FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Why should I get more education?

• What educational services are available to me?

• What educational services are available to my dependents?

College

• How do I find out how many college credits I've earned through military service?

• What is this assessment from the Coast Guard Institute?

• What is a degree plan?

• I'm interested in college, how do I get started?

• How can I take college courses when I have to transfer to another area every couple of years?

• How do I get my transcript of Coast Guard credits sent to a college I've applied at?

• How can I take college courses if I'm stationed on a floating unit?

• Are there other ways to earn college credit?

• I've heard there's a way I can take up to two years off to work on my education full-time, is that true?

Credit-by-Exam Programs

• I've heard I can get college credit by taking tests, is that true?

• Where can I take these tests?

• Can I take one of these tests the same day I tell the ESO I'd like to take one?

• Where can I get study materials for these tests?

Tuition Assistance

• What is tuition assistance (TA)?

 

• Will TA pay for my books?

• Do I incur a service obligation if I use TA?

• Can I use TA and the GI Bill at the same time?

• But I asked the VA if I can use my GI Bill benefits and tuition assistance at the same time and they said “Yes”. What gives?

• How can I figure out if TA will pay for a course I want to take?

• If I use TA to pay fro the only course I need to complete a bachelor's degree, will TA later pay for courses necessary to get a second bachelor's degree?

• How do I apply for TA?

• Do I need to fill out any paper work regarding tuition assistance or anything like before I register for classes?

• How long before a course starts do I have to apply for tuition assistance?

• How do I know when my TA request has been approved?

• I just got my tuition assistance authorization, what do I do with it?

• What happens if I go to pay for my courses and find out a course on my authorization is full and I can't take it?

• What happens if I don’t finish a course I used tuition assistance to pay for?

• How do I cancel an authorization?

GI Bill

• Can you explain how the number of months of benefits relates to the time I have to use my GI Bill benefits?

• Can I increase the total amount of my GI Bill education benefit?

• How do I start using my GI Bill education benefits?

• How do I switch to the Post-9/11 GI Bill from one of the others?

• How do I transfer my GI Bill benefit to a dependent?

• What happens after I transfer the new GI Bill to my spouse?

• If I assign some, but not all, of my benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill to my dependents and then die, what happens to the benefits I haven't transferred?

• Should I activate my new GI Bill benefits if I'm going to transfer them to my spouse?

• I'm a PHS doctor and want to transfer my new GI Bill benefits to my children; how do I do that?

• Can I use TA and the GI Bill at the same time?

• But I asked the DVA if I can use my GI Bill benefits and tuition assistance at the same time and they said “Yes”. What gives?

• Will I be able to use the $600 I put into Buy-up when I switch to the new GI Bill?

Rating Advancement Tests (RATs, formerly known as end-of-course tests)

• How do I order a RAT?

• Do I need to do anything before I can take my RAT?

• How do I schedule a time to take an RAT?

• How often do you give end-of-course tests?

• Where do I take my end-of-course test?

• How is the test administered?

• It's been 5 years since I passed my NavRul test, when I take it again is it an open-book test?

• What can I use on an open-book test?

Enlisted Professional Military Education (E-PME)

• What is E-PME?

• Where do I get the E-PME study guide?

• Where do I get the E-PME Performance Requirements?

• Do I have to take a test?

• Where do I get the AQE?

• Do I need to do anything before I can take my AQE?

• How do I schedule a time to take my AQE?

• How often do you give AQEs?

• Where do I take my AQE?

• How is the test administered?

Officer Programs (OCS, PPEP, etc.)

• I want to apply for an officer program, but I don't know anything about it.  Where do I start?

• What is PPEP?

• What's the difference between PPEP and ACET?

• Do I need to get my whole application done before I set up an interview?

• How do I arrange for an interview?

• How long is an interview good for?

• What information do I have to provide the interview board members for an OCS interview?

• What should I say in my narrative memo?

• How can I become a Coast Guard pilot?

• What's the difference between a temporary commission and a Reserve commission?

• Does it matter which test score (ASVAB, ACT, SAT) I use to qualify for an officer program?

• Will the ESO help me with my application?

• If I want to apply for more than one program, do I have to prepare more than one application folder?