Education GI Bill - Silliman University

So I started looking into signing up for classes here in Dumaguete using the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Started with Foundation but they didn't have the courses I wanted so I went over to Silliman to check out what they were offering. Silliman seems to be the way to go for what I want.

Took me a minute to find the right building at Silliman because the guards there didn't speak very good English and the directions they gave were confusing (one guard had no interest in answering any questions and pushed me inside the gate to get rid of me and my questions lol). To anyone looking to sign up for classes here you should start at Hibbard Hall (Room 6) which you can find by going through the first gate on the left if you are starting from Portal West. It will be on the left side of the grassy area as you are walking in the gate.

Never used the VA education benefits myself so I found out that Silliman doesn't really help you out with this. You need to apply online to receive your VA education benefits. I've done this but I have no idea how long it's going to take for the VA to approve my form. I fudged up on the form and put in the wrong course as well so I will need to make a correction.

As for the school requirements, here is the paper they gave me (along with a admission form that I don't have a picture of):


(This is for students who have previous college education. The requirements for students who have never attended a college/university are different.)

Here is where I stand on these requirements:

1. Official copy of academic records: This is going to be the biggest problem for me. My mother has a general power of attorney over me but the last time I tried to get my records from my previous school they wouldn't release the official transcripts directly to me. They required the organization needing the records (which was the military the last time I needed them) to send the them a letter requesting them. Bad practice if you ask me but I don't know how that stuff normally works with other colleges. My thoughts are I already paid for the classes, if I want the records you had better d*mn well provide it when I ask for them.
2. Statements of good moral character: That's easy...landlord and Barangay Captain can provide the two needed.
3. Two copies of passport: Birth certificate is not needed for expats (I specifically asked for them to clarify). This one is easy as well.
4. 2"x 2" photos. 60 pesos for 10 of those. Easy.
5. Physical Exam: I suppose this should be easy as well and everything can be done at Silliman hospital for a couple thousand pesos.
6. Transfer my tourist visa to a student visa: hopefully I can do this in Dumaguete...since I posted that you could in the thread linked lol. Should cost around P10k. (I think resident/retirement visas do not need to do this.)

Not sure if I can get all this done before the 2nd semester starts. If not I will have to wait until May/June to enroll next year.

So I decided to go with the BS in Computer Engineering since that is the only thing the college offers that fits well with my work experience. Honestly though, I'm a bit intimidated with the required classes.

http://su.edu.ph/resources/college-of-engineering-and-design/bscpe-curriculum-final-1381394705.pdf

First year - first semester they have Algebra I and then.....Plane and Spherical Trigonometry?! Then in the second semester they have Algebra and Analytic Geometry and Differential Calculus?! Algebra I'm fine with but trig and calculus?! Also they are showing 10 classes in the first semester. That's a bit extreme isn't it? I thought 6 classes a semester was a full-time job but 10? Yikes! Maybe that's not the case, I have a lot to do before I figure out the class schedules.

Another problem I see is that it is a 5 year gig. The GI bill only covers 4 years as far as I know. I will have to pay the last year out of pocket....which isn't a huge deal but it will cost me about a grand. IMO it would be worth it.

Here are Silliman's course fees for last year. Estimated Tuition & Fees 2013-2014

I'm not 100% if that is per year or per semester. Could cost me 800 or 1600. Not really a big deal, it is what it is.

This is pretty much all that I know at this point. I'll keep this thread updated as I move further along.

@nwlivewire I think you were planning on going to school here. I think bringing your college records is a must to avoid some serious delays in case the school does end up demanding official records from the school.

 

lol Computer Engineering is useful for me (my gf is covering the cooking with her classes). It's the only course they have that fits with my work history and interests. Any other class I took would just be me wasting my time and I would gain absolutely nothing from them. Not interested in chasing college girls around and I find them (along with most teenagers) rather annoying; I'd like to avoid as many of them as possible.
I am aware that the major is math heavy. Algebra and trig I'm not too worried with....Calculus will be a challenge but I'm alright with that. I'm hoping that the classes won't be a joke and I can actually gain something from it. Also the price is not really a concern, the VA will be paying the bills, plus about 65k/month living allowance, minus the 5th year.

On topic: I went to immigration today to ask about transferring to a Student Visa. They said I needed to have an admission letter, among other things, from Silliman to apply for the visa. Naturally, Silliman told me that I needed to have a student visa to gain admission. (When I told the lady at immigration this they smiled and said Silliman knows the process and should have told me that from the start.)

I guess tomorrow I will go back to Silliman to get the appropriate documents. I could have just looked at this page to see what I needed but I guess I wanted to do this the hard way.

 

Computer Science focuses on the software side. Engineering focuses on the hardware.