Increased Processing Time For Chap 35 Benefits

[purple]

My son transferred schools this fall, when he went to the VA office at his new college he was told that he might not receive his first VA (Chap 35) check until after the first quarter was complete!!

He was told that the VA is backed up processing Chap 35 requests now 6-10 weeks due to the high number of requests. Kids who rely on this money for school are basically just SOL.

Just wanted to pass this along....be prepared to fork over $$$ in advance.

BTW...I did call the VA and verify this...

Edited August 31, 2009 by purple (see edit history)

[broncovet]

Yes, purple, this is very bad and is making the VA look even worse, since just a few months ago the VA said they would be ready for this. They are not. It is going to make lots of people mad..this time, not just Veterans, but colleges and dependents as well. Students will be forced out of school for not paying tuition and fees..compliments of the Department of Veterans Affairs inefficiency/negligence.

I am hopefull the media will get hold of this..and pressure the VA to do what they should have been doing for Veterans AND dependents all along, and that is not delay these claims forever.

Colleges are going to be mad because they are going to get cheated out of tuition and fees...because when they let them attend classes, and the student eventually drops out because no VA money for months and months, the college will never get paid.

I am hoping the VA will tick off the wrong people this time. I hope there are some very smart professors that figure out how to do what Veterans have not been able to do:

MAKE THE VA pay PROMPTLY. Story here:

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfaug09/nf082809-1.htm

I think the VA is pretty stupid doing things like ticking off Harvard law school students. They might want to rethink this!

Edited August 31, 2009 by broncovet (see edit history)

[Testvet]

It is my understanding that most colleges are admitting the students and waiting for the government to send the tuition payments, however in the meantime that means no book money, living expenses, etc either thru Chapter 35 or GI Bill entitlements..... they knew this was coming more than a year ago.....sad state of affairs.....

[purple]

Just like with processing claims.

The VA has a golden opportunity for a win-win situation....to provide much needed jobs all over the country (hiring more claims folks for both claims and education) which would, in turn reduce the backlog. But instead our lovely VA chooses to let the backlogs build.

[broncovet]

Testvet

It is up to the individual college to decide if students are allowed to delay paying their tuition while the VA "processes" their paper work. At at least ONE college, they dont trust the VA because they have been burned before. The college will let students delay their tuition while waiting on student loans and pell grants, however this particular college will not let Va students do this. In the past the VA has taken so long to procces the paperwork, that the college gets "burned" for tuition as the student often drops out eventually when the money fails to arrive. Unlike the VA, the student loans/pell grants happens fairly quickly, but the VA can take months and months. So, this college quit allowing Veteran/CH. 35 students to do this, because they could not afford to get burned again and again.

At least one college does not trust the VA, and I cant blame em. These students just can not hang on forever waiting on the VA to pay employees bonuses for delaying claims.

There is a good part to all of this! I think the VA is going to tick off the wrong people. I think the VA will tick off, for example Harvard Law Students, who are also Veterans/dependents waiting on benefits. Then, these gifted students are going to use their legal knowledge to sue the VA. I know it will take years, but I am looking forward to the day when one or more of these gifted law Students takes the VA to court and wins big time.

Edited August 31, 2009 by broncovet (see edit history)