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How Much In Benefits can My Children Get for College?

September 3rd, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
I’m trying to get the total amount available now for the GI Bill.  My husband has transferred the GI Bill to our two children, but we know it won’t be enough to get them both through college.  But I need to know the total amount that they will get and split, so we can save money in an alternate way.  Thank you, Karen

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.

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Posted in Housing Stipend, New GI Bill, Transferred Benefits, Veterans Education Benefits, Yellow Ribbon Program | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “How Much In Benefits can My Children Get for College?”

  1. Patricia Lewis says:
    September 4, 2010 at 7:03 am

    Is it up to the active duty serviceman as to which child receives his GI Bill benefits? My exson-n-law told my grandson, who he adopted, that he was going to use his benefits for the child that he and his new wife are expecting. Is this how the benefits work? My grandson is now in his first semster of college and has asked his dad for help, only to be told “NO”.
    You’re feedback on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

  2. Jeffery Anderson says:
    September 5, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    Hi Patricia, It is entirely up to the active duty service member as they earned the benefits with their service to their country. Your ex-son in law can choose to use the benefits himself or to transfer them to an eligible spouse or dependent child or even let them expire if he wants to; the VA has no part in deciding who uses them as long as the person using them is eligible for the benefits. Perhaps your grandson should look into an ROTC or NROTC scholarship. He could have almost all of a 4 year degree program paid for and would have to commit to serving on active duty for a period of time in return.

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