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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogPosts Tagged ‘applying for benefits’
January 2nd, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I was recently denied for post 9/11 gi bill benefits. I was enlisted August 31, 2003 and was separated on June 29, 2004. I was separated due to being unfit for duty (I was still in training) due to chronic arthritis in my knee. After my discharge, I was awarded 10% service-connected disability for my knee and my discharge was reclassified to be honorable. The letter indicated that I was denied because my active duty service was classified as training. From my understanding when I read the clarification of the benefits that came out this fall, that I would still qualify. I believe that I should qualify for the benefits, but cannot find any ruling in the bill that states that training does not qualify as active duty, and I have a service connected disability with an honorable discharge, could you help me figure out how I can qualify for the post 9/11 gi bill benefits? — Heather
I would think that you would qualify also Heather. The way I understand the rules, if you have a service-connected disability and served for at least 30 consecutive days, you should have qualified for the 100% of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. If you didn’t have the service-connected disability, then I know for sure you would not qualify if all your time was in training, because training time for Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility purposes doesn’t count until you have at least 24 months of service – then you can pick up the extra months you had in training for eligibility purposes.
The only thing I can think of that might have disqualified you from having the Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility is the low percentage of disability. With other types of service-connected disabilities, the VA requires them to be permanent and total (100%). Another element that could play into the situation is the difference between the VA and your military branch disability rating. They aren’t necessarily rated the same.
My recommendation is to contact a VA representative and have that person explain why you don’t qualify. Try going through the Regional VA office servicing your state of residency. Many times they are not as busy as the VA Main Office, so they are easier to contact.
August 31st, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
My question is do I qualify for any educational benefits with 5 years of service and a General Under Honorable discharge? I was told while still in that I did not but I’ve heard of service members with less time in that have had it. What are the requirements? — Vidal
Vidal, the issue is not how much time you served, it is your General Under Honorable Conditions discharge that is preventing you from using your GI Bill education benefits. Anything less than a fully Honorable and you can’t use them. Notice, I said can’t – you still have your GI Bill benefits.
If you think you were wronged by your discharge and you want to try and upgrade it to Honorable, submit DD293 to your service branch’s Discharge Review Board. An upgrade is not guaranteed and it can take up to a year to get a decision, but it is an appeal avenue if you can support your case.
If you have been discharged for more than 15 years, then submit DD Form 149 to the Board of Corrections of Military Records of your service branch.
Your five years of service was more than enough time for you to fully qualify for either the Montgomery GI Bill (provided you signed up and paid your $1,200 contribution) or Post 9/11 GI Bill. All that is required is three years of service. So that is why your buddies qualified with less time and you didn’t – they had an Honorable discharge.
August 9th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hello, my husband served in the US Army from Sep. 1999 to Dec. 2007. He was medically retired with a 60% service connected disability in Dec. 2007. The VA pays him benefits of 100% service connected disability and is declared unemployable. I am trying to return to college and we wanted to use the GI Bill. But, I know that my husband was not active duty when the post 9-11 bill came into effect. We were never told that we had to transfer benefits before he was offically retired. So I guess what I am asking is that is he eligible and if so can he transfer those benefits to me. I know about the benefits through the VA but they are not enough to cover my tuition and other fees since I have to continue to work full time and most of my classes will be online and on the weekends. – Devoun
Your husband was never told he needed to transfer benefits before he retired, because nobody even knew about the Post 9/11 GI Bill in 2007. Congress wouldn’t pass it as law for another year and it wouldn’t be in effect for another two years from when he retired.
As far as your husband’s eligibility, he is eligible in that he meets the service requirement of having served for six years of which at least three years had to be after September 10, 2001, but he would not meet the second service requirement of either agreeing to serve an additional four years or be retirement eligible with 20 years or more of service at the time of transfer. Plus he would still have to be serving when he made a transfer request.
When you reference the “benefits through the VA”, I’m assuming you are referring to the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance Program or Chapter 35. If not, you most likely would be eligible for 45 months of benefits paid at the full-time rate of rate of $936 per month.
Also, take a look at this resource to see if it has anything that could help you. It covers a wide variety of education funding sources. Another option is to fill out a Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and see what you would qualify for as far as educational funding.
There are lots of resources out there for you to use; it can be difficult to find all of them, but if you keep searching and following all the leads, you will be successful.
June 7th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Good morning, I will be attending college full-time beginning this summer 2011, and have two questions: 1. How can I check my status as far as how much money I am allowed, and how much that I am eligible for. 2. How would I go about activating my MGIB for use beginning this summer? THANK YOU! – Michael
Under the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), everyone gets proportionally paid the same amount based on how much time they served and the training program they choose. If you have three years or more of active duty service, then you can get paid $1,426 per month to go to school full-time for 36 months. If you served less than three years, then that monthly amount drops to $1,158 as does the number of months of entitlement.
In both cases, if you go to school less than full-time, then you get a proportionally smaller amount. If you attend on a ¾ time basis, you get $1,069 and $868.50 per month respectively for three years or more of service and less than three years. If you do the math, you will see, in both cases, these amounts are ¾ of the full-time rate.
Apprenticeships, on-the-job training, correspondence, flight and cooperatives all pay different amounts, again depending on how much time you served.
As far as activating your MGIB, all you have to do is go to the eBenefits website and submit VA Form 22-1990. In return, you will get a Certificate of Eligibility showing you how much unused benefits you have left. You will need to allow at least 8 to 10 weeks to process you application, so having your Certificate of Eligibility in time for the Summer Session will be a stretch at best.
I recommend you see your school’s VA Certifying Official as they may be able to certify you faster so you can start school on time.
March 17th, 2011
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I was discharged under Honorable conditions and I paid the initial $1,200 for the GI Bill. I was rejected for Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits because I didn’t get an Honorable Discharge. I wasn’t dishonorably discharged so why did they reject my claim? Daniel
Hi Daniel, the official VA policy is that a service member must receive a full Honorable Discharge to be eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill or the Post 9/11 GI Bill. An Other than Honorable Discharge under Honorable Conditions does not meet that definition.
That being said, many veterans with OTH discharges end up receiving their Post 9/11 GI Bill or Montgomery GI Bill benefits. If there are no bad conduct issues associated with your discharge, there is a good chance that your application for benefits will be approved if you appeal the decision to deny your benefits. I have communicated with many veterans with situations similar to yours and just about all of them had their initial application denied. However, when they appealed the denial quite a few of them had the decision reversed.
This is only when there are no bad conduct issues involved. If you have a situation with bad conduct involved, I don’t believe you will receive your benefits.
March 17th, 2011
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I have an Honorable Discharge and re-enlisted and got a General Discharge. I applied for my Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits and was denied. Why was I denied if I served Honorably for 4 years from 2001 to 2005. Daniel
Hi Daniel, Based on the information you have given me it sounds like you should not have been denied your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. If you have an Honorable Discharge from youe initial enlistment during which you earned your GI Bill benefits, a subsequent enlistment with a less than Honorable Discharge should not affect your ability to use your benefits.
The VA is like any other large organization and occasionally makes mistakes. The person who processed your application probably just saw the General Discharge and didn’t realize there were two separate enlistments with the initial enlistment ending with an Honorable Discharge. I suggest that you appeal the decision and you should be awarded your Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. You should also be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program when the decision is reversed.
If you contributed to the Montgomery GI Bill during your first enlistment, you should also be eligible for those benefits.
February 25th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I have turned in my application for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. I was unable to get into classes because I was waiting to hear back on getting the Post 9/11 GI Bill. This semester I am still registered at the school, but I will be starting class in the summer semester. Will I still be able to receive the housing allowance now? – Eric
No Eric, you would not be able to receive the Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance. Even though you are registered, you have to attend classes before the VA will pay you.
I wish you would have went seen your school’s VA Certifying Official when you registered for school. That person could have certified you on the spot and you could have began classes – the VA paperwork would have caught up after–the-fact. Now you will be delayed until the summer semester. Many veterans student do not know the power of the VA Certifying Official. They can be a valuable resource when trying to address GI Bill issues. However, many of them are underutilized.
When you do start school and if you are at the 100% tier, your tuition and fees will be paid for up to the in-state maximum. You will get the book stipend at the beginning of the semester and your housing allowance monthly.
Just so you know, if you are attending a public school your tuition and eligible fees will be paid for 100% starting in August. The passage of the GI Bill 2.0 legislation eliminated the in-state maximum chart. If you are attending a private school, the VA will pay up to $17,500.
February 24th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hello, I’m trying to check on the status of my GI Bill. Back in December, I received an email saying that it was being processed and nothing else since then. My school began on Jan 19th and I am in need of information and also information on my book stipend. Thanks! – Kendra
Unfortunately Kendra, it can take up to 10 weeks to process your GI Bill application. Depending on when you submitted your application in December, you should be getting close to that point of seeing your book stipend soon. That will come as one payment and your Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance will come as a separate payment. Once you get your first housing allowance, then it should come monthly around the same time each month, however, the payment you get is for the previous month as the VA is always a month behind in paying. Your school will get their money for your tuition and eligible fees directly from the VA.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you or I can do to speed up the wheels of motion at the VA. It is a giant machine that grinds along slowly.
February 18th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I ETS’d with an honorable discharge and am in the middle of processing my GI Bill to start school. I transitioned into the National Guard. If I get discharged from the NG for APFT failure, will it affect my Army GI Bill? – CH
No CH, it won’t affect your GI Bill eligibility. Your prior term of service ending with an honorable discharge secured your benefits and however your National Guard term of service comes out it has no affect on your eligibility on those benefits you earned while on active duty.
If you just transitioned into the Guard, and you had no problem passing the APFT on active duty, what changed? The Guard is a great organization and I think you would find it has many advantages. Just because a bad Guard discharge would not affect your GI Bill eligibility, you obviously joined the Guard for a reason.
Why don’t you join a gym and work on the three APFT events so you can pass the physical fitness test. You make it sound like you are beat before you even start.
From my experience in the Guard, they will give you every opportunity they can to pass the test. It is up to you to make the best use of those opportunities.
February 17th, 2011
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I retired from the Air Force in 2008 after serving 22 years active duty. I have never used my G.I. Bill and am sad to say I have no clue how it works. Can I use it at an accredited cosmetology school? Thank you for your help. – Jenny
Right now Jenny, you could use your Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) to attend a VA-approved cosmetology school, but not the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The New GI Bill does not cover non-degree courses unless they are taught at a degree-producing school. Most cosmetology courses are taught either at vocational schools or private schools. Right now, the MGIB would pay you $1,421 per month for up to 36 months to go to school. Out of that amount, you would have to pay your tuition, fees, books, supplies and other education-related expenses.
Starting in the fall, the Post 9/11 GI Bill is supposed to pay for non-degree courses such as yours. If so, you could switch to the Post 9/11 GI Bill and it would pay your tuition and fees directly to your school and you would get a monthly housing allowance and a book stipend.
Financially, it would be a better deal for you, however, I would just as soon have you wait for awhile to see exactly what it will pay for and what it won’t. More details of the change will be forthcoming in the coming months.
You could always start school now using the MGIB and then switch later. To start using your GI Bill, go to the VONAPP website and submit VA Form 22-1990. You will need the Certificate of Eligibility you get back to enroll in school as a GI Bill student.
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