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What Will the VA Pay If My Daughter Goes to School in Another State?

March 10th, 2010
by Ron Kness
I am looking to transfer my Post 9/11 GI Bill over to my daughter. We live in Minnesota and she wants to attend a college in another state that does not have reciprocity. If I am eligible for 100% though Minnesota, would she also be covered at 100% at that out-state school or just the highest amount through Minnesota? — Bob

Bob, its good to talk to a fellow Minnesotan. It really depends on which state she chooses to go to school and it goes beyond just the tuition and fees. I’ll explain that in a minute.

Under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA assigned each State its own maximum public school tuition/fees amount based on a number of different factors; Minnesota’s maximum is $4,493.86 per term. If the maximum in the State where your daughter will go to school is less than Minnesota, 100% of her tuition would be covered.  If the maximum for that State is more than Minnesota, then she (or you) would have to pay the difference between Minnesota’s maximum amount and her tuition/fees.

Her housing allowance would also be affected; the housing allowance is calculated at the E-5 rate with dependents and the school’s zip code. This could also be more or less than what it is in Minnesota. For St. Paul, it is $1,428 per month.  Regardless of where she goes to school, she would also get up to $1,000 per year in a book stipend.

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Posted in New GI Bill, Veterans Education Benefits | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “What Will the VA Pay If My Daughter Goes to School in Another State?”

  1. Sarah says:
    March 11, 2010 at 9:07 am

    Bob,

    If you have specific questiosn about Minnesota please feel free to contact our staff at http://www.mymilitaryeducation.org or at 888.LINK.VET (546.5838). We have 12 regional higher education coordinators who can help you and your daughter navigate federal and state military educational benefits in Minnesota.

  2. Ron Kness says:
    March 12, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    Hi Sarah, this is Ron. Thanks for offering your services specific to Minnesota for Bob.

  3. Annie says:
    August 5, 2010 at 7:22 am

    Hi! It seems like this answer contradicts other posts I’ve read. I thought the maximum rate one is eligible for is based on the state which the school is in, regardless of one’s residency. (So for instance, if I’m looking at a school in HI and the max for a HI school is $5000, then that’s the max I could receive, whether I’m a HI or MD resident…I would just have to make up the difference if I’m an out of state resident.) Is that not true? It seems like this post insinuates the maximum is based upon my (or in this case, my parents’) residency. Thank you for any

  4. Ron Kness says:
    August 6, 2010 at 7:25 am

    No, that is not what I’m saying at all. My point was she most likely will have to pay more to go to school in a different state than her home state of Minnesota. Although depending on which state she chooses, her out-state tuition might end up less than her home state tuition. In most states that is not the case; she would end up paying more if she went to another state not having a reciprocity agreement with her home state.

    Ron

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