Paying for School
The Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty (MGIB) provides up to 36 months of education benefits to eligible veterans for college, business, technical or vocational school. It also includes apprenticeship/job training, flight training (in some cases) or correspondence courses at a reduced rate. MGIB also includes the tests for licenses or certifications needed to get, keep or advance in a job.
There is a new program that allows VA to reimburse claimants for the fee charged for national tests for admission to institutions of higher learning and national tests providing an opportunity for course credit at institutions of higher learning.
Officers are not automatically enrolled. They must enroll/disenroll prior to Officer Basic Course (OBC) within three working days of entering active duty.
The servicemember has a $1,200 pay reduction to qualify for the benefit. The programs must be approved for VA education.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Persons may be eligible after two years of active duty. Consult with the Education Services Officer at the installation or call the toll-free number at the end of this article for information about eligibility.
If separated from service, a person may be an eligible veteran if entered in active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985, with an honorable discharge; continuously served for three years, or two years if that was the enlistment period, or two years if the person has an obligation to serve four years in the Selected Reserve and entered Selective Reserve within a year of leaving active duty.
The servicemember must have an honorable discharge. A “general” or “under honorable conditions” is not qualifying. To be eligible with an early discharge, the separation reason must meet certain requirements. Persons who were discharged early may be entitled to benefits if for reduction-in- force, disability, hardship, a physical or mental condition which interfered with duty, or a medical condition which existed prior to service.
Persons discharged for “convenience of the government” must serve 20 months of a two-year enlistment 30 months of a three year enlistment to be eligible for GI Bill benefits. Different rules apply if entered active duty before July 1, 1985, and certain other cases.
BENEFITS
A full-time student who had an original enlistment of three years or more is eligible for $1,075 a month for 36 months. A full-time student who had an original enlistment of two years or less is eligible for $873 a month.
If enrolled for less than f u l l - t i m e education, the rate is a d j u s te d proportionally, for e x a m p l e : A half-time student who had an original enlistment three years or more is eligible for $537.50 a month; a half-time student who had an original enlistment of two years or less is eligible for $436.50 a month.
HOW TO RECEIVE PAYMENTS
You will normally receive payments monthly. Payments are always issued after the month is complete and you must certify attendance with VA each month. In some cases payments are issued in a lump sum.
Attendance can be certified either online or over the phone. With direct deposit, the payment usually takes about three working days before it reaches the bank, if you receive a paper check it will take up to two weeks to receive via domestic mail, longer for overseas.
TIME LIMITS
You have 10 years from date of discharge to use MGIB benefits. Generally this time period may be extended if there is another period of active duty that lasts for at least 90 consecutive days. Paperwork should prove you qualify for this extension. Extensions for other reasons are extremely rare.
HOW TO APPLY FOR GI BILL BENEFITS
First, complete a VA Form 22-1990 (Application for VA Education Benefits), a form that is available at the school or by contacting VA. You can also apply on line through the VA Website at http://vabenefits. vba.va.gov/vonapp. Applications cannot be processed without a signature card.
Students should send any supporting documentation that may be necessary. This includes copies of a Member 4 DD214 form, proof of any payments to the GI Bill, call-up orders, college fund contracts and LESs.
BUY-UP PROGRAM
The GI Bill buy-up program allows eligible active duty members to contribute an additional $600.00 to the GI Bill before discharge; this will give them up to an extra $150.00 a month as a full-time student. You should contact the payroll office for more information.
COLLEGE FUNDS
Some members are eligible for college fund programs; these are usually given to members who enlisted in specific job specialties. The college fund payments are added to the regular GI Bill payments and are prorated in the same manner as regular GI Bill payments.
TOP-UP
On October 30, 2000, the president signed into law an amendment to the MGIB-Active Duty education program that permits VA to pay a Tuition Assistance Top- Up benefit. The amount of the benefit can be equal to the difference between the total cost of a college course and the amount of tuition assistance that is paid by the military for the course.
To be eligible for the Top-Up benefit, you must be approved for federal tuition assistance by a military department and be eligible for MGIB-Active Duty benefits. The amount of the benefit is limited to the amount that you would receive for the same course if regular MGIB benefits were being paid. In no case can the amount paid by the military combined with the amount paid by VA be more than the total cost of the course.
If you receive the Top-Up benefit, your regular MGIB benefits will be reduced. The amount of entitlement charged for Top-Up payments is determined by dividing the amount of the payment by the claimant’s full-time monthly rate.
The benefit is available for all courses that began on or after October 30, 2000. A copy of the Tuition Assistance Authorization form for the course that has been signed by an authorized military official will be required. People who have not requested MGIB benefits before should submit a VA Form 22-1990 to establish eligibility.
RESERVE EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (REAP)
REAP (Chapter 1607 of title 10, U.S. Code) is a new benefit providing educational assistance to members of the reserve components who are called or ordered to active service in response to a war or national emergency, as declared by the president or Congress.
The “reserve components” consist of Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard and Air National Guard.
“Active Service” is service on active duty or full-time National Guard duty.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Eligibility will be determined by the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security as appropriate. Generally, a member of a reserve component who serves on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, under title 10, U.S.C., for at least 90 consecutive days under a contingency operation is eligible for REAP. “Contingency operation” means the current Iraq or Afghanistan operations and may include other operations.
National Guard members are eligible if their active service extends for 90 consecutive days or more and their service is:
• Authorized under section 502(f), title 32, U.S.C.,
• Authorized by the president or secretary of defense for a national emergency, and
• Supported by federal funds.
Disabled members who are injured or have an illness or disease incurred or aggravated in the line of duty and are released from active service before completing 90 consecutive days are also eligible.
WHEN IS REAP EFFECTIVE?
REAP benefits are potentially payable from December 9, 2001, for persons who were serving in a contingency operation on September 11, 2001, and who were in school on December 9, 2001.
BENEFITS
The educational assistance allowance payable under REAP is a percentage of the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty rate based on the number of continuous days served on active duty. Persons released before 90 days for a disability receive the 40 percent rate. The current full-time rate in the table on this page is the rate for full-time institutional education under REAP. Reduced rates will apply for correspondence, apprenticeship/OJT and some additional types of education.
The number of months of entitlement under REAP is 36 months. You could earn 36 months of entitlement after serving the minimum 90 days. The 48-month limitation when combining two or more education programs applies to REAP.
TYPE OF EDUCATION
Approved education under REAP includes graduate and undergraduate degrees, vocational/technical training, onthe- job or apprenticeship training, correspondence education and flight training.
Licensing and certification test reimbursement is effective January 6, 2006.
ELIGIBILITY
If you were called up from the Selected Reserve, you must remain in the Selected Reserve after you complete your call-up duty or you will lose your eligibility to REAP. If you were called up from the IRR, you must remain in the Ready Reserve (either the Selected Reserve or the IRR) or you will lose your eligibility to REAP.
Note 1: You may have up to a 90- day break in Selected Reserve service and retain eligibility, as long as you remain in the Ready Reserve during the break.
Note 2: If you separate from the Ready Reserve for a disability that was not the result of your own willful misconduct, you will remain entitled to REAP for a period of ten years after the date of eligibility (not the date of disability).
APPLY BY MAIL
You can obtain the printed application form and mail it to VA. You can get the printed form in several ways:
• Go to www.gibill.va.gov. Click on Education Benefits then on How to Apply for Benefits and download VA Form 22-1990. Print “Chapter 1607” on the top of the VA Form.
• You may be able to pick up the application from the school or education facility you’re attending.
• Send VA an e-mail. Go to www.gibill. va.gov and click on Questions and Answers.
APPLY ON-LINE
• Go to www.gibill.va.gov, click on Apply Online and click on Education. Follow the instructions on the Website. You must print the signature page and send it to VA, since VA needs your original signature to begin payments. Print “Chapter 1607” on the top of the signature page to identify this program.
• If you’re on active duty, your education services officer must also sign your application.
MONTGOMERY GI BILL SELECTED RESERVES
The Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve (MGIB–SR, or chapter 1606 of title 10, U.S. Code) is an educational assistance program enacted by Congress to attract high-quality men and women into the reserve branch of the armed forces. This program is for members of the Selected Reserve of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, and the Army and Air National Guard.
You can be eligible for chapter 1606 benefits, if you meet the following requirements:
• Incur a six-year Selected Reserve Obligation. You must enter into a sixyear obligation to serve in the Selected Reserve. If you’re an officer, you must agree to serve six years in addition to your current obligation.
• Complete your IADT (initial active duty for training).
• Maintain Selected Reserve Status. Serve in a drilling Selected Re-serve unit and remain in good standing.
• Complete high school. You must obtain a high school diploma or equivalency certificate before you apply for benefits. For members who stay in the Selected Reserves, benefits generally end 14 years from the date they became eligible for the program. The period of eligibility may be extended beyond 14 years under certain circumstances. See the Website listed below for more information. Typically, your eligibility ends when you leave the Selected Reserves.
HOW MUCH DOES VA PAY?
The monthly benefit paid is based on the type of education. If attending school, payment is based on education time (i.e. full time, half time, etc). The current fulltime rate for college education is $309 per month.
HOW TO APPLY
A unit will supply a Notice of Basic Eligibility (DD Form 2384 or 2384-1) when you become eligible for Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve. On finding a program approved for VA education, complete VA Form 22-1990, Application for Education Benefits, and send it to the VA regional office that serves the state where the servicemember will train.
Apply online through the Website at http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp. The Top-up program is not available at this time to persons who are eligible for the MGIB Selected Reserve program. For more information call toll-free 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) or visit the Website at www.gibill.va.gov. ♦
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Compiled from the Montgomery GI Bill Website with assistance from Keith M. Wilson, director, VA Education Service.