Can The GI Bill Help Pay for My College Tuition If I’ve Already Graduated?

Hi Allen,  What you will need to do is enlist under a Loan Repayment Program (LRP),  the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill do not have an option for paying off student loans.  The LRP is initiated at the time you enlist, and the recruiter must fill out the paperwork at the time you fill out your enlistment papers.  The Navy, Army, and Air Force have LRP options, and they administer them differently as to how much they will pay towards student loans, and sometimes the LRP is limited to specific occupational specialties within the branch of service.

Only certain types of student loans qualify, so make sure you take your loan paperwork with you when you meet with a recruiter, and the loan can’t be in default.  I am not aware of any Coast Guard LRP options, and the Marine Corps has a test program in place at the moment, where eligible Marine Corps officers can have up to $30,000 of their student loans paid off by the Marine Corps.  At the moment this program is in place until 2011.

If you enter a branch of the military under an LRP option, you will not be able to count that initial enlistment toward qualifying for a GI Bill, it will only count towards the LRP.  However, a re-enlistment can start counting toward the Montgomery GI Bill or Post 9/11 GI Bill.  Also, while you are on active duty you can become eligible for the Tuition Assistance program, if you wish to earn a master’s degree while serving.