Maybe you have come out of the military and you are now
looking for a career but you are having no luck finding one that fits. If this
is you, then you may have come to the conclusion that you can’t get the job you
want without first going to get a degree. So you decide to go back to school
and use your GI Bill to get an education.
This is going to be my bread and butter on this blog. This
is what I do, day in and day out I help veterans who have chosen to go back to
school. Explaining how the GI Bill works and how you can use it to your
advantage. Also I spend a lot of time explaining everything else that is
available. From DoD programs to third party scholarships there are tons of opportunities
for prior service members and their families. Knowing where to find them and more
importantly how to use them is going to be crucial getting the most out of the
education system.
The GI Bill (VA
Education Benefits)
Starting with the benefit most service members are aware of,
but have no idea what it actually entails, the GI Bill. First things first, in
the military there is the notion that the GI Bill encompasses everything the VA
does for education. This is not the case at all, and if you don’t stop making
this assumption you are going to come across as ignorant when you talk with the VA or an education official about VA education
benefits. Also both parties will become extremely frustrated becasue of miscommunication. In fact that is the perfect term to use, VA Education Benefits; the
VA offers VA Education Benefits, not just the GI Bill. These education benefits
are part of your enlistment package. If you were to get a sign on bonus you
would cash it, right? So cash the GI Bill in also, use it, don’t let it expire,
and it does expire and will never come back.
At the time of this blog, there are 9 different VA education
benefit programs. They are:
So we are looking 9 different programs, and only 3 of them
are GI Bills the rest are different. You need to make note of that. I will be
going over each one individually but I put links on each program to a VA
factsheet, in case you want to learn more about them. The VA website on
education benefits is extremely difficult to navigate. Not that I know a better
solution for it, but it’s hard to find specific information, so be warned.
I’m going to finish out this blog with a small summary of
each VA program and then I’ll come back later to get into more detail on each
one with an individual blog per program.
Montgomery GI Bill –
Active Duty
Designed for service members on an active duty contract who
complete 2 or more years, this program can be referred to as Chapter 30, or
MGIB-AD. It is simply a monthly housing allowance that is paid on the first of
each month after school starts. IT DOES NOT PAY THE SCHOOL DIRECTLY. IT DOES
NOT PAY FOR BOOKS. YOU WILL NOT SEE ANY MONEY UNTIL WELL AFTER CLASSES START. The
amount you will receive will depend on your enrolled hours and the rate table
set at the beginning of the fiscal year. The MHA is currently $1648/month for
FY14.
Montgomery GI Bill – Select
Reserve
Designed for service members on a 6 year Reserve/National
Guard contract, this program can be referred to as Chapter 1606, or MGIB-SR. The
same as MGIB-AD, this program is simply a monthly housing allowance that is paid
on the first of each month after school starts. IT DOES NOT PAY THE SCHOOL
DIRECTLY. IT DOES NOT PAY FOR BOOKS. YOU WILL NOT SEE ANY MONEY UNTIL WELL
AFTER CLASSES START. The amount you will receive will depend on your enrolled
hours and the rate table set at the beginning of the fiscal year. At $356/month
for FY14, the payments are considerably less than the MGIB-AD
Post 9/11 GI Bill
Designed for service members (reserve or active) who
complete at least 90 days of active duty service after 9/11/01. This program can
be referred to as Chapter 33. This program is a three-tier cake it pays the
tuition, the books and an E-5 w/dependents’ BAH. The catch here is that 90 days
will open the program to you but the program is set on a percentage level. 90 days
= 40%, 6 months =50%, 12 months 60%, and so on and so on. It will increase 10%
every 6 months, until you reach 36 months then it will be at 100%. And before
this goes any further, Basic Training and your job school DO NOT count as time
served until you reach 2 years of other active duty time. So what I’m trying to
say is no boots.
Post 9/11 is complicated and will receive its own blog. The
percentage set everything the BAH, the amount they will pay the school and the
book stipend. As complicated as it is though it is in my opinion the best
benefit hands down.
Reserve Education
Assistance Program
REAP as it is commonly referred, bridges the MGIB-SR and
MGIB-AD payment gap for reservist and guardsmen who have deployed after
09/11/01. It came out prior to Post 9/11 and it is also on a percentage level. 6
months of active duty gets you 40%, 1 year = 60%, 2 years =80%. The percentage
is based on the MGIB-AD payment. Also like MGIB-AD and MGIB-SR it only includes
a MHA so your school will not be paid for, instead you will be paid to go to
school. The biggest catch with REAP is that the active duty time has to be
consecutive, it cannot be added together if you served multiple deployments.
Veterans Retraining
Assistance Program
Part of the VOW initiative, VRAP, as it’s called, is available
to unemployed veterans between 35-60 years old, who no longer have access to
any other education benefits at the VA. Basically VRAP is a 12 month extension
of MGIB-AD. The catch here is that you can only go to a community college with
an approved VRAP program and it must be full time in the VA’s eyes. Oh and the
program ends on March 32 st this year, in exactly one month.
Vocational Rehabilitation
Part of the VetSuccess program, VocRehab is designed to help
disabled veterans get stable employment. Education is not the primary objective
in this program. If it is determined by a caseworker that education is necessary
for the veteran, then the veteran will be sent to school. The caseworker will monitor
his grades and as long as everything goes well the VA will pick up the tab for tuition
and any supplies.
Dependents and
Survivors Education Assistance
A program that extends a Monthly Housing Allowance to dependents
or spouses while in school. To qualify the veteran of the dependent/spouse has
to be permanently and totally disabled from his time in service or KIA.
Post 9/11 Transfer
The name is exactly what it sounds like. A veteran can
transfer the Post 9/11 (assuming he has it) to dependents. The catch? The veteran
must re-enlist for 4 years on the day of transfer.
Marine Gunnery
Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship
This scholarship is basically the Post 9/11 GI Bill for
children of service members who die in the line of duty after 09/11/01.
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