By Kirk R. Gray
Special to InMilitaryEducation.com
Each year the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates the total amount available to you through the Montgomery GI Bill. Those numbers are released about this time each year, and go into effect on October 1st.
For the 2012 – 2013 Academic year, the new rates are as follows:
| Monthly MGIB Rate for Instructional Training (for those completing an enlistment of three years or more) | |
| Monthly Rate | |
| Full Time Student | $1,564 |
| ¾ Time Students | $1,173 |
| ½ Time Students | $782 |
| Less than ½ time but more than ¼ time | $782* |
| ¼ Time Students | $391* |
| Monthly MGIB Rate for Instructional Training (for those completing an enlistment of less than three years) | |
| Monthly Rate | |
| Full Time Student | $1,270 |
| ¾ Time Students | $952.50 |
| ½ Time Students | $635.00 |
| Less than ½ time but more than ¼ time | $635.00* |
| ¼ Time Students | $317.50* |
*Tuition and Fees only
For a complete list of Montgomery GI Bill Benefits, please refer to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website,
Here are some things you should consider when it comes to your Montgomery GI Bill Benefits:
- You have 10 years to use the benefits associated with the Montgomery GI Bill, and 15 years to use those associated with the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The clock starts ticking on your benefits from your latest date of separation. Which means, that if you serve, discharge, and then re-enlist in less than 90-days, your 10 or 15 year use window is reset to the next your next date of separation.
- The GI Bill is NOT federal financial aid. What this means is that the benefit (in most cases) is paid directly to you and not to your school. Because you receive the payment and not the school directly, you may be required to sign a promissory note with your school. While this sounds confusing, it may actually work to your benefit because even though you are using the GI Bill benefit, you are also able to apply for Federal Financial Aid, like student loans, scholarships and Pell Grants – the first two have to be paid back, the second two are sources of “free money” for school. Keep in mind thought, that while GI Bill Benefits aren’t taxed, they do reduce the amount of federal financial aid you are eligible to receive. Your school’s Financial Aid office can help you work through all of the ins-and-outs of paying for your education.
- You can stop and start using your GI Bill Benefits. While you have a set time limit on the expiration of the benefits you can them “as needed” during the use window. A lot of students believe that once they start using them, that they have to stay enrolled in school to get and keep the benefit. While that may work best for your educational goal, unexpected things happen. You can start school, take some classes, take some time off, and then start back without losing your benefits. So in practice, as long as you’re still within your use window you could go to work for someone who as part of their package will pay for your undergraduate degree, complete that undergraduate work and then go on to use your GI Bill Benefits for a Master’s degree. The type of education is not limited by the Bill.
- The GI Bill benefit is calculated on a “month” term. But that definition can be confusing. In total the GI Bill provides a total of 36 months of benefits, which is a max $56,304 (at the current full-time student payment rate). This sounds straight forward until you do the math. The term month has different meanings, especially if you are a Veteran or active duty servicemember.
For Veterans a month is equivalent to a “single max distribution payment”, so a month isn’t a measure of time so much as it is a “unit of currency”. For example, as a veteran you receive a payment of $4,692.00. At the current monthly rate of $1,564, you have received 3 months of benefits – even though you may have just used that $4,692.00 to pay for your first semester of course work.
For Active Duty Servicemembers, a month is a unit of time, not a unit of currency. For example, you are enrolled in classes for 3 months, but the course work only cost you $1700.00. B ecause you are active duty and enrolled, when you get the payment of $1,700, you have received 3 months of benefits because the classes took place over the course of 3 months. - The GI Bill also pays according to the number of credits you take. Meaning that if you take a fulltime course load at a college, and are classified as fulltime by the school, you receive the max benefit. If you take a number of credits that reduces you to a “half-time” student, you are paid at another level, the same for less than half and less than quarter time students. (Refer to the chart above for payment rates).
All of that said, calculating your max-GI Bill Benefits can be tricky, you have to take into account course loads, use-windows and, determine if a month is a unit of time or a unit of currency. Your financial aid advisor can help you figure all of these things out. The important thing to remember is that you only have a set amount of time to use your benefits, and that they expire. You earned this benefit, use it!
Next week: we’ll address the intricacies of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and how to determine which you should use and which one will help you make a better educational investment.
Sources:
http://www.gibill.va.gov/resources/benefits_resources/rates/CH30/ch30rates100112.htm