Eric, it depends on what you mean when you say ”pay for my schooling that was already completed”. If you are talking about reimbursing you for the money you paid out of pocket, then the answer is no. However, if you are talking about paying back qualifying loans, then the answer could be yes, as most of the service branches have the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP).

When searching for a military branch of service, be sure to ask a Recruiter if they offer SLRP and how many years you have to sign up for to get it (it would be interesting to see if s/he tells you three or six years). When you sign up for SLRP, you incur a three-year obligation meaning during those three years, you would not be acquiring any eligibility toward your Post 9/11 GI Bill. You would however, once you had served those first three years, so if you are interested in both programs, sign up for six years right away.

Under SLRP, your branch of service would pay 1/3^rd of each qualifying loan, or up to $1,500 per loan – whichever is lower, each year on your military anniversary date, for three years. One step most people miss is you have to annually fill out a form on each loan you want paid. ]]> http://www.gibill.com/blog/will-the-military-pay-for-my-schooling-completed-prior-to-signing-up.html/feed 2 http://www.gibill.com/blog/can-i-use-the-gi-bill-for-flight-training.html http://www.gibill.com/blog/can-i-use-the-gi-bill-for-flight-training.html#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:49:39 +0000 GIBillExpert http://www.gibill.com/blog/?p=16079 Is it possible to use the GI Bill for civilian flight training after I retire from the military? — Shaun

The basic answer is yes, but you may have some difficulties, depending on your situation.

If you are eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty, you may use your benefits to pay for flight training, as long as the flight school is listed in the VA’s database. You can check this by using the search form on the WEAMS Institution Search page.

If you are using the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, you can currently only use your benefits to cover the courses if the school that provides the flight training is listed in the database as an “institute of higher learning,” meaning that it also confers traditional academic degrees (associate, bachelor, etc.). This is undergoing a change due to an amendment to the GI Bill, and beginning on October 1, 2011, the new GI Bill will cover flight school programs as it does other educational programs, but only up to an annual maximum of $10,000 in tuition and fees. ]]> http://www.gibill.com/blog/can-i-use-the-gi-bill-for-flight-training.html/feed 0 http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-do-i-get-the-3000-payment.html http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-do-i-get-the-3000-payment.html#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:43:41 +0000 GIBillExpert http://www.gibill.com/blog/?p=16075 I was told that the GI Bill offers a payment of $3,000 for full time students of the service member or spouse. I am enrolled, but not full time, but my wife is full time. She doesn’t work and we have to pay some of her fees. I would like to know if this is true. We could use the help. — Albert S.

This is a misunderstanding of the policy that you heard about.

In the fall of 2009, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs was experiencing very serious delays in processing GI Bill applications. Because of this delay, a lot of students waiting for their GI Bill to come through were being forced to pay for their tuition up-front. Because of this, the VA offered a one-time-only advance to pay for up to $3,000 in tuition to students that were experiencing this delay. Repayment of this advance was arranged between the student and the VA.

This offer was only during that particular period, and has not been offered since.

It is possible to take courses from two ore more different institutions at once under the GI Bill. One school will be your primary institution, which will determine whether courses count toward completion of your degree program. Any other courses will be additional to this, and you will transfer the credits to your primary school after you complete them.

The process of doing the paperwork for this situation varies depending on the version of the GI Bill you are using. I recommend that you ask for information from either your school’s veterans’ affairs office, or from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs via their toll-free GI Bill number: 1-888-442-4551.

You are very likely eligible for more educational benefits from the GI Bill, but without knowing more details, it’s hard to tell exactly what.

If you signed up for the Montgomery GI Bill when you first enlisted on active duty, then you should have been eligible for either 36 months of educational benefits, if you served the full term of your initial enlistment, or a number of months equal to the number of months you served on active duty (up to 36 months), if you served less and were discharged due to medical disability.

If you signed up for and have been using the Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserves, then you should be eligible for 36 total months of benefits under that program, but you must use these benefits while you are on an active drilling status in the Reserves or National Guard.

You should also be eligible for the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, which requires at least 90 consecutive days of active duty that falls after September 11, 2001. This bill also always provides 36 months of benefits. The more active duty time that you have served, the higher percentage of your tuition it pays, up to 100% at 36 or more months of active duty. ]]> http://www.gibill.com/blog/am-i-eligible-for-more-gi-bill-benefits.html/feed 1 http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-can-i-pay-off-a-school-loan.html http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-can-i-pay-off-a-school-loan.html#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:21:31 +0000 GIBillExpert http://www.gibill.com/blog/?p=16063 I was interested in finding out how I can get help to pay for a school loan. I took a dental assistant program but they told me that my GI Bill could not pay for it. What should I do? — SPC Cosic

They (whoever they were) were correct. You may only draw on your GI Bill benefits while you are taking college courses. They are not intended to cover existing educational loan debts.

The normally intended method for paying off a school loan is to find employment in a field that uses the education you received, and use the income from that employment to pay off the loan. Most college loans have reasonable terms and a long grace period that makes this practical. Current employment trends are making this difficult for many people, but there is no better method available.

That’s basically correct, but with an important caveat. You are eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance at any time that you are currently taking at least one traditional classroom course. If, at any time, you are not taking at least one traditional classroom course (probably meaning you are taking all online courses), you are not eligible to collect the housing allowance. So, basically, you should take a classroom course each term to retain the housing allowance.

It is the school’s responsibility to send attendance information (including the format of the classes) to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. ]]> http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-do-you-qualify-for-the-housing-allowance.html/feed 5 http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-long-should-i-wait-after-applying-for-the-gi-bill.html http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-long-should-i-wait-after-applying-for-the-gi-bill.html#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:07:31 +0000 GIBillExpert http://www.gibill.com/blog/?p=16055 I sent my paperwork to get my GI Bill started to pay for my apprenticeship and still have not heard from them and its been 3 months. — Wilbert J.

While the Department of Veterans’ Affairs does often experience long delays in processing GI Bill applications, 3 months is an excessive amount of time. It’s possible that your paperwork has been lost or otherwise side-tracked. You would be best advised to contact the VA’s GI Bill department via their toll-free number, 1-888-442-4551, to inquire about your application. ]]> http://www.gibill.com/blog/how-long-should-i-wait-after-applying-for-the-gi-bill.html/feed 0 http://www.gibill.com/blog/should-i-enroll-before-receiving-my-certificate-of-eligibility.html http://www.gibill.com/blog/should-i-enroll-before-receiving-my-certificate-of-eligibility.html#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:01:10 +0000 GIBillExpert http://www.gibill.com/blog/?p=16051 I am a retired Marine and (from reading the qualifications) meet the new GI Bill criteria. I have served 36 months active duty since September 2001. I retired on 1 October 2004. I would like to use the new GI Bill on-campus attendance opportunity. I have placed my app in VONAPP but have not heard whether I am accepted to roll my Montgomery GI Bill into the new bill. Should I contact a school and enroll or wait until I receive my certificate of eligibility? — Jerome C.

You are not technically required to wait until you receive your Post 9/11 GI Bill certificate of eligibility in order to enroll in college courses. However, the policy at your university university determines how they deal with this. If your college has a veterans’ affairs office, contact them to find out the school’s policy. If they don’t have a veterans’ affairs office, then the financial aid office handles this. They may have you enroll now, or may ask you to wait. ]]> http://www.gibill.com/blog/should-i-enroll-before-receiving-my-certificate-of-eligibility.html/feed 0 http://www.gibill.com/blog/will-the-gi-bill-cover-existing-college-loans.html http://www.gibill.com/blog/will-the-gi-bill-cover-existing-college-loans.html#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:55:02 +0000 GIBillExpert http://www.gibill.com/blog/?p=16047 Hello I served 3 years in the active duty Air Force then 2 years in the Air Force reserves and signed up for the GI Bill and I was wondering if I could put that money towards a college debt that I obtained before I was in the Air Force, without paying this debt I cannot attend a school until it is paid off. — Douglas K.

No, the GI Bill may only be used to cover the costs of college courses that you are currently taking. Technically, if you are using the Montgomery GI Bill, you may use the benefit money however you like, but you must be taking sufficient college courses in order to be eligible to receive the money. The GI Bill is not intended to cover existing college loan debt.

You should speak to the financial aid office at a university about this; you are probably not required to completely settle existing college loans before taking additional courses. It may simply be more difficult to get further federally-subsidized college loans.