with your supervisor.
Phone rings through to the supervisor. I explain to him my situation and tell him how I would have never changed my benefits over if it were not for the bad information on their website. At first he does not believe me that their website is incorrect. I give him the location, he looks it up and says "OH, hold for a minute please." 10-15 minutes go by and he comes back on. He says "Sir, I would like to thank you and because of you our website will be fixed tomorrow." I say well that's good, but what about me? What am I supposed to do? He says well you will have to take more classes, the law is the law. At this point frustration is setting in, but at the same time I know it will not fix anything. So I ask "so there is nothing else you can do for me?" he says "no." I say well then I will need to speak with your supervisor. Apparently this is a 2-3 day process. He takes down my information and puts in a inquiry for the supervisor to call me. I am now waiting for the call.
So what do I do? Understand that taking three classes will be extremely difficult for me to maintain for the next few years, two would be much more manageable. I would have never, ever changed over to the CH 33 had their information on their website been correct. Any advice you can offer would be great, thanks INGO
It states that you will not receive the housing allowance "if you are attending school at the less than 1/2 time rate". So to me that states as long as I am half time, I will receive the benefits. So I change to the CH 33, which is irrevocable so I cannot go back to the Ch 30. I sign up for two classes and am ready to start the semester.
Fast forward to yesterday at 12:30. I work late shift so I was asleep when the call came in. I woke up anyways because it was the VA rep at Ivy Tech. She asks me why I switched and I explain to her that it will benefit me more now that I feel I can consistently go to school half time. She proceeds to tell me that in order to get that, you must be at least 51% enrolled, meaning my two classes will not qualify. I state that this differs from the VA website and tell her I will get into contact with the VA.
I immediately get on the phone with the GI Bill section of the VA. The first gentleman I speak to is less then helpful and simply states, that is the law and if you don't like it you should write your senator. THIS IS COMING FROM THE VA!!! THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP VETERANS!!!! So I say ok, if there is nothing else you can do for me, then I need to speak with your supervisor.
Phone rings through to the supervisor. I explain to him my situation and tell him how I would have never changed my benefits over if it were not for the bad information on their website. At first he does not believe me that their website is incorrect. I give him the location, he looks it up and says "OH, hold for a minute please." 10-15 minutes go by and he comes back on. He says "Sir, I would like to thank you and because of you our website will be fixed tomorrow." I say well that's good, but what about me? What am I supposed to do? He says well you will have to take more classes, the law is the law. At this point frustration is setting in, but at the same time I know it will not fix anything. So I ask "so there is nothing else you can do for me?" he says "no." I say well then I will need to speak with your supervisor. Apparently this is a 2-3 day process. He takes down my information and puts in a inquiry for the supervisor to call me. I am now waiting for the call.
So what do I do? Understand that taking three classes will be extremely difficult for me to maintain for the next few years, two would be much more manageable. I would have never, ever changed over to the CH 33 had their information on their website been correct. Any advice you can offer would be great, thanks INGO
