GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogExpert Answers to Your GI Bill Benefits Questions Topic: New GI Bill - Housing Stipend
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi Karen, this is a complicated question with a lot of variables that only you and your family are going to be able to answer. The reason it’s complicated is that there is no set amount your children are going to get with the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
If your husband divided his benefits in half, each of your children is going to get 18 months of benefits which equates to two years of school with each school year being nine months.
The amount the Post 9/11 GI Bill pays per credit hour varies by state. Lets use New York as an example as I was just using it in another question. If your children go to school in New York, they can receive up to $1,010 per credit hour for the 18 months they have benefits. The VA considers 12 credit hours per semester to be a full course load for an undergraduate degree program, but my daughter is in college right now and carrying 15 per semester so let’s use 15 credit hours per semester. That means each of your children could receive up to $15,150 per semester if they were carrying 15 credit hours per semester at a college in New York.
In addition they could also qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance and up to $1000 per year for a book allowance. And lastly, if they attend a Yellow Ribbon Program school and there is some tuition that isn’t covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill while they are using it, the school and the VA may cover part or all of it.
This example is all based on New York, if your children go to school in any other state the maximum the GI Bill pays per credit hour is going to be totally different and so will the amount they can get for their housing allowance.
The other variable of course is the school itself and what the tuition is going to be. With some schools the Post 9/11 GI Bill is more than enough for tuition and with other schools the Post 9/11 GI Bill contribution is just a drop in the bucket.
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi Keven, You don’t have to be a full time student, but you do have to be more than a half time student to qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing stipend. The VA considers 12 credit hours per semester to be an average course load for an undergraduate degree program. In order to qualify for the housing allowance a student would have to carry more than 6 credit hours per semester so if you were carrying 7-9 per semester, you should be in good shape.
There is also another requirement that all of the courses being carried can’t be online classes. At least some of the courses you are taking must be taught in a classroom.
Graduate programs work a little differently under the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The VA recognizes that graduate programs can differ greatly from major to major and from school to school. Because of this the VA allows the individual school determine what it feels an average course load should be for a graduate degree program in a particular major. You are going to have to contact the VA Certifying Official at the school you are planning to attend to find out what the average course load per semester is for whatever graduate degree program you are considering. Whatever it happens to be, as long as you are carrying more than half the credit hours for an average course load you should be in good shape for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing stipend.
Also, remember that you can’t qualify for the housing allowance if you are still on active duty or using transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits from a spouse who is still on active duty.
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi Scott, the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance is paid in arrears so it will always be a month behind. I can’t say for sure, but it sounds like that is what went into your account on September 1st, and with you starting classes on August 16th a half month payment would be about right.
Future payments should be about the same time each month, but I wouldn’t always count on them being there right on the first of the month. It should be pretty close to it though as they process them all at about the same time each month.
Don’t forget that you have to maintain more than 6 credit hours per semester if you are in an undergraduate degree program to keep your Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance coming every month. Sometimes students drop a problem class and forget until it’s too late that it drops them below the level where they qualify for the housing allowance.
by Ron Kness
In regards to the book stipend, should I expect to see that money at the beginning of the school semester or when I receive the first housing allowance? Is the stipend school year based (Fall 2010-Spring 2011) or calendar-year based (Spring 2010- Fall 2010)? Thank you for your assistance ahead of time. — Jonathan
First Jonathan, I can’t give you a specific date when you will see your Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance, but it takes around 8 weeks to process. If your school submits it right away, you should see a deposit, around the first week of November, for the two days of August and all of September and October. I say “should” because sometimes the first check takes longer.
Just to have your bases covered, I would have funds available to cover living expenses for the whole first semester, just in case it does take longer. You will eventually get your money, but in case it is late, you are not scrambling trying to figure out how to pay your bills. Once you get your first check, subsequent checks should come around that same date each month.
You should see your Post 9/11 GI Bill book stipend with your first housing allowance check each semester. The book stipend is based on an academic year, so it would be fall 2010 to spring 2011.
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi Rita, I’m afraid you are not going to be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance while your spouse is on active duty. I realize that you are using your own benefits that were earned by your service, but the VA only pays BAH to military families that are not already receiving BAH from the military. Your spouse should already be receiving BAH, so they are not going to pay it twice. The good news is that you are eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program while using your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, and that can be a big help with your tuition.
You have 15 years from the time you left active duty to use your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits so you don’t have to apply for them right away. In fact, you might want to wait until your spouse leaves the military if it is going to happen in the next several years.
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi Ben, the only GI Bill that has a provision for the transfer of benefits is the Post 9/11 GI Bill so that is the GI Bill you must be eligible for. In addition you must have been in the military for 6 years to be eligible to transfer your benefits to an eligible spouse or dependent children.
Your spouse must be registered in DEERS to receive the benefits. You must still be on active duty to transfer your benefits as one of the conditions for the request to be approved is that you will have to agree to remain on active duty for 4 years after the request is approved.
Once the request is approved your spouse can apply for the benefits at the VONAPP website and she can use the benefits at any school that is approved by the VA for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. You can transfer all of your benefits to her or just a portion. While you are still on active duty she will not be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance, but she can become eligible for it after you leave active duty if she is still attending school with your benefits.
She has 15 years to use the benefits from the time you leave active duty. She is also eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program while using your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits.
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi confused, there are a few factors here that can affect whether you receive the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance.
First, you can’t be on active duty and you can’t be the spouse of someone on active duty who transferred you their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. If you fit either of these descriptions, then you will not receive the housing allowance.
The second factor depends on your degree program. If you are in an undergraduate degree program, the VA considers 12 credit hours to be an average course load for a semester. Students must carry more than half of that to qualify for the housing allowance, which means you would have to carry more than 6 credit hours per semester.
Your 8 credit hours should qualify you, but they can’t all be online courses. You must take at least one class in your degree program each semester in a classroom setting to be eligible for the housing allowance. All of the other classes can be online classes.
If you are an undergraduate and meet these qualifications, then you should be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance. If you are in a graduate program, the VA allows the school to determine what the average course load is for that program. You are going to have to talk to your VA rep at the school to figure out if you are carrying enough hours to be eligible for the allowance in that case, but I have a feeling that you are.
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi Chris, If your request to transfer your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits has been approved, then all that remains is for your daughter to go on the VONAPP website and apply for the benefits. She will be sent a Certificate of Eligibility which she should show the Registrar’s office or the VA Certifying Official at the school she plans to attend. The certificate outlines the benefits she is eligible for and the school will use it to fill out their paperwork that they send back to the VA.
The website you are referring to might be the WAVE site, but that is used for the Montgomery GI Bill and isn’t needed for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The school takes care of all the paperwork with the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
You have control of your transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits and can revoke the transfer until they have been used, but no direct control over the housing allowance that I am aware of. If your daughter qualifies for the housing allowance, the VA is either going to send her a check each month or do a direct deposit into her bank account.
The only suggestion I would have is that you have a discussion with your daughter and explain to her that the allowance is for school costs other than tuition. If she is living with your ex-wife, then she may end up using a portion of the allowance to pay rent for her room and food, but how she uses the rest is pretty much up to her. If your ex-wife and your daughter use the same bank account, hopefully they have some sort of understanding on when money can be removed and what it can be used for.
by Ron Kness
I can’t tell you exactly Nikki, without knowing the zip code of your school, but I can point you to the right places and you can look it up for yourself.
First, with the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA pays your tuition and eligible fees, up to the highest public school undergraduate program amount in the state where you will go to school. Each state has a different maximum amount for tuition and another amount for fees.
This means the VA will pay up to this amount, but not automatically this amount. If your school charges less per credit, or your fees are lower than the maximum, the VA will pay only actual costs up to these maximums. On the VA’s Website, you can look up the Post 9/11 GI Bill tuition and fees amounts for your school’s state.
The other variable is housing allowance. You will be paid at the pay grade of an E-5 with dependents for the zip code of your school. Use the BAH calculator to estimate how much you will get. Type in your school’s zip code in the Duty Zip Code field. From the Pay Grade drop-down menu, select E-5. When the results come up, use the “with dependents” amount. You will also get a book stipend paid at the rate of $41.67 per credit, with a maximum amount of $1,000 per year as part of your Post 9/11 GI Bill transferred benefits.
by Jeffery Anderson
Hi Kelsey, It sounds like this is about you using his GI Bill benefits to attend college. The only GI Bill that has a transfer of benefits provision is the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and from what you have written it sounds like your father would be eligible for the entire 36 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits.
He is going to have to transfer the benefits to you himself, it is not something he can ask you to take care of. This is partially due to the fact that he may have to agree to continuing on active duty for a period of time after the transfer of benefits is approved.
You will have to be registered in DEERS to receive the benefits and he needs to go to this Department of Defense website to request the transfer. When the transfer has been approved you can go to VONAPP, which is probably the website you were on, and apply for the transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. They will send you a Certificate of Eligibility showing you and the school you plan to attend how much in benefits you are eligible for.
You will also be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing and book allowances while using the transferred benefits if you meet the requirements for receiving them. If you choose a school participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program, you may also become eligible for additional tuition assistance for any costs not covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
About The Authors
Get answers to questions about the old & new GI Bills
- Former Supervisor of Military Personnel Services, including Education Benefits
- Last assignment: Division Command Sergeant Major/E-9
- 36 years of military service
- Served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps
- His father, grandfather, and two uncles served in the U.S. Army, and his son served in the U.S. Navy
- Graduate of Virginia Military Institute
