Education Series: Active Duty VA Education Benefits

Recently I put out a blog for Reservist/Guardsmen and which of the VA Education Benefits. This blog will be the equivalent for the Active Duty side. Even though there are 9 different programs, not all of them apply to every service or family member. Hopefully this will help narrow down the selection process so that way you are not wasting time reading or researching a benefit only to find it will not apply to you.

As an Active Duty or prior Active Duty service member, you really only need to focus on 2 different VA Education Programs.

1. Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty (MGIB-AD)

2. Post 9/11 GI Bill

 

Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty (MGIB –AD)

Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty
Eligibility	Complete 2 years of a 4 year contract on Active Duty
Benefit	Monthly Housing Allowance
Length of Benefit	36 months
Expiration Date	10 years after your last day of Active Duty

The MGIB-AD is the original Montgomery GI Bill. It was introduced by Mississippi Representative Sonny Montgomery in 1981 and was passed into law in 1985. In 1988 it was so successful that Congress opted to keep it as a permanent benefit from service members.

Enough background though how does this work for you? The same as most other benefits it pays a monthly housing allowance. It does not pay for school instead it pays you to go to school. The monthly rates are set every fiscal year and posted to the VA’s Rate Tables webpage.

Current Rates are set at $1648.00/month for a “full time” pursuit to a degree. This is for 30 days of full time classes. Any partial months are prorated down and you are not going to receive a MHA during the “break periods” (between semesters). Also you get paid “after your work” that month. So you go to school in January you will be paid in February. Below is a sample pay schedule:

Start Date Jan 15^th- End Date: May 15^th

Feb 1	Mar 1	April 1	May 1	June 1
$824.00	$1648.00	$1648.00	$1648.00	$824.00

Total MGIB-AD VA funds: $6592.00

Post 9/11 GI Bill

The Post 9/11 GI Bill was introduced in 2008, and went into effect August 2009. It underwent some changes in 2010 and today it is the most comprehensive and confusing GI Bill available. If it is used properly it can be extremely effective. To get in it you have to serve 90 days of Active Duty. After 3 years of Active Duty you will be in the 100% bracket.

The 100% bracket is simply the full benefit. So if you are on Active Duty and you use Post 9/11 before 3 years in, then you are making a mistake.

Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill
Eligibility	90 days of Active Duty (outside of training) after 9/11
Benefit	Monthly Housing Allowanc Tuition and Fee Payment towards in-state tuition Book and Supply Stipend of $1000/annually
Length of Benefit	36 months
Expiration Date	15 years after last day of Active Duty
Special Considerations:	Tuition and Fees only cover maximum in-state public universities, private universities may charge more than what P9/11 will pay Housing Allowance is set by an E-5 w/Dependents BAH at the zip code of the school Can be transferred to dependents upon re-enlistment Distance Learning students only receive ½ the National E-5 w/Dependents BAH average No Monthly Housing Allowance for students attending less than ¾ time No Monthly Housing Allowance for Active Duty\ Spouses who are already receiving BAH Yellow Ribbon Program Eligible

The biggest difference of P9/11 from other benefits is that it is a three-tier benefit. Tuition Payment, Book Stipend, and Monthly Housing Allowance. Up until now GI Bills were simply a Monthly Housing Allowance

Post 9/11 is pretty much free school to the public school of your choice for 36 months. Whether you get a degree or not is up to you, and I’ll go into some strategies that can ensure you do complete your degree.  Notice earlier I said public school. That’s because P9/11 may or may not pay for all of a private school. Private schools are expensive and the cap for the P9/11 tuition is set at the “most expensive IN-STATE public tuition charges.” So what if your school charges more than that? That’s where the Yellow Ribbon Program comes in, it pays the amounts over what the VA would normally pay. I’ll get into more detail how this works later but for right now just know that only expensive schools have a “working” Yellow Ribbon Program. Most schools named “Yellow Ribbon” schools will not ever have to worry about Yellow Ribbon because they have reasonable tuition charges.












Post 9/11 can be confusing and you really need a pay schedule when you decide to use it. Below is a mock pay schedule that uses the National Average MHA. Your actual MHA will most likely be different.

Start Date Jan 15^th- End Date: May 15^th

Tuition and Fees	Book Stipend	Feb 1	Mar 1	April 1	May 1	June 1
$4350.00	$500	$714.50	$1429.00	$1429.00	$1429.00	$714.50

Total P9/11 VA funds: $15,416.00

These 2 programs are worlds apart and before choosing one or the other you will need to make sure you are very confident in your decsion. Esspecially with Post 9/11 because the first thign you have to do when applying for P9/11 is give away all rights to MGIB-AD. Do some research on your potential schools and some mock pay schedules to see which program really puts you ahead. The decision really comes down to this, “Would I rather have a higher MHA and higher student loan debt? Or would I rather give up a couple hundred dollars in MHA for absolutely no studetn loan debt?” The choice is yours but remember the average student loan debt is at $29,400 and that average includes all students who are borrowing so the real number is much higher. Do you want to pay for a loan years after your graduate?