I will be able to receive my bachelors degree. I was looking online though and to qualify for the GI bill, you can also have this prong: “You served for at least 30 continuous days (all at once, without a break in service) on or after September 11, 2001, and were honorably discharged with a service-connected disability.” My discharge will be medically related so not sure if that extends beyond just state veterans benefits though.
This is where a trained and certified benefits counselor will help you.
I think the fact you are being medically discharged, probably with an honorable, from AD does make the difference, and I think you would be an eligible veteran . I’m glad to hear you will be able to get your degree and benefit from being a USMA grad.
I took a quick look at American Legion. There is a post in Highland Falls. All you have to do is call and ask if they have a benefits counselor you can be put in touch with. I gave you the DAV locator link. Those people are volunteers who do this as a labor of service. Get your research done now so you know the process, timeline, how to apply, what the caps on tuition are, and very importantly, how the Yellow Ribbon program works (private universities kick in scholarship money to make up the difference between VA tuition cap and more expensive private school tuition).
And, pretty much every university has a dedicated veterans liaison in the registrar or bursar office to help answer questions on benefit application as you enroll. There will also likely be a Student Veterans of America chapter on campus to provide community support.
Here’s a great example of a B School vet outreach:
https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/military (Of course, the Director of Military Affairs is a USNA grad, and he would immediately understand your situation, as a fellow SA grad. That fellowship is strong.)
Let me put in a plug for my own undergrad alma master’s business school, a great and useful alternate to an MBA, which of course they also offer:
We advise students to visit the VA website or their local VA office to begin the process for obtaining a “Certificate of Eligibility”.
business.wfu.edu
The B School Executive Director fir MBA Recruiting and Enrollment is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. I donate to Wake Forest’s Yellow Ribbon Fund - go use some of it.
Those are examples to show there is a lot of help out there. Veyerans are everywhere. You can’t help what happened to you, but you can take some good from it.
Let us know how it’s going.