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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogPosts Tagged ‘Educational Benefits’
April 27th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
I am planning on attending Full Sail University located in Orlando. The 12-16 class credit semester is not the normal study amount for this university. Instead the program is two classes per month, cycling continually for a year. The difference is that these classes are deeply intense so as to force a greater level of focus. Would this type of structure affect the amount of money I receive from the GI Bill monthly? Would I still be considered full student status even with the lower rotating amount of registered credits per session? Thank you, Jordan
Hi Jordan, I looked up Full Sail University on the VA’s Weams list of approved institutions of higher learning, and they are not only approved, but they have a fairly large staff there that handles VA issues. It sounds to me like the school is approved for both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and I would imagine that if they have some sort of special class structure that is different than most schools, they have already addressed the issue with the VA.
They may have the same sort of setup that many graduate schools have with the VA concerning use of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The VA recognizes that some graduate school programs may only be a few credit hours, but are intense enough that they require a student to devote much more of their time to the course than would normally be the case for a three credit hour course. Because of this the VA lets graduate schools determine what a full time student’s class load is. I would think that Full Sail University has the same sort of arrangement with the VA. I suggest you contact them, and talk to someone in the VA Certifying Official department.
Full Sail University is also participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program, so if you are using the Post 9/11 GI Bill, you may want to apply for the Yellow Ribbon Program at the school to assist with your tuition costs
April 19th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I received my fathers G.I. Bill before he passed away in 2005. I don’t live in the state of Alabama so how can I transfer it to the state I currently live in? — Sherry
Sherry, I don’t have enough information from your question to give you a definite answer, but I’ll give it a try.
You say you received your father’s G.I. Bill in 2005. The only Federal G.I. Bill having a transfer option to dependent children is the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill which started four years after your father passed away.
If you father passed away while on active duty, or as a result from a disability he received while on active duty, then you may be talking about the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance Program (DEA), but that is different from a G.I. Bill, but it is the only program I can think of that would give you any type of Federal education benefits for the time-frame you are referring to.
The other puzzling part of your question is your reference to transferring your father’s G.I. Bill benefit from Alabama to the state where you live. Federal G.I. Bill benefits don’t have a State component in the context you are referring to in your question. That leads me to believe that maybe you are talking about a State G.I. Bill benefit and not a Federal one.
Alabama does have a state veterans’ education program called the G.I. Dependent’s Scholarship Program. I’m inclined to believe this is the program you are referring to. Because this is a State of Alabama program, the benefit has to be used at an Alabama school and it is not transferable to another state. Sherry, I hope I hit the mark with one of my answers.
April 16th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
A full time student is three classes right? Do I have to finish college in three years to use the new GI Bill? — Timothy
What is considered full-time Timothy, varies among colleges. Generally speaking though, 12 credits is considered full-time, and that can be four 3-credit classes or three 4-credit classes or any other combination totaling up to 12 credits per term. Just keep in mind, to get the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill housing allowance and book stipend, you have to be at least a half-time student (6 credits).
As far as when you have to finish college, you have 15 years, from your last date of discharge, to use your Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits. After that, your benefit expires.
You have 36 months (or three years) worth of benefit. This gives you enough time for you to get a four-year degree, if you go to school full-time (9-months per year). This is a great G.I. Bill, so use your education benefit wisely.
April 15th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
My husband is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and left the service in 1992. He than became reservist. He was discharged in 2003, after it was deemed that he was not deployable due to a back injury he received while on his civilian job. My question is, are our children ages 17, 15, and 13 eligible for any education assistance or do you know of any scholarships that they could apply for. — Mary
Yes, Mary, there are lots of education assistance your children can start applying for that doesn’t include the G.I. Bill.
One of the most common is the Stafford Loan. It can come from either one of two programs – the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan).
Another source is the Pell grant. It is generally the foundation to which other federal and non-federal aid may be added to. The maximum amount for undergraduate students is $5,350 (at this time).
The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) is for first-year students graduating from high school after January 1, 2006. New students can receive $750 for the first-year and $1300 for the second year. Students can receive the ACG in addition to the Pell as long as the combined amount of the two loans does not exceed college costs.
The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant started in 2007 and has a maximum amount of $4,000 per year. Students receiving a TEACH grant agree to teach children of low income families after graduating from college.
Don’t overlook service organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Most service organizations have scholarships they award annually.
Colleges themselves are another good source of scholarship money. Many have their own educational benefit programs and are generally awarded based on need and funds available. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Finally, once old enough, your children could join the military and get their own Post 9/11 G.I. Bill or Montgomery G.I. Bill and have their education paid for by the VA. They could also use Tuition Assistance and take classes while on active duty and save their G.I. Bill to use once they are discharged.
April 14th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
If I transfer my GI Bill to my wife, will she get BAH even though I am on active duty? What other assistance is she eligible for? What other benefits will she receive? — Greg
Just so all of us are on the same sheet of music Greg, the housing allowance many Post 9/11 G.I. Bill users get is different from the BAH you get on active duty. The housing allowance is paid based on the E-5-with-dependents rate for the zip code of the school.
To answer your first question, Greg, no your wife will not get paid the housing allowance while you are still serving. Once you are discharged, then she will be eligible to start getting the housing allowance when she uses her transferred benefits. Once you are out, she will also qualify for the $1,000 per year book stipend.
As far as other assistance, she should look at applying for the various scholarships that are available to military spouses. Some of the more popular ones are:
- The National Military Family Association (NMFA) sponsors the Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship. Military member spouses receive the scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000 so they can pursue professional certification, undergraduate or graduate school programs.
- The NMFA also sponsors The Fisher House Foundation scholarship for spouses. Each commissary awards one $1,500 scholarship.
- The Stateside Spouse Education Assistance Program (SSEAP) applies to stateside spouses of both active and retired Army soldiers along with the widows or widowers of deceased soldiers.
- The Overseas Spouse Education Assistance Program (OSEAP) is for active duty Army spouses residing oversees. Both the OSEAP and SSEAP are based on need with the intent of better educating Army spouses for increased job opportunities.
She can search the Internet for more information on any of these scholarships and more.
April 9th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I am a reservist currently on voluntary active duty orders in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I am having trouble getting a straight answer as to at what point my initial training time would count toward my collective active service for my rate of eligibility under the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill. I have been given the option to extend my orders and would like to know if it is worth it for me to extend. For example, as it stands right now I have 977 days of active duty service including my initial training (Recruit Training, Marine Combat Training and MOS School). If I subtract my initial training time (167 days) that leaves me with 810 days of active service. The VA’s website benefits calculator breaks down the entitlements in the following manner: 70% – 545-729 days of eligible service (excluding training) 80% – 730-909 days of eligible service (including training) 90% – 910-1094 days of eligible service (including training) 100% – More than 1095 days of eligible service (including training) I called the VA to get clarification as to at what day of active service (not including my initial training time) would my training time count and what a I got is an answer from a customer service reference guide that neither myself nor the operator could understand. I need to decide soon if I will extend or not and I want to know if I must in order to get the most out of my G.I. Bill. It would be a shame to not extend only to find out I was 1 month away from my full 100% eligibility. — Nicholas
Yes, Nicholas, it is confusing. The VA recently changed their website and I’m not sure they have it correct. Before their change, no time for training counted toward Post 9/11 G.I. Bill eligibility. Now I see at the 80% and above tier levels, they are including training time, but I’m not sure one at the 80% level is correct.
In the verbiage they say “Subtract days served on active duty for entry level and skill training 1from total number of days, if you served less than 910 days”. But then in the calculator, they show 730-909 days including training time which contradicts their statement of deducting the training time if you served less than 910 days.
Knowing the VA’s past history, my advice is to extend for at least 167 days to cover your initial training time so that you end up with at least 1,095 days of “good” time. I would not be surprised to see the VA change that 80% tier level to exclude training time.
Like you say, it would be a shame to miss out on some benefits due to a technical error on their website. Play it safe and extend to cover your training time, so you can qualify for your full Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.
April 8th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
My husband paid into the GI Bill while he was in the Navy 1986-1990. He may have used 1 semesters worth at some time, but is now wanting to attend college and/or take advantage of the OJT/Apprenticeship benefits. He has recently joined the Air Force Reserves and was Active for 5 months while attending Tech School training. He is now home and needs to get some hands on training/apprenticeship in his field of study. Is he still eligible to receive the funds he was entitled to from serving in the Navy? Thank you for your help with this matter. — Jackie
Your husband Jackie does not have any benefits left from his service in the Navy. The delimiting date for the Montgomery G.I. Bill- Active Duty is 10 years, so his benefits expired in the year 2000.
However, now that he is in the Air Force Reserve he should be eligible for the Montgomery G.I. Bill – Selected Reserves (MGIB-SR). He has 10 years to use this G.I. Bill as long as he remains a member in good standing. Once discharged, he loses his MGIB-SR benefits. Your husband’s 5-month school won’t account as eligible time for the new Post 9/11 G.I. Bill as it was training time.
If your husband plans on taking an OJT/Apprenticeship program, he will want to stick with the MGIB-SR as the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill does not cover these programs.
April 8th, 2010
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I am a National Guard soldier currently finishing up AIT with plans to return to school summer semester. My OH NG scholarship only covers 4 semesters of school, and I do not believe it will help with my living expenses either. On my LES I do not see that I am paying for the GI Bill or the Kicker? How do I go about getting these benefits? I do not believe that I am eligible for the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill at all. Any information is greatly appreciated. — Lindsey
As a National Guard soldier Lindsey, you are authorized the Montgomery G.I. Bill – Selected Reserves, once you get back from AIT, provided you don’t decline it and you authorize the 12-month deduction from your pay. As far as the kicker, you get that at the time you enlist, if you enlist into certain critical MOSs or in special designated units.
Obviously you did not enlist into either; otherwise you would have been offered an appropriate kicker. Once you are eligible for re-enlistment, ask about a re-enlistment kicker., This will mean going through another MOS training school and transferring to a different unit, but it will be a means to get a kicker and more money for school.
With only your IADT time, no you do not meet the eligibility requirements to qualify for the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill. With contingency operation mobilizations in the future, you could acquire enough active duty time to qualify for the new G.I. Bill.
April 6th, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
Hello, is the Post 9/11 GI Bill only good for 1 degree? For example, if I receive the 100% benefit, and use it to pay for a Master’s degree, are my benefits “cashed out” after I receive my degree? Or could I use the benefits again later to help pay for another Master’s degree or PhD? Thanks so much for your help! Very Respectfully, Paul
Hi Paul, The only limitations you have when using your Post 9/11 GI Bill are the number of months of benefits available, which with full benefits would be 36 months, and that you must take the courses at an approved institution of higher learning which can award at least an associate’s degree. If you already have an undergraduate degree, you can use the 36 months of benefits to continue your education and earn a master’s degree and a PhD.
Keep in mind that the Post 9/11 GI Bill pays a maximum tuition based on the highest undergraduate tuition for an in-state student at a state supported school. There is also usually a maximum amount the program provides each semester in each state. I believe this is probably based on the average number of credit hours taken each semester by students at the school the tuition rate is based on. Graduate credit hours usually cost a little more than undergraduate credit hours, so if you are pursuing a master’s degree, and taking additional electives, you may find yourself having to fund some of your tuition costs.
One way to offset this is to attend a school that is participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Yellow Ribbon Program schools agree to fund a portion of the tuition costs not covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and the VA matches the school’s contribution. Each school administers their own Yellow Ribbon Program, so you will have to be accepted into the program at whichever school you choose.
April 1st, 2010
by Jeffery Anderson
by Jeffery Anderson
As an in-service Transfer to OCS, and becoming an Officer in a couple of months, do I still keep my GI Bill that I acquired as enlisted? Jim
Hi Jim, If you already earned the Montgomery GI Bill or the Post 9/11 GI Bill while serving as an enlisted service member, then that stays with you as an officer, and you can use it either while on active duty, or after you leave the military.
There are enlisted to officer programs that pay for an enlisted service member to attend college, and after they earn a degree, and complete OCS, they receive a commission as an officer. Those programs can affect a service member’s GI Bill benefits. However, if I am understanding your situation correctly, you had a college degree prior to enlisting, or earned one while an enlisted service member, and you were selected for OCS. If that is the case, then you should continue to have your GI Bill benefits to use.
Don’t forget that as an officer, you can still use Tuition Assistance to continue your education.
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