bullet GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert Blog
GI Bill Home >> Blog >> New GI Bill >> Yellow Ribbon Program >> I Switched From the MGIB to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, But Now I’m Not Receiving As Much Money, Can I Switch Back?

I Switched From the MGIB to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, But Now I’m Not Receiving As Much Money, Can I Switch Back?

February 22nd, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
A year ago I switched from the Montgomery GI Bill to the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  I just recently enrolled in an online university, and found out that only 70% of my tuition is going to be paid by the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  I think that if I had stayed in the Montgomery GI Bill, all of my tuition would have been covered.  Am I right if my tuition would be $1170?  And is it possible for me to transfer back to the older GI Bill?  Michael

Hi Michael,  If all of your classes will be online, you are not going to receive the housing allowance you would be eligible for with the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  So in a case like this, the Montgomery GI Bill would have probably given you more in monthly benefits.  If you were eligible for the full Montgomery GI Bill benefits, it would have provided you with $1326 a month.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe that the VA is going to allow you to switch back to the Montgomery GI Bill.  They encourage everyone to examine which benefits program will work best for their individual situation, prior to deciding which GI Bill to use, but once veterans make their decision, they can’t change their mind and switch again.  They do allow veterans who have switched from the MGIB to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, to take education programs that the Post 9/11 GI Bill doesn’t cover, but the MGIB would have.

I do have a suggestion.  See if the school you have enrolled in is a member of the Yellow Ribbon Program.  The Yellow Ribbon Program can be used with the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and schools which are in the program have agreed to pay a part of the amount of tuition which isn’t covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  They can pay up to 50 percent of the amount not covered, and the VA will pay the rest.  Each school is different in how many veterans they will do it for, and how much they will pay, but it is possible that you could have that 30% taken care of.  If the school you enrolled in is not a member of the Yellow Ribbon Program, perhaps next semester you could transfer to one that is.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Montgomery G I Bill, New GI Bill, Veterans Education Benefits, Yellow Ribbon Program | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “I Switched From the MGIB to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, But Now I’m Not Receiving As Much Money, Can I Switch Back?”

  1. Randall Austin says:
    February 23, 2010 at 1:32 am

    Just to help anyone out there. If you elect the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill and you had the Chapter 30 Montgonery G.I. Bill you can switch back. It took me about 6 months, but I was able to switch back. hope this helps.

  2. Ron Kness says:
    February 24, 2010 at 10:46 am

    Thanks for the info. I would say this is an exception rather than the norm. It’s best if people do their homework first, before switching, and then they don’t have to deal with trying to change back (and possibly get denied).

  3. Occupational Therapy says:
    April 26, 2010 at 8:45 pm

    Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

  4. Ron Kness says:
    April 27, 2010 at 3:08 pm

    Thank-you for your kind comment. I publish two posts per day Monday through Friday. Enjoy the reading.

    Ron

Leave a Reply