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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogHow Does the VA Pay the GI Bill Housing Allowance?
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.
9 Responses to “How Does the VA Pay the GI Bill Housing Allowance?”
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[...] 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 [...]
Will the VA pay the housing allowance to students who do online courses? I heard there was a law out there, but haven’t heard much since.
Hi Martin, Students using the Post 9/11 GI Bill while attending school can qualify for the housing allowance if they carry more than 6 credit hours per semester while in an undergraduate program and at least some of those credit hours must be for classroom taught courses. Their entire course load can’t be online classes. Students who are still on active duty or using transferred benefits from a spouse still on active duty are not eligible for the housing allowance.
I just started classes on sept 27th…when can i expect a housing payment? i was told 30-45 days but that is a long time.
Marina
Hi Marina, I’m afraid what you were told is probably going to be accurate. The housing allowance is paid in arrears and with you starting classes on the 27th of September, you’re more than likely not going to receive an allowance payment until the beginning of November. If you receive anything prior to that, it’s only going to be for the several days in September you attended classes.
I am in my last classes for my AA and only one of them qualifies to be paid for by my GI Bill..that being said to the VA I’m only taking 3 credits and am not able to receive any BAH. Universities are not allowing anyone to transfer unless they have all the requirements met due to the financial situation and education cut backs. The class not being paid for is a requirement for graduation and is on my education plan but apparently not required to transfer. Is there a way around this?
I would be careful making the a broad statement “Universities are not allowing anyone to transfer unless they have all the requirements met due to the financial situation and education cut backs.” That may be your university’s policy, but it doesn’t apply to all universities.
What I’m not understanding is if the class is on your education plan, why wouldn’t the VA pay for it. As far as the transfer, that shouldn’t be an issue to get your AA. You might not even go further than getting your AA and a transfer would not even enter into the situation.
I think there is something else going on here that was not stated in the original question.
I have started at DeVry and am doing a mixed online and at campus structure. I take 10 credit hours every 8 weeks with 4 of the credits being an on-campus class. How does this fit into the number or required units at campus since I am billed in 8 week sessions instead of a normal semester format?
According to the Semester Equivalency Table listed in the Verifying Official’s Handbook, 10 credits for an 8-week course is considered full-time. Because you have at least one course on campus per semester that pertains to your degree plan and you are considered a full-time student, you would be authorized the full monthly housing allowance.