Pay For College, What Am I supposed to do????

[Diablo]

I did six years in the USN as a Nuclear Machinist Mate. When September 11th went down, I provided the steam necessary to launch the planes that flew over New York from the USS Theodore Roosevelt to provide security after the attack. I've served in multiple warzones for the US, both Iraq and Afghanistan. Fast forward six years and I'm applying for a scholarship to pay for my second year college through a scholarship that is dedicated for war vets. I find out from the state of Maryland that I don't apply or deserve the scholarship since my aircraft carrier wasn't within 15 NM of Iraq or Afghanistan. During 9-11 we weren't allowed within 15nm of New York let alone a country we are fighting with. No navy vessel is allowed that close. Technically, my aircraft carrier, the CVN 71 would be in IRAN if we got within 15nm to Afghanistan. Needless to say, I can't get the scholarship. I don't mean to come off as a jerk, but I feel like I got screwed by my country for serving.

[protege]

Now that's just fucked up :rant: It just pisses me off when I hear things like this. We should be taking care of our soldiers and vets...not trying to screw them over! I'm sure my father has similar stories--he got turned down trying to get benefits in the '80s, after his advertising business failed. At the time, things simply weren't favorable to Vietnam Vets, mainly because they fought in an unpopular war. The other reason, IIRC, was because he wasn't *technically* on the front lines. He was in the navy, and IIRC, his unit was responsible for providing protection to the news media then.

Edit: While I'm at it, let me also say that I have the utmost respect for our servicemen and women. Freedom ain't free, folks, and I appreciate the lot of you for providing it. Keep up the good work!

[Seshat]

Talk to your government representative. Tell him your situation, that you feel screwed over (not in those words!), and ask for suggestions, advice and help. He may or may not be able to help you directly: hopefully he can. But the only way these rulings will change is if people in your situation complain to the 'management' about them.

Folks here will be able to advise you on how their customers complain effectively and get things achieved. To start it off, my stock complaint letter or email looks like this:

Greeting. You are addressing a human, after all.

Brief precis of situation, brief precis of request. (What you told us is good, rephrase it for him, but don't add anything more at this point.) You want one short paragraph.

Expansion of situation, along with any necessary background details like customer reference numbers. (In your case, a service number or which ships you served on might be appropriate.) Make it as long as necessary.

Expansion of request. Make it an achievable request, and make it something that would make you happy. (In your case, you have a short-term goal: going to college personally. You also have a long-term goal you'd like him to consider: naval personnel no longer being effectively excluded from military college scholarships.) Make it as long as necessary.

Gratitude, and perhaps a summary if the expansions were long. One short paragraph again. Make sure you sound grateful - again, you're addressing a human.

[Bright_Star]

So you're good enough to serve your country but not good enough to get that scholarship? That's a slap in the face to not just you but to everyone who's ever served in the military.

[I8DaCookie]

I've seen lots of TV reports of vets who aren't getting the scholorships they were told they'd receive or they aren't getting enough to actually go to school.

It really is a sad situation. I'm sorry you've been affected by all these problems. We definatly should take care of our vets better.

[tropicsgoddess]

That's just fucked up. You're good enough to serve your country,but not to receive any assistance?!!! What a bunch of bullshit! I have the utmost respect for our vets and soldiers and it just pisses me off how you and all the other vets and soldiers get screwed over after all you've done. :rant:

[Broomjockey]

I'm gonna have to agree that that's stupid, that just because your ship wasn't some arbitary distance from whatever the current target is, that you're somehow ineligible. I agree with Seshat's plan, and wish you the best of luck in getting it sorted.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I'm gonna have to agree that that's stupid, that just because your ship wasn't some arbitary distance from whatever the current target is, that you're somehow ineligible. I agree with Seshat's plan, and wish you the best of luck in getting it sorted.

Yeah, especially considering you don't exactly get to choose where you are sent. You volunteered to serve, to go where they say; just because they didn't happen to send you to the "right" place, you're not eligible for a scholarship meant for vets? That's so wrong.

[Cutenoob]

Have you done the FAFSA yet?
There are other scholarships besides the vet ones. I was awarded a couple of scholarships due to low income and being a broke-ass college student.

Check out www.fastweb.com and go search your demographics/ethnic background for scholarships. Don't forget about talking to your college advisor about local scholarships.

Cutenoob

but yeah, it DOES suck.

[Diablo]

Yeah I did the FAFSA. I found out that my GI Bill counts as income against me for scholarships. I guess its good in a way that it doesn't really cover the cost of education let alone the cost of living. I scored a 0. I have contacted my state representatives repeatedly and gotten the usual responds run around which is pretty much BS on their part. What pisses me off about the GI Bill is that it pays the same if you go to Harvard as if you go to a diploma mill school. Plus, you have to be in classes to start payments. If you don't have the cash for classes, you can't get the GI Bill started. I get $1700 a month to basically pay for everything. Plus, when I'm not in school, I get no payments. The system is a joke if you want a quality education in a technical field. None of my military training carries over to college which means I had to completely start over at 26. 6 years of operating a nuclear reactor and I'm in physics 101. Then again, I never used a computer in the navy except for email. When did the slide rule go out of style???