Has anyone had any luck getting an extension on GI Bill benefits for medical school?
It's formally called the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Program (38 USC §3320) for veterans studying medicine. This scholarship adds up to 9 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Although the scholarship is primarily for those in undergraduate studies, students enrolled “in a covered clinical training program for health care professionals" are also eligible.
In the 116th Congress, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL 14th) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY 6th) co-sponsored the Veterans in STEM Act (HR 6140), which got rolled into §1001 of the Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (HR 7105, Public Law 116-315).
The apparent intent of that bill was to clarify eligibility for medical residents. Previous verbiage included “medical residency,” but simultaneously excluded post-secondary education. Thus, before Public Law 116-315, the VA would adjudicate medical residents as post-secondary students, and therefore, ineligible for the STEM scholarship.
I asked the VA if medical school was covered. To my surprise, I was told that “The STEM scholarship covers clinical training programs and undergraduate medical residencies, but NOT graduate-level medical school.” For those veterans interested in becoming a physician, this means they will have to pay medical school tuition and not be eligible for the scholarship until they enter a tuition-free, stipend-paying medical residency.
Of note, physician assistant and nurse practitioner programs have also been deemed ineligible for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Program by the VA.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the median 4-year cost of medical school attendance for the class of 2021 is $259,347 (public) and $346,955 (private). Medical residents are paid about $50-$70k annually in stipends that are funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (42 USC §256e/h). Since there is no tuition for medical residency, the STEM scholarship would theoretically only pay a monthly housing allowance for those 9 months of additional benefits.
It does not seem reasonable for this scholarship to fund medical residency, but not medical school. Might there be an issue with how the VA interprets 38 USC §3320?
It's formally called the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Program (38 USC §3320) for veterans studying medicine. This scholarship adds up to 9 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Although the scholarship is primarily for those in undergraduate studies, students enrolled “in a covered clinical training program for health care professionals" are also eligible.
In the 116th Congress, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL 14th) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY 6th) co-sponsored the Veterans in STEM Act (HR 6140), which got rolled into §1001 of the Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (HR 7105, Public Law 116-315).
The apparent intent of that bill was to clarify eligibility for medical residents. Previous verbiage included “medical residency,” but simultaneously excluded post-secondary education. Thus, before Public Law 116-315, the VA would adjudicate medical residents as post-secondary students, and therefore, ineligible for the STEM scholarship.
I asked the VA if medical school was covered. To my surprise, I was told that “The STEM scholarship covers clinical training programs and undergraduate medical residencies, but NOT graduate-level medical school.” For those veterans interested in becoming a physician, this means they will have to pay medical school tuition and not be eligible for the scholarship until they enter a tuition-free, stipend-paying medical residency.
Of note, physician assistant and nurse practitioner programs have also been deemed ineligible for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Program by the VA.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the median 4-year cost of medical school attendance for the class of 2021 is $259,347 (public) and $346,955 (private). Medical residents are paid about $50-$70k annually in stipends that are funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (42 USC §256e/h). Since there is no tuition for medical residency, the STEM scholarship would theoretically only pay a monthly housing allowance for those 9 months of additional benefits.
It does not seem reasonable for this scholarship to fund medical residency, but not medical school. Might there be an issue with how the VA interprets 38 USC §3320?