WGU & Post 911 GI Bill

I just came off active duty army. Spent 7 years as Military Police. I have a small prior background in IT. In 2001 I took a certification course through Clark University's Computer Career Institute (Based out of Massachusetts). The course was E-Commerce Web Development. Big focus on ColdFusion and MS Access/MySQL.

Anyways I want to get back into the IT/CS field. I'm highly interested in WGU's BS in IT w/ Software Emphasis. I'm not sure if full blown CS is the road I want to take. I like this degree plan as it leaves other doors open in the Networking/Security/Etc. fields but still learning core programming languages so I could go the Soft Engr route.

So basically what I'm wondering is does anyone have any experience using the Post 9/11 GI Bill and this college? The way the program works makes me slightly hesitant it wont be copacetic with the GI Bill.

Also does WGU sound like the right school for me? Right now as far as my knowledge goes, I don't have any current certs. I'm the go to tech geek in my circle of friends and family but have nothing on paper as experience or training since 2001.

Thanks for the time and help!!

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

hiddenknight821

They will take your resume if you have genuine experiences to back it up. Make sure you have your references ready, so that they can admit you. I am not sure how that works, but it never hurt to try. The worst thing you can expect from them is a no-no without losing a house, a car, or a family... you get the idea.

I am not sure about the 9/11 GI Bill though. Never heard of it. Call the enrollment department tomorrow to ask them questions.

SteveLord

I am positive they've dealt with it. However, you should contact VA or an education officer to find out how much you qualify for exactly. I was in the Guard and did 10months AD...and I qualify for 50% reimbursement for example.

I've also heard a lot of bad feedback on the 911 GI Bill in it's early implementation (getting them to actually pay). But I hope it's gotten better over the years.

DACP_tim

hiddenknight821 wrote: »

They will take your resume if you have genuine experiences to back it up. Make sure you have your references ready, so that they can admit you. I am not sure how that works, but it never hurt to try. The worst thing you can expect from them is a no-no without losing a house, a car, or a family... you get the idea.

I am not sure about the 9/11 GI Bill though. Never heard of it. Call the enrollment department tomorrow to ask them questions.

My resume is genuine, it just lacks any IT experience. They have a stringent admissions process? I didn't realize this. I literally have no IT experience other than personal since 2001. And even then it was a 6 month long E-Commerce & Web Development Certification course that didn't give me any real legitimate certs aside from a small transcript of courses taken. I did data entry and some part time web design afterwards but then went into the Military. Hmm this could obviously pose an issue. Though I have designed a web site recently for my brother's band. Nothing fancy but something that could slighty show off some skills.

SteveLord wrote:

I am positive they've dealt with it. However, you should contact VA or an education officer to find out how much you qualify for exactly. I was in the Guard and did 10months AD...and I qualify for 50% reimbursement for example.

I've also heard a lot of bad feedback on the 911 GI Bill in it's early implementation (getting them to actually pay). But I hope it's gotten better over the years.

I'm 100% covered with 7+ years of Active Duty. And from what I've heard from friends using it, while its slow to receive your BAH benefits, the actual tuition is covered immediately.

Everyone

Do you qualify for the original GI Bill? If so, have you compared them?

Every time I've looked into it, the original GI Bill comes out ahead.

Your situation may be different. Choose carefully.

DACP_tim

Everyone wrote: »

Do you qualify for the original GI Bill? If so, have you compared them?

Every time I've looked into it, the original GI Bill comes out ahead.

Your situation may be different. Choose carefully.

I DID. I waived it when I enrolled in a local community college but never actually took any classes due to a change in work schedule.

The Post 911 GI Bill is going to be a helluva lot nicer as of Oct 1st for online schooling. You will be eligible to receive BAH allotments in the amount of $687 I believe when you're taking full time workload.

So you'd have all your schooling paid for plus receive almost $700 a month allotment. Not sure the Montgomery GI Bill tops that.

Everyone

DACP_tim wrote: »

I DID. I waived it when I enrolled in a local community college but never actually took any classes due to a change in work schedule.

The Post 911 GI Bill is going to be a helluva lot nicer as of Oct 1st for online schooling. You will be eligible to receive BAH allotments in the amount of $687 I believe when you're taking full time workload.

So you'd have all your schooling paid for plus receive almost $700 a month allotment. Not sure the Montgomery GI Bill tops that.

I haven't heard about this change. Currently if you're taking courses online, you are not eligible for the BAH benefit.

I have a kicker, so my MGIB payout is something like $1700/month.

For the Post 911, BAH calculation is E-5 with dependants for the location of the school you're attending, regardless of what your pay grade is/was. Then there is a maximum tuition based on the state as well. If I were to go to the local community college here, I'd get $1,056/month in BAH. The classes only cost $87 per credit hour, so that's $1,044 per semester with a 12 credit hour (full time) load.

MGIB = $1700/month X 3 months = $5100 - $1044 = $4056 in my pocket.

Post 911 = $1056/month X 3 months = $3168 in my pocket.

That's guessing a 3 month semester.

Currently if I look at taking all my classes online through a school like WGU, I would get no BAH from Post 911. For a 6 month term, after paying the $2890 tuition, MGIB would leave me with $7,310 extra cash, where the Post 911 would only just pay for tuition.

Even if they change it so that you can get BAH for taking all your classes online, I'd end up getting a lower BAH rate for the zip code that I live in, so I'd still end up making more money with the MGIB.

DACP_tim

Everyone wrote: »

I haven't heard about this change. Currently if you're taking courses online, you are not eligible for the BAH benefit.

I have a kicker, so my MGIB payout is something like $1700/month.

For the Post 911, BAH calculation is E-5 with dependants for the location of the school you're attending, regardless of what your pay grade is/was. Then there is a maximum tuition based on the state as well. If I were to go to the local community college here, I'd get $1,056/month in BAH. The classes only cost $87 per credit hour, so that's $1,044 per semester with a 12 credit hour (full time) load.

MGIB = $1700/month X 3 months = $5100 - $1044 = $4056 in my pocket.

Post 911 = $1056/month X 3 months = $3168 in my pocket.

That's guessing a 3 month semester.

Currently if I look at taking all my classes online through a school like WGU, I would get no BAH from Post 911. For a 6 month term, after paying the $2890 tuition, MGIB would leave me with $7,310 extra cash, where the Post 911 would only just pay for tuition.

Even if they change it so that you can get BAH for taking all your classes online, I'd end up getting a lower BAH rate for the zip code that I live in, so I'd still end up making more money with the MGIB.

Interesting. BAH here in the Boston area is 2200 so the 911 bill was a better choice at the time so I opted out of MGIB. I haven't begun to use any benefits yet so I wonder if I can still use the MGIB because based on your examples it seems better.

The change to allow online schooling BAH allotments starts Oct 1st. You get half of the national average of an e5 w/ dependant which equates to the upper 600s..

j_griffith

DACP_tim wrote: »

The way the program works makes me slightly hesitant it wont be copacetic with the GI Bill.

Also does WGU sound like the right school for me? I'm the go to tech geek in my circle of friends and family but have nothing on paper as experience or training since 2001.

Well, Let's see Post 9/11 you get half BAH for the state in which the college is in if you attend at least 1/2 time. Not necessarily your residence. Unless you live in Utah. You get actual tuition and fees reimbursed.

For Mont. GI Bill, you get GI Bill stipend each month based upon you 1/4,1/2, 3/4, Full Time enrollment.

For WGU undergraduate, you must complete 18 CU to be considered Full Time.

To maintain your VA eligibility you must pass everything at 70% or better. WGU allows lower to stay enrolled.

Review the attached info from WGU.

Work on A+ or Security+ Certification independently. It will be a current cert. that will allow enrollment and apply to your degree program.

Regards,

J.

Guide to VA Benefits.doc

DACP_tim

j_griffith wrote: »

Well, Let's see Post 9/11 you get half BAH for the state in which the college is in if you attend at least 1/2 time. Not necessarily your residence. Unless you live in Utah. You get actual tuition and fees reimbursed.

For Mont. GI Bill, you get GI Bill stipend each month based upon you 1/4,1/2, 3/4, Full Time enrollment.

For WGU undergraduate, you must complete 18 CU to be considered Full Time.

To maintain your VA eligibility you must pass everything at 70% or better. WGU allows lower to stay enrolled.

Review the attached info from WGU.

Work on A+ or Security+ Certification independently. It will be a current cert. that will allow enrollment and apply to your degree program.

Regards,

J.

Awesome information. I spoke to an enrollment advisor today at WGU and he was pretty optimistic in my personal experience put on a resume would be suffice for admissions. I also spoke with the VA to see of I could switch back to the MGIB from the 911 Bill and that is a no. He did say though that if the curriculum requires me to meet up twice a semester that's enough to make me eligible for the full BAH for where I reside. I asked him if taking proctored exams and certifications counted as meeting up and he said as long as they put that on your enrollment it will.

That's a huge chunk of money considering I live in a high BAH area in Boston. Does anyone know anything in regards to this and how frequently you have to go take exams and certifications and if it could be warranted as meets?

Thanks for everyone's help.

veritas_libertas

DACP_tim wrote: »

My resume is genuine, it just lacks any IT experience. They have a stringent admissions process? I didn't realize this. I literally have no IT experience other than personal since 2001. And even then it was a 6 month long E-Commerce & Web Development Certification course that didn't give me any real legitimate certs aside from a small transcript of courses taken. I did data entry and some part time web design afterwards but then went into the Military. Hmm this could obviously pose an issue. Though I have designed a web site recently for my brother's band. Nothing fancy but something that could slighty show off some skills.

Online Bachelor Information Technology Degree | WGU College of Information Technology

I would just do the CompTIA A+ before you enroll. Show them the transcript and that should be enough to get you in. They just want to make sure that you can handle the IT degree path. In the past they would get students who couldn't survive.

Also, be sure to use the Refer-a-Friend method so you don't pay for enrollment.

DACP_tim

veritas_libertas wrote: »

Online Bachelor Information Technology Degree | WGU College of Information Technology

I would just do the CompTIA A+ before you enroll. Show them the transcript and that should be enough to get you in. They just want to make sure that you can handle the IT degree path. In the past they would get students who couldn't survive.

Also, be sure to use the Refer-a-Friend method so you don't pay for enrollment.

I spoke to a WGU Rep today who basically said my personal experience in home networking, PC troubleshooting & repair, and web design detailed on a resume would be enough for admittance. That'll at least save me from paying for the A+ cert.
In regard to the enrollment fee, I got a 65 application fee waived due to being a veteran.

Is this the same or is the refer a friend for something else?

j_griffith

DACP_tim wrote: »

In regard to the enrollment fee, I got a 65 application fee waived due to being a veteran.

Is this the same or is the refer a friend for something else?

Different means to the same benefit/result. Bottom line you were able to apply without paying the application fee.

R,

J.

myedjo24

Use the Montgomery Gi Bill(if you paid into it) instead of the post 9/11 bill if you're doing online schooling. Basically you just get like 1456 a month for 36 months of schooling. WGU lets you do a 6 month payment plan for VA peeps which works out to around 460ish a month. Another benefit of using the Montgomery GI bill first is that once you use it up, you're allowed 12 months of the Post 9/11 which is a full 4years of school instead of 3. If you use the post 9/11 bill first you also forfeit the montgomery gi bill.

malenurse

If you still check this forum I am wondering how WGU turned out for you? How did the GI bill work out ?

Sirbloody

I am actually going through this right now. I am waiting on the VA (Been about 2 weeks now) for my application status.

Rosco2382

I just got my approval letter two days ago. But I have been recieving BAH allotments and my book voucher (500 per semester) already. As long as you applied and go through there VA rep you will be fine.