Has anyone applied for a student visa to study abroad?

I want to use my GI bill to study abroad in Australia. I'm currently in Melbourne on a working holiday visa to get a feel for the place and I love it here. I've seen a lot of information on how to use the post 9/11 GI bill to attend a foreign school which is great, but I've found a potential problem with the student visa process. One of the requirements to get a student visa to live here while attending school is to prove that you have $19830.00 for living funds before you can get approved. That's a lot of money to have just chillin in your checking account. And I don't think the VA will pay me that much BAH in advance. Has anyone gone through the student visa process and have any information on how it went for them? Do I need to wait a few more years and try to save $20K or is there some waiver I haven't heard about?