I'm a little confused about what the Post 9/11 awards. I was awarded $7k worth of scholarships at a private medical school on top of the Post 9/11. The tuition is $42k a year. The bursar's office made it seem like my scholarships would lessen what the VA would pay out for my Post 9/11. Can anyone clarify this for me?
I believe it would depend on the type of scholarship it is. There are scholarships that are specific to tuition, and others that are not. The VA is the last to pay usually, and what gets paid is also partially up to how the individual school bills (i.e. full tuition and fees from the get-go, versus billing what is left over after tuition scholarships).
If it's for tuition only, there is a chance that it would just reduce what the VA pays, but consider you mention you will be attending a private school which often (not all the time though) comes with a higher price tag, it could help close the difference in tuition cost.
If it's for you and can be used for anything, it likely would be applied last, and thus would be overpayment which would then be re-disbursed to you to use as you see fit (i.e. books, housing, other fees, a computer, etc), or again would just cover the difference.
Discuss further with your bursar and/or VA rep about if this is for tuition only to get clarification.