Student Loan debt impacts millions of recent graduates every year. Most of you are already aware because it’s in the mainstream news quite often. However, 
what you’re likely not aware of is the number of Veterans who struggle with student loan debt. I was surprised to learn that so many Veterans struggled with student loan debt. If you’re like me, you simply assumed that all Veterans qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill and thus their college was paid for by the government. That’s not true.
Did you know that a Veteran who was discharged with a general under honorable condition discharge is not eligible for the GI Bill? If you’re reading this, and you don’t have much knowledge of military discharges, you might think that a General Under Honorable is a bad discharge. It’s not. To be honest, a lot of Veterans are discharged with this type of discharge. It does not mean they did anything wrong. Traditionally it means that they were not able to fulfill their entire commitment. In other words, if a Veteran enlisted for four years, but only served three due to an injury, he or she may receive a general under honorable discharge. A lot of Vets who are injured in service receive General Under Honorable Conditions discharges.
It’s not just the character of a Veteran’s discharge that may have led them to student loans. In some cases, the GI Bill may not have been enough to cover all fees. This could be the case if the Veteran attended graduate school, an out of state school, or even went to a college or university for an extended period
When I was in college I met this fella who served in the Navy. I can’t tell you his name or many details because he eventually became a client. Regardless, the first year we had classes together I didn’t like him very well. The next year we had another class together and the professor forced us to work together. We realized that we had some similar interests and, as any coming of age teen comedy will tell you, we became friends. And, just like in that same teen comedy, after college, we lost touch. As I was completing graduate school I started helping Veterans get their VA Disability Benefits. I discovered this thing called Facebook. Naturally, I looked up my old friend. Since I was working with Veterans, and he is a disabled Veteran, I thought it would make sense for him to become a client. Eventually, he did, and we got him a well-deserved rating of 100%.
One day, while reading through my Facebook timeline, I noticed that he mentioned he had all his debt from college eradicated. If I’m honest, he was bragging about it in a way he shouldn’t have been, but it peaked my interest none the less. Due to injuries, he was not able to fulfill his contract with the military. He received a general discharge, and thus, didn’t receive the full GI Bill. Prior to this Facebook post, I was not aware of any Student Debt forgiveness for Veterans. So, I did what we all do when we something unfamiliar on the internet, I Googled it.
My search results were quite helpful. According to my research, Veterans who receive a 100% Total and Permanent Disability from the VA may also have their Federal Student Loans discharged. In this context, the word discharge means forgiven. My source for this information is a government website. If you are interested in this program I suggest checking it out.
I don’t believe enough Veterans are aware that they may be able to have their student debt forgiven. Like I mentioned earlier, we assume that every person who served in the military and went to college was able to attend for free. It turns out that it’s not true, and a lot of Veterans are missing out on this program. If you know of a Veteran who may benefit from Student Loan forgiveness, please share the link above with them.
Further, many Veterans are rated too low for their disability ratings. If you believe your ratings are too low, call us today for a Free Consultation. Our toll-free number is 1-877-526-3457. You can contact us using this form as well. Thanks so much for reading.
