Forever GI Bill STEM Extension

[whorobbedthewoods]

One of the features of the Forever GI Bill is an extension for up to 9 months for students pursuing STEM studies. It seems that this is designed primarily for students whose undergraduate degree plans require significantly more credits than is typical (e.g. engineering majors).

Does anyone know if this extension can be used during medical school? At first I assumed probably not, but I did some searching around and there seems to be some ambiguity in the descriptions I found. This site (https://militarybenefits.info/gi-bill-stem-extension/) says that the extension could be granted for "medical residency programs" and for "other subjects and fields identified by the Secretary as meeting national needs."

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[BC_89]

I have been hearing of such talk for the past two years from our Educational Representative concerning STEM seeking students and the extension of the post 9/11 benefits. Since the final stages are still being outlined and cannot be implemented for first veteran users until August of this year, I would say it absolutely can be used for medical school. However, this is not for every veteran but is based on a first-come first-serve basis. Top priority of course being those that are 100% eligible for the post 9/11 and are quickly running dry of their entitlements as well as those who require the most credits for the completion of a STEM degree (which medical students would qualify as top of the list). However, as taken from the mouth of a VA educational rep recently, they want to qualify veterans that need the extension while simultaneously saving costs based on educational needs of veterans and supply of approved $ for VA entitlements.

In other words, if its cheaper for an individual to get his/her Masters in petroleum engineering vs. another vet to go to Medical School they may be swayed to balance out total costs to cheaper educational benefits. Nonetheless, some will qualify for med school so as to establish a stats barrier for the upcoming 2020, 2021, and 2022 results. Once again, this is coming from the mouth of a VA educational representative I had to meet with as part of my out-processing for my medical retirement in the army just a few days ago.

I'll be interested to see who qualifies and what the stats look like by the end of 2020. In the end, med students are not excluded in this entitlement extension and once its more established I'll sticky this info into our current post 9/11 FAQ checklist page. Thanks for bringing up this info.

 

[KaBoom'd]

It seems like they're pretty firm on undergraduate degrees only


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