u/Appropriate-Drop-504

For anyone else still waiting on their VR&E Chapter 31 subsistence allowance, I wanted to share the update I received this morning.
I still haven’t received my payment, so I followed up with my VR&E counselor. He confirmed that my award was entered correctly at 18 credit hours/full-time.
He also explained that they are currently entering awards into the new VR&E system, and for some reason the system was not showing my pay for 07/01/2026–10/01/2026. He said they are working on fixing the issue.
I asked if there was an estimated timeframe for when the issue would be resolved and the payment processed, and he responded that my payment should be processed by today (8/7).
Obviously, this may vary by person/Regional Office, and “processed” doesn’t necessarily mean the money will hit my bank account today. But I wanted to share because I know several of us have been wondering whether the delays are related to the new system.
So if you’re still waiting, it may be worth reaching out to your VR&E counselor and asking them to check whether your award/payment is showing correctly in the new system.
I’ll update this post once I actually see the payment pending or deposited. 🤞🏾

I’m in the B.S. Business Administration- Communications program, and Foundations of Strategic Communications was my first class with an OA, so I was definitely nervous going into it!
I actually failed the pre-assessment twice before finally passing it on my third attempt yesterday. After passing the PA, I decided to just go for it and take the OA today, and I passed on my first try! 🙌🏽
From what I can remember, the OA covered a lot of the same concepts that were on the pre-assessment. Obviously the questions weren’t exactly the same, but I felt like the PA gave me a pretty good idea of what I needed to know.
As far as studying, I did NOT go through all of the course material. I didn’t read through all of the textbook chapters, and I didn’t watch the course videos. I mainly focused on the areas I was struggling with based on my pre-assessment results and made sure I understood those concepts.
For me, a lot of the OA felt like common sense. There were also quite a few questions where the wording of the question lined up well with the correct answer choice, so if you understand the basic concepts and really read the question, you can usually narrow it down. Also, don’t feel like you have to sit down and study for hours at a time. My little 10-20 minute study sessions + super condensed notes worked for me.
My biggest advice: don’t let failing the pre-assessments discourage you! I failed it TWICE, passed it on my third try, and then passed the actual OA on my first attempt the very next day.
Overall, I thought it was a good course, and I’m SO relieved to have my first OA behind me! 🎉
Good luck to anyone taking it soon! 💛