Military Education Benefits

One of the greatest benefits of serving the Armed Forces is the opportunity and assistance that are made available for education. There are many programs with military education benefits offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs that help you pay for the college and school fees and even cover the expenses like tuition, books and living expenses.

The Armed Forces Tuition Assistance (TA) offers assistance to the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard personnel to be able to pay up to 100% for the tuition expenses. There are certain eligibility criteria that one must fulfill to avail the benefits.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 commonly known as GI Bill of Rights, on June 22, 1944. The Montgomery GI Bill SR is available for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Reserves, as well as the National Guard service members to help them with their education and training cost. The bills make provision for $11,000 to take care of the education expenses. This bill enables the members to pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree at a college or university, a cooperative training program, or an accredited independent study program leading to a degree.

The new Post 9/11 GI Bill provides education benefits to the service members who have served on active duty for 90 or more days since Sept. 10, 2001. The new bill offers a new set of benefits for service members and veterans attending education and training programs taken at an accredited college or university. These benefits include: up to 100% Tuition and Fee Coverage, a monthly Living (Housing) Stipend, up to $1000 a year for Books and Supplies, a One Time Relocation Allowance and the option to Transfer Benefits to Family Members.

Here are a few ‘Must Know’ about the GI Bill:

1. You have 10 years to use your Montgomery GI Bill benefits: Once you have been relieved from your active service, you have 10 years to use all your benefits. You can however rest this period of 10 years if you rejoin active duty for more than 90 days, in that case the 10 years period will start from your last discharge.

2. The Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) is not Federal Financial Aid: The college’s or the university’s financial aid departments do not recognize the MGIB financial aid because it is normally paid directly to you, not the school.

3. You can stop and start using the MGIB as needed: The MGIB allows the member to take breaks. One can use the MGIB for any period of time, take time off and re-apply to use it again at a later date.

4. A "month" of benefits doesn't always mean a month: The GI Bill benefit provides 36 months of education benefits. The term "months" can often be confusing. The "36 months" of benefits does not mean you have only 36 months to use it, nor does it mean you must use it all in one 36 month period.

5. The GI Bill pays according to the number of credits you take: This is one of the most important aspects of the MGIB. The GI Bill payment rates are based on your credit load. A full-time student will get up to $1,321 a month while a half-time student will only get half that amount.

Since the bill came into force on June 22, 1944, millions of service members have taken the benefit and the legacy of the original GI Bill lives on in the Montgomery GI Bill.