The VA is watching
you
Once you are given benefits, you are not free to run to
school and pick out whatever flavor you want. The VA
is going to evaluate your schedule and your curriculum before they ever award
you any money. This will happen each semester. They will make sure EVERY class you are taking is specifically
listed as a requirement for that degree plan at your institution. If it's not then the VA will not recognize it as
part of your pursuit of a degree, because it’s not in pursuit of your degree. Whatever
reasoning you come up with as to why you are taking that class does not matter
at all, it simply will not count.
Example: PVT. Smith, a business
major at HeroesCollege, is using the MGIB-SR. He enrolls in a 3 hr welding course,
a 4 hr science class, a 3 hr college algebra course, and a 3 hr composition
course. Even though the total comes to 13 enrolled hours, the VA only counts 10
hours, because the welding course does not lead to the business degree. At 10
hours he will be considered ¾ time and will only receive 75% of the benefit
under MGIB-SR. It doesn’t matter that Smith wants to start a welding business and he thinks the welding class will help,
he told the VA he wants benefits for a business degree.
The VA will only
count courses that lead to a degree in your major, at the school you are
attending.
The Time Limit
VA Education Benefits are awarded for 36 months. This pertains to the amount of time you can receive
benefits. 1 month of
benefits is used for every 30 days of full time enrollment. At a traditional semester
college, terms are usually broken down into fall, spring, and summer. Fall and spring
use 4 months each and the summer uses about 2 months. 36 months will last you about 3 ½ years of school. That’s important! It is
commonly reported that it takes most people 5 years to complete a 4 year
degree. So this is your first sign that you are going to have to be better than
most people.
Once awarded benefits you can use that benefit for up to 36 months or until the expiration date.
The 48 month Rule
You may have noticed that a reservist can be qualified for more than one
VA program at the same time. In fact a reservist can be eligible for all three
of them at the same time. In this scenario a veteran reservist can take
advantage of the 48 month rule. The 48 month rule states this:
Service-members can
get up to 48 months of VA education benefits in their lifetime, but only 36
months in any one program.
If you use 36 months of
MGIB-SR and then make the switch you can get 12 months in the other program OR
you can use 12 months of MGIB-SR and then switch and get 36 months of Post 9/11
or REAP.
The Post 9/11 and
REAP Active Duty Time
The last main rule to take in to consideration is the Active
Duty time rule for REAP and P9/11. It works on a like credit or token system.
You spend time on active duty and you build up credits to a different VA
program, now you can spend them on one program but once they are gone they are
gone. You have to build up/serve more time on active duty to enroll in the
other program. When you apply for REAP or P9/11 you are supposed to list the
tours of duty on the application so you will know what time is spent where.
Active Duty time spent on REAP cannot be used for P9/11 or vice versa.
Strategies
for the Reservist using VA benefits
Let’s look at some different ways you can take advantage of
the different programs using the rules I listed above.
The 48 month long
haul!
You are coming of a deployment and going back to school. The temptation to jump into one of the new VA program is strong, but resist! Use Financial Aid grants or scholarships to cover the cost of school and take your time with MGIB-SR, but do not use more than 12 months of it. After 12 months you begin eating away at your time in the bigger programs.
When to use it
· You are still in the reserves and more deployments or active duty time is a possibility
· Tuition is affordable and you have something else to cover the cost
· You are taking classes at a steady pace to keep from overloading yourself
· You don't have any other option
Pros
· Maximizes VA Program time
· If you are attending a Community College or want to go to Graduate School the 48 month long haul ensures P9/11 Tuition Payments will be there in the end when it tuition gets expensive.
· Gives you time to build up your active duty time and rate percentages in the other VA programs
· Buys time to get core classes out of the way if you are undecided on major
Cons
· Low monthly housing allowance in MGIB-SR
· Supplemental income is a must in the first year
· Arrangements must be made for tuition and book costs
The Post 9/11 Blitz (My preferred strategy)
Burning through education in a fast pace, no nonsense campaign. Multitasking is an understatement. You are going to set records for the fastest degree completion this decade. Make the most of your 36 months by taking 22+ hour semesters. A bachelor degree will be in hand 2 or so years and a Masters is probably on the way.
When to use it
· You can handle a brutal course load, and juggle multiple tasks at once
· Tuition is charged at a flat rate or reasonable affordable for the high volume of courses
· Institution offers Accelerated Degree Programs or modular terms (mini terms) within semester
Pros
· Fast paced, degree is in hand within a couple of years
· High Probability of leftover benefits
· Saves time and you can get into your career sooner
· Low probability of Student loans or education debt
Cons
· Heavy workload, be prepared to study and study hard
· High Stress, multiple finals and midterms can be tough
· Some institutions put overload rates and won’t let you take many hours
With one year of Active Duty you can get a larger MHA using REAP over P9/11. It’s all about the cash flow and you need something to hold off the bills. This is a money game, but be careful if you don’t plan carefully you could lose thousands. This is the riskiest strategy out of the all of them listed here.
When to use it
· Only attending a low cost Community College for a certificate or applied science degree
· If you pursue anything higher than an Associate’s degree you are going to lose money
· Very low cost of tuition and no desire to go to a senior school
· Arrangements have been made with a scholarship or Financial Aid grants to pay for tuition and books
· You have only one year of service on a deployment, and there is absolutely no chance of another one, or any Active Duty service
Pros
· Larger VA payments for Reservist with one year deployment/ than most
Cons
· Future deployments and active duty time will not increase percentages
· Paying tuition and getting your books is left up to you
· High, VERY HIGH chance of student loan debt if you attend an expensive school
Consider this:
On the current rates, REAPING the VA only works when the E5/BAH from P9/11 is less than $1646.00 a month. If the P9/11 is above $1650/ month then you will get a higher BAH in P9/11.
These are some of the most
successful strategies I see reservist using. You don’t have to plan out a
strategy but if you aren’t using a strategy with your GI Bill, what are you
doing? Be careful not to waste your benefits away. There are bound to be
other strategies, and if you know of one please send it to me via email or Facebook.
If you don't have one pick on of these and start planning out your education
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