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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogArchive for February, 2012
February 29th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I am the wife of a Marine who has been in for over 9 years. We have heard that he can transfer some of his GI bill to me and still use it when he gets out for his education too. I am going to be attending a 9 month massage therapy school. It costs about $13,000. $1,400 of that is for books and supplies and $10,500 of it is tuition. The rest is application, enrollment, uniform, ect. I plan to attend the College of Wilmington in NC. Their website states they are “Approved by the NC State Approving Agency for participation in Veteran’s Benefits.” So my questions are can I use part of his bill and he still use the rest later? And how do I get started in the process of using it? Thank you very much for your time. – Diana
Most likely you can Diana, but you have to be careful. Because there are multiple GI Bills, a school may be approved to take one GI Bill, but not the other. For example, your school may be authorized to take the Montgomery GI Bill, but not the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Be sure and ask your school more questions. The other thing to be careful of is not all programs might be covered by a specific GI Bill. Ask your school specifically if your program is covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
With 9 years of service, you husband has 36 months of benefits that he can transfer to you, but he can make a transfer request for just 9 months if that is all you need. He already meets the six-year service requirement. He needs to ensure he meets the future service requirement of agreeing to serve for four more years before he makes his transfer request. Otherwise, it will get disapproved.
If your college is a public school, the VA will pay them the $10,500 in tuition and some of the other costs if they are deemed eligible fees – something all students are charged. If your school is a private school, then the VA will pay up to $17,500 per year. Either way, your tuition should be paid in full directly to your school by the VA. If your course is not credit-based, which I assume is the case, then you will get a flat $83 per month for books.
Once the transfer of benefits is complete, then you have to submit VA Form 22-1990e from the eBenefits website. In return, you will get your Certificate of Eligibility which you will need when you enroll in school as a GI Bill student.
February 28th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I have the full Post 9/11 GI Bill Chapter 33. I have been attending school since fall of 2011. Last semester I only took 6 units which is considered part time. This spring semester of 2012, I have 12 units all on campus, which is fulltime for my school. I was wondering if I could find out a time frame for my housing and book stipend to take affect and get me my money for books and housing? Any help at all is greatly appreciated please and thank you. Semper Fi! – Tony
Usually Tony, you will get your Post 9/11 GI Bill book stipend towards the beginning of the semester. You should get $41.67 per credit, so if you are taking 12 credits, it should be around $500. If your books cost more than that amount, then you will have to pay some out-of-pocket money this semester, Next semester you might come out ahead. Also, don’t forget that you can turn in your books and get about 50% of your money back.
When you receive your housing allowance can vary from school to school, because, in part, it depends on when your school submits their paperwork. Generally, you will get the housing allowance for one month during the following month. So for example, your January housing allowance will most likely show up in February.
Housing allowances are calculated based on the zip code of the school and the number of credits you are taking. Because you are taking a full load, you will get the maximum amount for your area, paid at the E-5 with dependents rate. Last semester, with taking six credits, you were not authorized the housing allowance because you were taking less than 51% of the full-time number of credits.
February 27th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hello, is there a way I can attend two universities at one time under the post 9/11 gi bill? Also, after my post 9/11 gi bill benefits run out, is there any more education money available to me? Thank you. – Harrison
Yes, Harrison, there is a way you can attend two universities at once, however, there is a specific way you have to do it. Your school that will be issuing your degree is known as the parent school. Your other school will be known as the secondary school. You have to coordinate the classes you want to take at your secondary school with your parent school.
Then your parent school will send a letter to your secondary telling them what courses you will take. Once you have finished those courses, your secondary school will issue a transcript to your parent school and they will in turn post the credits to your degree plan.
The whole key to making this work smoothly is coordinating with your parent school which courses you want to take at the other school and why. Many times courses will fill up at one school, but may be open in a different school. Or one school may offer courses during the day when a student can’t attend, where another school might offer those same courses at night.
There is always education money available Harrison, but if you are talking about the Post 9/11 GI Bill specifically, probably not. But you can always go after grants and scholarships – both which do not require paying anything back.
February 24th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I have been in the Army active duty for seven years as an officer. I have completed my obligation I would like to separate and join the National Guard. However, I want to transfer my gi bill to my son in five years which is when he would start college. My question is, can I transfer my benefits to my son? How long, if I can transfer, do I have to serve under the National Guard before transferring the benefits? – Jeanette
By obligation, I’m assuming you mean your officer training obligation, because officers don’t have an enlistment obligation, like enlisted soldiers. On your Military ID Card, it has Indefinite for an enlistment ending date.
So assuming I’m correct, in five years you will have served a combined total of 12 years in the military – seven active and five in the Reserve Component. Even if your obligation time did not count, you would still have well over the required six years of service time needed to make a transfer request. So when your son is ready to start school, you will have met the service requirements at that time.
Just note, you will have to serve an additional four years in the National Guard for your son to use his transferred benefits. The caution is if you don’t serve that additional four years, then his unused Post 9/11 GI Bill transferred benefits will be null and void.
If you were to make a transfer today, you would go to the TEB website and enter into your son’s record how many months you wish to transfer. Keep checking back and look for the status to change from “Pending Review” to “Approved”. Once that happens, then have him go to the eBenefits website and fill out VA Form 22-1990e. In return, he will get back his Certificate of Entitlement showing how many months of benefits he has left.
I have no way of knowing what the process will be in five years, but it will most likely be similar to what it is today.
February 23rd, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I am planning to enroll soon for spring semester. I currently have 17 days left on my Montgomery GI Bill and was looking into transferring to the Post GI Bill to receive the 12 months of benefit. I read in previous blogs that I must first exhaust my 17 days that are left in the MGIB in order to transfer. Will I need to pay school tuition and books up front because I still have 17 days left of benefits? Also, can I go ahead and apply for the post GI bill now to become active after those 17 days? I’m just trying to understand how the post GI bill will work for me if I only have 17 days left of MGIB benefits with a 16 week semester? Thanks in advance. — Janice
Hi Janice. The way the transfer from the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) to the Post 9/11 GI Bill to get the additional 12 months of benefits works is you must have exhausted all your MGIB Chapter 30 benefits before the date you elect to start receiving Post 9/11 Chapter 33 benefits.
If you look at VA Form 22-1990 – the form you use to make your GI Bill transfer – in Block 9F, there is an effective date. Make sure the date you fill in is after you have used up all your MGIB benefits. Then also check the Chapter 30 box as that is the GI Bill you are coming from.
The change should be seamless. The VA can see that you are enrolled for that semester, that you only have 17 days left on your MGIB and that you are eligible for the additional 12 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill entitlement. So once your 17 days run out, they will switch you over to the New GI Bill. However, when you get your new certificate of eligibility, from sending in your form, it will show you have less than 12 months of New GI Bill entitlement, because the VA will have already deducted what you used after your 17 days had expired.
They didn’t “give” you those days – they already deducted them from your additional 12 months of entitlement. I suggest you go see your VA Certifying Official at your school. That person can “grease the wheels” to make the transition go smoothly. If the school knows how the GI Bills work, you shouldn’t have to pay any tuition money upfront. You will have to pay for books (as you would anyway), but you will get a partial book stipend (it will be short the 17 days where you used MGIB) shortly after you switch over.
February 22nd, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hello. I’m 8 credits away from earning my first Associates Degree, and I’ve used the regular 100% Tuition Assistance Program to cover the expenses, and I’m also ready to start my second Associates Degree (which will be in a different field of study.) I was told that the Air Force WILL NOT pay for TWO of the same Degree type. (In my case being 2 Associate Degrees). Is this even true??? So, since I was told this, I was wondering if my GI Bill will cover the expenses of me earning a second Associates Degree??? I joined the Air Force in 2008. I’m on Active Duty, and I’ve never used my GI Bill before. If what I’ve been told isn’t true, will my GI Bill help pay for my second Associate Degree?? I really hope that they will pay for it. Thank you for your time in reading my question 
Have a great evening. – Jenny
Have a great evening. – Jenny
Hi Jenny. What you heard is true – the Air Force will not pay for you to get two degrees that are at the same level. The part of your question I don’t understand is why you want two associate’s degrees?
Generally speaking, most people get an associate’s degree and then their next step in their education process is to use that two-year degree as a stepping stone to a four-year degree. If you would go on to get your four-year degree, the Air Force would pay for that, so by not getting your Bachelor’s degree, you are leaving money on the table – Tuition Assistance (TA) money that you could use for your next degree.
Then once you get out, use your Post 9/11 GI Bill to get the second associate’s degree that you want. Because they were procured with two different funding sources, TA and the GI Bill, there isn’t an issue of getting two degrees of the same level.
If you do decide to get your BA, but run into the situation of your per credit cost higher than what TA pays, you can use the Top-Up program. The amount over $250 per credit comes out of your GI Bill, but at a much slower rate because TA is picking up most of the expense. Even if you use Tuition Top-Up, you would still have enough left in your GI Bill to get your second two-year degree. TA is a benefit you earn from your service, so why not maximize its use.
February 21st, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
What is the main difference between the Montgomery GI Bill, and the Post-911 GI Bill? I’m confused about which one will be right for me. When I separate, I want to go to school full time and use it to pursue my Associates Degree, then get a couple of Certifications. Will this make a difference in which GI Bill I would choose? – Jennifer
If you would have asked this question before August 1st and the implementation of the GI Bill 2.0, I would have unequivocally said the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). But now, the MGIB and the Post 9/11 GI Bill almost mirror each other as far as what they cover for training. Both will pay for an associate’s degree. Both will not only reimburse you up to $2,000 for each certification, but each will also pay for the training leading up to the tests.
The basic difference is the pay structure of each GI Bill. For your associate’s degree under the MGIB, you get a flat $1,473 per month and you have to pay your own tuition and other education expenses.
Under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, if you attend a public school, the VA pays your tuition and you get a monthly housing allowance almost equal to your MGIB payment, plus once each semester you get up to a $500 book stipend for your associate’s degree. If you take your certification training at a technical or vocational school, you would get $83 per month in a book stipend instead of the $500 per semester. And both GI Bills will pay for certification retakes.
So if given the choice, I would select the Post 9/11 GI Bill unless you are at Post 9/11 GI Bill tier of less than 60%. If so, then go with the MGIB.
February 20th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hi! I’m starting school in a few weeks at a local university. I’m entering as a sophomore because of credits I took while on active duty, and plan to major in English. I’m also very interested in being a Veterinary Technician, too, both for my love of animals and for practical reasons. I say practical because a Vet Tech makes decent money and the demand for this job is expected to grow, as with most all healthcare-related fields. I’m also not sure that when I graduate from the university with a Bachelor’s in English, that I’ll be able to find work as a book/magazine editor. I’d like to have something else that interests me to fall back on, until I can get a good job at a publishing firm. The problem is, there are no schools that offer Vet Tech programs within 50 miles of where I live, and relocation is not an option at the time. I HAVE found several distance-learning Vet Tech programs, accredited by the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association). My question is, is it possible to continue pursuing my Bachelor’s AND start the online Vet Tech program at the same time, under the Post 9/11 Bill? Thanks for your time! – Andrea
Most likely the VA would not approve both a degree plan in English and an online Vet tech program at the same time. And it is not because the VA doesn’t allow for dual majors or a major and a minor, because they do, however the two degree plans have to be related, like a BA in Business Administration and a minor in Accounting. But English and Veterinary Technology are not even closely related.
I don’t know how much research you have done as far as what a vet tech gets paid, but it may not be as much as you were hoping – my daughter is a certified vet tech, but got out of it because of the low pay. The median wage in 2010 was $29,710, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the prediction is for rapid job growth–36 percent between 2008 and 2018. So the demand is there even if the wages are moderate right now.
As far as being an editor, the employment outlook is not as good. Reports are showing moderate growth of 8 percent between 2008 and 2018, meaning the field is growing about as fast as average, according to BLS data. However, the median wage for editors in 2010 was $51,470.
My recommendation is to carefully consider your career future. While English is not a bad degree to get, you may want to look at a different type of writing, such as copywriting or even start your own freelance writing business.
February 17th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I transferred my 9/11 GI Bill to my son who is graduating HS this year. I have to wait until his 18th birthday this month to actually request VA for the letter of eligibility. It is to my understanding he does not have to actually have a HS diploma to request the letter as long as he is 18. I gave him 36 months and 100% eligibility. Does that mean that he is covered with the tuition, housing allowance, and book stipend for 4 1/2 academic years if the school academic year is 8 months (fall and spring semester)? So for a private school, that would be max of 17,500/year for at least 4 academic years? Also, can he pursue 2 majors and 1 minor during these 4 years or is he only limited to 1 major degree. – Isaias
Hi Isaias. Yes, according to the Post 9/11 GI Bill rules, he has to be either 18 or have his high school diploma in hand if he is less than 18 at the time of graduation. With 36 months of eligibility and 8 month semesters, yes indeed he is covered for 4 ½ academic years of school.
As hard as it is to believe, yes, he can attend a private school and the VA will pay up to $17,500 per year in tuition and eligible fees. His housing allowance would be based on the zip code of his school and by how many credits he takes. To be eligible for the minimum housing allowance, he needs to take at least 51% of the number of credits his school considers to be full-time. Of course taking a full load will get him 100% of the authorized housing allowance authorized for that zip code. And it gets better. He will also get a book stipend once each semester calculated at $41.67 per credit.
If his tuition will exceed what his GI Bill transferred benefits will pay, or if he ends up paying out-state tuition, he should ask if his school is a Yellow Ribbon school. If so, then his school could pay up to half the difference between what they charge and what the VA pays. The VA would pay an equal amount leaving very little left for him to pay.
As far as majors and minors, the VA will pay for them, but they must be related. For example, The VA would most likely pay for a major in Business and a minor in Accounting as they are related. Keep in mind the VA will only pay for the necessary courses needed to complete each degree plan will not pay for courses outside the degree plan.
February 16th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I have a half a semester class I am taking. That class is going to put me over 12 credits so I will be full time. Do I need to have 12 credits the whole semester to get full pay or is a half a semester class ok since I will have over 12 credits at the end of the semester? Thank you for your help. — Johnny
No Johnny, you need to have 12 credits or whatever number your school uses as full-time to be classified as a full-time student. The number can vary among schools.
So what is going to happen Johnny is your monthly Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance will be based on the number of credits you are taking each day. When your half-semester class kicks in , then you will get the full housing allowance for the zip code of your school from that point on until the end of the semester.
The one thing you did not say is how many credits your half-semester course is worth. If it is over 5 credits, that would put you under the minimum or 51% of the full-time credit floor. In that case, you would not be authorized any housing allowance for the first half semester.
But if your are still taking at least 7 credits without that half-semester class, then you will get 7/12th of the full amount until your half-semester class starts and then it would bump up to the full amount. That was a change brought about by the GI Bill 2.0 where you are now paid by the number of credits you are taking in addition to the zip code of your school. You might want to keep that in mind when scheduling classes in the future – you have to be at least at that 51% mark to get any housing allowance and at 100% to get the full amount.
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