GI Bill genius: Know your education benefits, use them to the fullest - Army tuition assistance, military tuition assistance, G.I. Bill, military friendly colleges - Army Times

GI Bill genius: Know your education benefits, use them to the fullest

Making sense of the Montgomery GI Bill may seem as intimidating as attempting to take a final exam for a class you have just begun. In reality, though, taking full advantage of this important education benefit requires only the same simple formula for success as college: Be prepared and do your homework.

Understanding your benefits

Who can receive the GI Bill? Almost all active-duty service members are eligible. Enlisted personnel are automatically enrolled; officers are not. (To disenroll, you must complete DD Form 2366. Your decision to disenroll is irrevocable.) Once enrolled, you must agree to a deduction from your salary of $100 a month for the first 12 months you are on active duty. The money is non-refundable.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, which administers the program, you qualify if you were honorably discharged, served at least two years on active-duty and you have completed high school, obtained an equivalency certificate or have completed 12 hours toward a college degree. There are four categories of eligibility. Call (888) GI-BILL-1 (888-442-4551) or go to www.gibill.va.gov to learn how you qualify.

The GI Bill provides up to 36 months of benefits for a variety of education and training programs, including college; business, technical or vocational courses; distance-learning courses; apprenticeship/job training; flight training; and licensing and certification tests. The amount of monthly benefits you receive varies depending on factors such as your eligibility category, length of military service and type of training. The maximum monthly rate for full-time students at approved schools is $1,034, for a total benefit of $37,224.

Service members can increase their monthly GI Bill payments by electing to contribute additional money — in increments of $20, up to a maximum outlay of $600 for one year — to their service branch while still on active duty. This program, called Buy Up, increases the monthly full-time rate you are eligible to receive by $150 if you contribute the maximum $600. Paying in the maximum $600 comes out to an extra $50 a month deducted from your paycheck for one year, and it’s worth an additional $5,400 in benefits.

“Kickers” are another way to increase your basic GI Bill monthly payment. Your service branch may offer the College Fund to encourage enlistment and retention. The College Fund money, or kicker, is divided into monthly payments that are added on to your regular GI Bill payments.

The VA’s Accelerated Payment Program also is an option for students enrolled in certain high-tech programs, which can be costlier than more traditional programs of study. The accelerated payment is a lump-sum payment of 60 percent of tuition and fees.

Active-duty service members can use the GI Bill to supplement Defense Department Tuition Assistance programs through a program known as Top Up. Top Up allows the VA to pay service members the difference between the total course cost and the cost covered by their service department, up to the maximum rate they would pay a veteran. However, education experts urge you to think carefully about dipping into your GI Bill benefits while still in uniform, since using Top Up does reduce your GI Bill entitlement.

Be aware that your GI Bill benefits come with an expiration date. If you do not use them within 10 years of the date of your release from active duty, you lose them. There are only two exceptions:

• Your 10 years can be extended by the amount of time you were prevented from training during that period because of a disability, or because you were held by a foreign government or power.

• If you re-enter active duty for 90 days or more, the clock is reset and your benefits end 10 years from the date of your most recent discharge or release from active duty. Periods of active duty less than 90 days can qualify for an extension of your delimited date only if you were separated for a service-connected disability, a reduction in force, a medical condition that existed before active duty or hardship.

Can’t remember your exact date of release? Take out your DD-214, or separation papers, and add 10 years to the discharge date stamped on them, or contact the VA for the date.

Getting the ball rolling

If the idea of getting your benefits started sparks fears of getting mired in a sea of confusing paperwork, take heart: The process actually can be completed in as few as three easy steps.

Decide on a program, and find out if that program is approved for VA benefits. Contact the school offering the program to see if they have applied for VA approval through their state approving agency. You also can contact the VA Regional Processing Office for your area by calling (888) GIBILL-1 and speak with an education case manager. The VA emphasizes that it approves programs of education, not schools. That means a school could have both approved and non-approved programs for VA purposes.

Complete a VA Form 22-1990, Application for Education Benefits, and submit it to the appropriate VA regional office. (An important note for those pursuing distance-learning degrees: The regional office you use is determined by your school’s location — not where you live.) A list of regional offices can be found at www.gibill.va.gov.

Often, your school will send this application, along with their paperwork, to the regional office for you.

Even if you haven’t decided on a program or school, education experts encourage you to go ahead and submit your VA Form 22-1990. Doing so can significantly cut down on the wait for receiving your GI Bill benefits when you do decide to use them.

It is important to understand that the VA makes your GI Bill payments directly to you, not your school. You are responsible for paying your tuition and fees. Planning ahead can ensure that you aren’t left holding education bills you don’t have money to pay until your GI Bill payments begin.

After you enroll, ask your school to certify that enrollment to the VA. The VA will process your application and the school’s certification to determine the level of your payments based on your enrollment.

Once you start receiving your benefits, you must submit monthly self-certifications of your status to ensure the disbursement of your entitlement is not interrupted. Self-certification can be done by calling (877) 823-2378, or on line using the Web Automated Verification of Enrollment page at www.gibill.va.gov.

Every student has a story

For every student who has used GI Bill benefits, the experience is different. Just ask retired Army Col. John House, who, by the time this article reaches readers’ hands, hopes to have his Ph.D. in business administration from Northcentral University, an exclusively online distance-learning institution based in Arizona.

House, a defense contractor from Georgia who retired from the service in 2001, used his GI Bill benefits for the first time to pursue his degree from Northcentral. In terms of understanding how his benefits worked, he said he drew upon what he was told in his exit briefings at retirement, brochures from the VA, and the VA’s GI Bill Web site. “And it really took all three for me to comprehend it all,” he said.

Doing his homework with regard to how the GI Bill works helped make the process go smoothly for House. But, he emphasizes, the personal attention he has received from the VA to aid him in his journey also has helped pave the way for his academic success.

When, for example, House encountered problems trying to access via the VA’s toll-free number for the regional office in Muskogee, Okla. — which handles claims for Northcentral — he kept getting connected to the regional office that supports Georgia, where he lives. But when employees in the Muskogee office realized what difficulties he was having, House said they gave him direct contact information for a person in that office who can get him the help he needs in a timely manner.

The bottom line: The VA wants you to succeed. Your GI Bill money is out there, and so are the resources you need to help you get the ball rolling.

Jessica Lawson covers education issues for Decision Times. Reach her at Jlawson@atpco.com