Which GI Bill Is the Best for Me?

Hi Jeff. I can lay the numbers out here for you and maybe it will be more clear which is the best way to go. Right now, the Montgomery GI Bill pays $1,368 per month and you have to pay all of your own tuition, fees and education-related expenses.

With your length of service after September 10, 2001, that puts you at the 50% level for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, meaning the VA will pay 50% of your tuition and fees and you will get 50% of your housing allowance and book stipend.

The tuition rate in Madison, WI, for example, is $663 per credit hour, but that is really irrelevant with the Post 9/11 GI Bill because your tuition is paid by the State of Wisconsin. It will factor into the Montgomery GI Bill though.

The housing allowance for Madison is $1,311 per month, so you would get half of that or $655.50. You would also get 50% of the $1,000 per year book stipend. So if we add up the numbers per semester, you would get:

• housing allowance – $655.50 x 3 = $1,965.50
• book stipend – $20.83 per credit (half of the $41.67 per credit hour rate)  x 12 credits  = $250.02

That adds up to $2,215.52 per semester, in Post 9/11 GI Bill income and you don’t have to pay tuition.

Under the Montgomery GI Bill, you would get $1,368 per month or $4,104 per semester and you have to pay all of your own expenses, including $7,956 per semester in tuition.

Regardless how you slice it, the Post 9/11 GI Bill is a better option for you and I think you can see that by the numbers.