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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogArchive for April, 2010
April 30th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
To whomever it may concern: I graduated from OCS in August 2009. At the time, I was led to believe it was a wiser investment to sign up for the Montgomery GI Bill as opposed to the newer Post 9/11 GI Bill (the more invested, the greater the return, or so I thought.) I have paid 8 months worth of the MGIB. Have I been swindled? If so, can I transfer to the newer GI Bill and get my money back? I have asked several people for advice regarding the two bills, but no one can give me a definitive answer. I have also done some research on your website (including the comparison chart), but can’t seem to find information on a possible refund or whether I can transfer to the newer bill. Thanks for your time, Timothy.
Hi Timothy, If you are getting swindled, I wish someone would swindle me the same way. For your $1,200 investment you can receive almost $50,000 in education benefits in the future. If you already know what type of education plan you intend to follow in the future, then perhaps the Post 9/11 GI Bill might provide you the most benefits and you don’t need the Montgomery GI Bill.
However, a lot of service members don’t know what their future plans are, and by becoming eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill they are keeping their options open. In many cases the Montgomery GI Bill pays much more in benefits than the Post 9/11 GI Bill does. The Post 9/11 GI Bill is more specific in the types of programs it will cover, whereas the Montgomery GI Bill covers a broader range. I have had a number of veterans who switched to the Post 9/11 GI Bill ask me how they could switch back, as they were receiving less in benefits than they were with the Montgomery GI Bill.
I suggest you pay the remaining 4 months on your Montgomery GI Bill, and keep your options open as to which bill you use. Another bonus is that if you are eligible for both GI Bills, when you use your 36 months of Montgomery GI Bill benefits you will still be eligible for 12 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. If you switch before or while using your Montgomery GI Bill, you will receive 36 months of benefits, or less if you have already used some of the MGIB.
Anytime you would like to switch from the Montgomery GI Bill just go to the VONAPP website and do the online application for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. If you never use the Montgomery GI Bill you contributed to, you will be refunded your $1,200 contribution when you have used all of your Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits. If you don’t use them all, you will not receive your $1,200 back.
April 30th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
What are the summer rates to qualify for the BAH? Not a lot of classes being offered. Can I take a online course and a course at the school to qualify for the BAH. I’m in California, What are the rules for these things. Thanks. — Sam
Actually to get Post 9/11 G.I. Bill BAH Sam, the rules for the summer session are no different than they are for the rest of the academic year.
The two rules governing whether or not you qualify for BAH are:
- you are classified at more than a half-time student;
- you are not taking just online classes only.
Schools can differ as far as what they consider a “full-time” student. Generally speaking, 12 credits is full-time, so 7 credits would be more than half-time.
As far as whether you take online classes, on-campus or a mix of both, go for the mix. You only need one on-campus class to qualify for BAH. If your school offers a minimal number of courses during the summer session, find one or two that will count toward your degree plan and take the rest of your classes online. The key to making this work is your on-campus class(s) MUST apply towards your degree plan. Your on-campus class(s) can be at a different school than your online classes, however, your Post 9/11 G.I. Bill BAH will be based on the zip code of your school where you take your on-campus class(s).
April 30th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Ron, I’m thankful you do this kind of thing. My question is about the GI Bill…. so many different versions. I served on active duty (Army) from June 79 to October 06. My question is whether or not I can use any benefits to pay for education for my daughters who are full time students. One is 25 and married and the other is 21 and single… still officially on the family payroll. What can you tell me? Thanks. — Paul
All I can tell you Paul is right the news is not good. The G.I. Bills you had, prior to September 10, 2001, didn’t have any transfer options.
The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill for your service, after September 10, 2001, does have a transfer option, but you would have had to transfer benefits on or after August 1, 2009, which is when the New G.I. Bill started. At that point, you had already been out for 3 years.
Assuming you could transfer your Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits (and someday you may be able to – more on that in a minute), only your single daughter would be eligible to receive them. If your married daughter got her benefits before she married, then getting married would not have any effect on her benefits, but once she married, then by the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill rules, she is no longer your dependent and she is ineligible to receive transfer benefits.
On the other hand, your single daughter is eligible, if the opportunity presents itself at sometime in the near future. Last year a bill was introduced that would have allowed retired Post 9/11 G.I. Bill holders the opportunity to transfer benefits to dependents. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass.
It just doesn’t make sense to me. You have 5 years of qualifying Post 9/11 G.I. Bill service, but because you were not still serving on or after August 2009, you can’t transfer benefits. I’m telling everyone that will listen to write their legislators and ask they either introduce or support such a transfer bill. The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill was a result of legislation and it will take a legislative amendment to change the transfer rules.
April 30th, 2010
by GIBillExpert
by GIBillExpert
My wife and started an outreach to the US Military and veterans, especially combat deployed and wounded, and their families. One of our major concerns is that so many great Americans are getting out of the military and not finding employment. Many GIs have not found full time employment for years! Vocational training schools can sometimes be of great help. But many of these schools do not know if they qualify to help GIs under the new GI Bill. How can I help them find out if they qualify? — Mark B.
My hat’s off to you for working to help returning veterans find a place in civilian life, especially in these rocky economic times. You are definitely right about the difficulty that veterans face in finding employment on returning home these days. Too many businesses look at military experience as being inapplicable to civilian work. Many employers even know the value of military experience, and still have little to offer because of the economy.
Figuring out which schools and educational programs are covered by the new Post 9/11 GI Bill can be a little tricky at first, because it works differently than the old Montgomery GI Bill. The new GI Bill only covers college degree programs covered by an institute of higher learning, and non-college-degree programs offered by institutions that also offer college degree programs. This doesn’t cover all vocational schools, although a lot of vocational schools do offer degrees. In order to find out whether a school is covered, check the Weams Institution Search page on the VA web-site. To be covered by the new GI Bill, the school has to be listed as an Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) in this system.
There is an exception. Veterans who changed over from the old Montgomery GI Bill to the new GI Bill, and therefore would be giving up some of the flexibility of the old bill, are “grandfathered in” with the new bill. They can use the new bill to pay for vocational programs at almost any type of school that is covered by the MGIB. The school still has to show up on the Weams Institution Search page, but it doesn’t have to be listed as an IHL.
If a school is not listed, it can petition to get on the list if it is properly accredited. All it has to do is contact the National Association of State Approving Agencies (NASAA) to find out how to become approved within its state.
April 30th, 2010
by GIBillExpert
by GIBillExpert
With the new GI Bill, Does the money for books and housing get paid to the school too or does it go directly to your bank account? — Michael O.
When you are enrolled in the new Post 9/11 GI Bill (covered by Chapter 33, Title 38 of the US Code), the money for education benefits is split into two parts. One is a check (or direct deposit) that goes to your school. This pays for your tuition and fees (or a percentage of this, if you have partial benefits), up to the maximum that the bill pays, which is equal to the most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution in that state.
The rest of the money goes to you, again in either a check or direct deposit. It includes your housing allowance (equal to the BAH for an active duty E-5 with dependents located at the Zip code where you are taking classes), you book stipend ($1,000 per year, split up so a portion of it goes to you each term), and, if appropriate, a one-time rural area allowance in your first check. If you have partial benefits, you receive a percentage of each of these rather than the full amount.
April 29th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I have recently been accepted to Salem State College in Massachusetts beginning fall 2010. Once my Post 9/11 GI Bill has been approved, when should I start receiving my housing allowance? And will I receive my housing allowance over the summer? Thank you, Kristy
Hi Kristy, First, if you haven’t already started your Post 9/11 GI Bill paperwork, you should start it as soon as possible. Right now they are on about a 10 week turnaround from the time your school turns in your data, so you should be in good shape, but they are still a little behind from the deluge when the Post 9/11 GI Bill was first introduced.
Your housing allowance is paid in arrears. I just answered another question on the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance, so you might want to read it in case I miss any details here. You will not receive the allowance over the summer. If your school begins classes the middle or towards the end of August, you will be paid in September from the day classes started until August 31. You will then receive September’s housing allowance in October.
You can set up to have the housing allowance either direct deposited into your checking account, or have the checks mailed to you. Remember to carry at least 6-8 credit hours per semester or the housing allowance will be stopped.
April 29th, 2010
by GIBillExpert
by GIBillExpert
I am interested in going to school for real estate or to get my pilot’s license. I have been unable to find information on schools that would be covered by the GI Bill. Are there any technical schools I can attend for this in Colorado? Thank you. — Doug W.
I’m willing to bet that there are schools within the state of Colorado that offer programs in real estate and/or aviation and are covered under the GI Bill. However, one thing that matters is which form of the GI Bill you will be using.
If you are using the older Montgomery GI Bill (either the active duty version or the selected reserve version), you have a lot of options. The MGIB covers a wide variety of degrees, licenses, tests and other options, and real estate licenses and pilot’s licenses are included. First, find a program that you would like to attend, then go to the VA’s school search page and look the program up.
If you will be using the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, then your options are a little narrow, because the new GI Bill only covers programs offered by what the VA terms an institute of higher learning (IHL). This means that the institution that offers the program must also offer traditional college degree programs. You can look up programs for this purpose on the same page as mentioned above, but the school must be listed as an Institute of Higher Learning.
There is an exception. If you are using the new GI Bill, but qualified for the MGIB and switched over to the new GI Bill, then you may use the new GI Bill to cover almost any program that was covered under the MGIB.
April 29th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I transferred my GI Bill to my son. The school received the tuition payment from the VA almost a month ago. How long does it take for the BAH stipend payment to be received? How does the VA make this payment? Eric
Hi Eric, If your son’s school received their tuition payment, then the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance should be in the works. The housing allowance is paid in arrears, so he should receive April’s allowance in May. The allowance is based on the number of days of classes in a month. If your son’s spring semester ends on May 20, then the payment he receives in June will be for May 1 through May 20. The same is true for fall semester, if school starts August 20, then he will receive an allowance for August 20 through August 31 in September.
One thing your son should keep in mind is that the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance is only paid if he maintains a course load at half of what is considered an average semester’s course load. An average undergraduate course load is considered to be 12 credit hours, so if he happens to drop some classes and gets below carrying 6 credit hours the allowance will be stopped.
The housing allowance and the book allowance are normally either direct deposited into the student’s bank account, or if the VA doesn’t have the bank account information, they are mailed in check form to the student’s address on file.
April 29th, 2010
by GIBillExpert
by GIBillExpert
If I am taking 11 credits is that considered 3/4 time? What are the credit requirements for part time and what does it pay for Chapter 30 with the $600 buy-up? — John H.
The number of credits you must take to meet the full-time (or 3/4 time, etc.) requirements depends on your school’s schedule. With most schools, you must take 12 credits at a time to be considered a full time student. 9 credits is considered 3/4 time, 6 credits is 1/2 time, and 3 credits is 1/4 time. If your courses are impacted or otherwise packed into a shorter period of time, then fewer courses at a time are required. For example, if you took courses from an accelerated course with 6-week terms, you might have to take only one course at a time to be considered full time.
To answer this question definitively, contact your school. The VA uses the same standards for the GI Bill as the school uses for their own purposes.
April 29th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
My father has transferred 24 months of his benefits to me. As a dependent, am I eligible to request an advance payment or does my father have to request this? — Kayla
Neither you nor your father can, Kayla. The G.I. Bill Advance Payment Program was a temporary, rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul program to get students some money while the VA tried to get caught up in processing G.I. Bill payments. At one time they were 20 weeks behind.
Once they got the backlog processed, they ended the Advance Payment Program in January and they are now recouping the money from students’ monthly benefit payments. The advance pay was a loan on future payments and not the free money many thought it was. Now many students are mad because the VA is taking it back.
For the above reasons, believe me, you would not have wanted to get caught up in that program and now the repayment process. I know it can be tough right now, but the money will come. Once you are in the system and the payments start, then your payments should get on a predictable schedule. Hang in there!
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