The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

Financial Aid Packages
Some Veterans prefer to focus only on school, but wonder whether they can afford it with
only their GI Bill. To help a Veteran figure this out, you will need to begin by getting a
complete accounting of their financial resources and needs. See Worksheet #10: Current
Expenses/Resources/Debts. Once these worksheets are complete, compare the following
items and then refer to Worksheet #11: Veteran’s Current Financial Situation.
Exercise
One of the best ways to prepare for having financial discussions with Veterans with
whom you are working is to have one with yourself (and other members of your
household if applicable).
Fill out the worksheets above based on your specific situation (you will not need to
show them to anyone!)
What was the easiest part of completing this task?
What was the most difficult part of this task?
What did you learn by completing this task?
Based on your experience of completing the worksheets, what might you want to
remember, say, or suggest when working on these worksheets with a Veteran on your
caseload?
Now that the Veteran has completed both Worksheet #8: Educational Expenses as well as
Worksheet #10: Current Expenses/Resources/Debts, the next step is to complete
Worksheet #12: Education Assistance with information about the financial benefits for
which the Veteran is eligible. It is likely that this will require a visit to the school‘s
financial aid office to meet with the Veteran‘s Representative and discuss the benefits
offered by not only the GI Bill but also federal, state, and private assistance in the forms
of loans and grants. The financial aid staff should be helpful in identifying all potential
aid sources as well as the pros/cons of using them; for example, grants that do not have to
be paid back but require a certain grade point average to keep, and loans that allow a
focus on school, but will have paid back after graduation.
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