VA Education Benefits

These benefits must be used within 10 Years of your last discharge or you may lose them.

Who is Eligible ?

You may be an eligible veteran if you got an Honorable Discharge, AND you have a High School Diploma or GED or, in some cases 12 hours of college credit, AND you meet the requirements of one of the categories below:

CATEGORY I

Entered active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985
Had military pay reduced by $100 a month for first 12 months
Continuously served for 3 years, OR 2 years if that is what you first enlisted for, OR 2 years if you entered Selected Reserve within a year of leaving active duty and served 4 years ("2 by 4" Program)

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CATEGORY II

Entered active duty before January 1, 1977
Served at least 1 day between 10/19/84 and 6/30/85, and stayed on active duty through 6/30/88, (or 6/30/87 if you entered Selected Reserve within 1 year of leaving active duty and served 4 years) On 12/31/89, you had entitlement left from Vietnam Era GI Bill

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CATEGORY III

Not eligible for MGIB under Category I or II
On active duty on 9/30/90 AND separated involuntarily after 2/2/91,
OR involuntarily separated on or after 11/30/93,
OR voluntarily separated under either the Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI) or Special Separation Benefit (SSB) program
Before separation, you had military pay reduced by $1200

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CATEGORY IV

On active duty on 10/9/96 AND you had money remaining in a VEAP account on that date AND you elected MGIB by 10/9/97
OR entered full-time National Guard duty under title 32, USC, between 7/1/85, and 11/28/89 AND you elected MGIB during the period 10/9/96, through 7/8/97
Had military pay reduced by $100 a month for 12 months or made a $1200 lump-sum contribution

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How Much Does VA Pay ?

The monthly benefit paid to you is based on the type of training you take, length of your service, your category, and if DOD put extra money in your MGIB Fund (called "kickers"). You usually have 10 years to use your MGIB benefits, but the time limit can be less, in some cases, and longer under certain circumstances.

The following rates apply to those completing an enlistment of three years or more.
For those with less than 3 years. click HERE

Institutional Training
Training Time	Monthly rate (08/1/08)
Full time	$1321.00
¾ time	$990.75
½ time	$660.50
less than ½ time more than ¼ time	$660.50 *
¼ time or less	$330.25 *

* Tuition and Fees ONLY. Payment cannot exceed the listed amount

Apprenticeship and On-Job Training
Training Period	Monthly rate (08/1/08)
First six months of training	$990.75
Second six months of training	$726.55
Remaining training	$426.35

Correspondence and Flight - Entitlement charged at the rate of one month for each $1321.00 paid.

Cooperative - $1321.00

BUY-UP (Kicker) Benefit

Persons currently on active duty can contribute (to their military branch) in increments of $20 up to $600. If you are on active duty, you need to contact your Education Services Officer. A contribution of $600 would increase your monthly benefits by $150 for full time training.

Currently the VA does not have a way to interface with the US Department of Defense to verify service members who pay the $600.00 additional contribution. The VA requests each service member who paid this contribution to submit a xeroxed copy of the following:

* DD Form 2366
* Copy of LES's - if deductions are payroll deducted
* DD Form 1131 - Cash Voucher if paid cash in full

These documents provide proof to the VA that the $600.00 was paid and allows them to process your claim to include the kicker.

TOP-UP Benefit

The VA has a program for people on active duty to use their GI Bill in conjunction with tuition assistance. The program "Top-Up," allows the VA to pay you the difference between the total course cost and the cost covered my your service department, up to the maximum rate.

For example, if you were enrolled in a one month course that was considered full time and the total course cost was $1500, and the military was paying $1000, the VA could pay the difference, $500. The VA could pay that amount because the $500 is less than the maximum rate payable to a veteran, $900. If the same course Was $1500 and the service department was only paying $100, the most the VA could pay would be $900, the maximum rate payable to the vet. The VA pays whichever one is less.

If you are getting 100% TA for a class, you would not be eligible for Top-Up for that class.

Top-Up does reduce your GI Bill entitlement. At current GI bill rates, for each $900 the VA pays you in Top-Up, they will take away one month of full time benefits. As the full time rate increases they will charge you one month of entitlement for each $985 paid in Top-Up benefits. You start the GI Bill with 36 months of full time benefits.

If you have never applied for the GI Bill, you will have to apply for the GI Bill to use Top-up. If you have a claim for Top-Up to submit, you can send your APPROVED application for tuition assistance with your application. If you have already applied for benefits, you can just submit the approved application for tuition assistance to the VA office that last handled your claim.

How Can I Apply ?

You can apply by filling out VA Form 22-1990, Application for Education Benefits.
(Click on form title or picture below to download form)

Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserve

The Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserve program may be available to you if you are a member of the Selected Reserve. The Selected Reserve includes the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve, and the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.

You may use this education assistance program for degree programs, certificate or correspondence courses, cooperative training, independent study programs, apprenticeship/on-the-job training, and vocational flight training programs. Remedial, refresher and deficiency training are available under certain circumstances.

Eligibility for this program is determined by the Selected Reserve components. VA makes the payments for this program.

You may be entitled to receive up to 36 months of education benefits. Your benefit entitlement ends 14 years from the date of your eligibility for the program, or on the day you leave the Selected Reserve.

Summary

1. Find and apply to a college or university that is approved for VA training or education.
If you are not clear on this point, the VA will inform you and the school or company about the requirements. (Most regionally and nationally accredited colleges and universities are approved by the VA.)

2. Complete VA Form 22-1990, Application for Education Benefits.

- If you are Active Duty you will need to have your Education Service Officer or Command representative complete and sign Section II of the VA Form 22-1990.
- If you are a Veteran you will need to include a copy of your DD 214 Discharge Paperwork.
- If you are a member of the Selective Reserve you may need to include a copy of DD Form 2384-1, Notice of Basic Eligibility which was given to you by your unit when you became eligible for the MGIB-SR.

3. In most cases the school will send your application along with their paperwork to the VA regional office with jurisdiction over the State or area where you will train. This will expedite the process. However if you have not found a school yet, you can still apply for your VA Eligibility Determination by mailing your completed VA Form 22-1990 to your VA Regional Office.

Within 4-8 weeks you should receive a declaration of eligibility and a letter explaining your VA GI Bill benefits. Keep in mind that it is not uncommon to get a letter from the VA requesting more information. You will have to answer the VAs requests to be determined eligible and complete the process.

4. Once you have begun to receive your benefit checks (Direct Deposit) you will have to complete the Vas Web Automated Verification of Eligibility (WAVE) each month to continue to receive your monthly benefits payments.

The WAVE is a simple process that requires you to either log-on to the VA WAVE website or call their toll-free number at 1-888-GIBILL-1. It only takes a couple of minutes, but you will not get your monthly payment until you do.

These four simple steps will lead to over $35,000 in education benefits -- the ones you paid for! It's well worth the effort, so don't wait until it is too late, get started today!

If you haven't found a "Military Friendly" school that is VA-approved, then a good way to get started is Military.com's "School Finder", which will help you get information from fully accredited "military friendly" colleges and universities that are VA-approved and experienced with the VA process.

Comparing the Old and New GI Bill’s

The following table highlights the differences between the Montgomery GI Bill and the New GI Bill.

Montgomery GI Bill
Chapter 30

Post 9/11 GI Bill
Proposed - Chapter 33

Payment Rate for
Full-Time Student

Annually set - nationwide - monthly payment rate. Set to increase to $1321 for 2008-2009. Paid to the student each month.

A payment indexed to full in-state tuition for public schools. A lump sum paid directly to the school each term. The national average for in-state tuition in 2008 is $6,185.

Duration of Program

36 Month entitlement.

36 Month entitlement.

Additional expense
payments

No additional payments for expenses.

Living Expenses - stipend based on local BAH for E-5 with dependents – paid monthly avg. amount app. $1,000 a month.

Books and Fees - Up to $1,000 a year.

Eligibility Requirements

Those who entered service the military after June 30, 1985.

Active-duty service since Sept. 11, 2001.

VEAP-era
Eligibility

No - Except those who elected to convert in the past.

Yes – those who meet the eligibility criteria above.

Benefit Expiration

10 Years after separation or discharge.

15 years from your last period of active duty of at least 90 consecutive days.

Transfer benefits
to families

Limited - Currently Limited to Army for Critical MOS only.

Yes - but this is limited to those in the military. The details are still being worked out.

Enrollment fee

Yes - $1,200*

None

How Can I Get More Information ?

Visit http://www.gibill.va.gov/

Call toll free 1-888-GI-BILL-1

	Montgomery GI Bill Chapter 30	Post 9/11 GI Bill Proposed - Chapter 33
Payment Rate for Full-Time Student	Annually set - nationwide - monthly payment rate. Set to increase to $1321 for 2008-2009. Paid to the student each month.	A payment indexed to full in-state tuition for public schools. A lump sum paid directly to the school each term. The national average for in-state tuition in 2008 is $6,185.
Duration of Program	36 Month entitlement.	36 Month entitlement.
Additional expense payments	No additional payments for expenses.	Living Expenses - stipend based on local BAH for E-5 with dependents – paid monthly avg. amount app. $1,000 a month.
Additional expense payments	No additional payments for expenses.	Books and Fees - Up to $1,000 a year.
Eligibility Requirements	Those who entered service the military after June 30, 1985.	Active-duty service since Sept. 11, 2001.
VEAP-era Eligibility	No - Except those who elected to convert in the past.	Yes – those who meet the eligibility criteria above.
Benefit Expiration	10 Years after separation or discharge.	15 years from your last period of active duty of at least 90 consecutive days.
Transfer benefits to families	Limited - Currently Limited to Army for Critical MOS only.	Yes - but this is limited to those in the military. The details are still being worked out.
Enrollment fee	Yes - $1,200*	None

VA EDUCATION BENEFITS