GI Bill, 36 Months? Please. You deserve More!

When the GI Bill Entitlement Exhausts During a Term

August 15th, 2011

In a McDonald’s up in State College, PA soaking up some free WiFi and decided to post the following information about the GI Bill. Hope it makes sense, and I hope this barbeque sauce is easy to get out from between the keys of my keyboard.

With a new college semester starting at the end of this month, it was time to follow-up with the VA to ensure they received all the paperwork required to ensure the book stipend, BAH and tuition gets paid on time. Before I made the call, I realized that my oldest son, who also is in college, was doing the same thing to ensure everything is in order. He informed me that although this is his last year of school, this coming semester was the last one he would receive his GI Bill benefit. As a matter of fact, he only has 16 days of benefit left, but after reading statements like, “If an individual’s entitlement exhausts during a term, benefits may be extended until the end of the term.” he thought this upcoming semester was taken care of… he was wrong.

When my oldest completed his time in the Navy, the 911GIBill had not yet been approved. As a matter of fact, he had already completed two years of college using the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) before the 911GIBill had become available.

Because Servicemembers like my son who qualified for the 911GIBill benefit before it became available had already used some or all of their MGIB benefit, members could finish their 36 month of MGIB entitlement and then get an additional 12 months of 911GIBill for a maximum college benefit of 48 months.

48 months is the key.

The most benefit one can receive by law is 48 months, not 36. Now, that doesn’t mean that everyone gets 48 months of benefit, really the only people that will max out are those who use two programs like my son, but everyone else could potentially end up with as much as 40 months of full GI Bill tuition and other payments.

The rule is, if you exhaust your benefit during a semester, you will get full benefit for the remainder of the semester EVEN IF you only have ONE DAY of benefit remaining when the semester starts, UNLESS you hit the maximum of 48 months.

Again, you will NOT receive greater than a total of 48 months of GI Bill benefit!

If you exhaust your benefit mid way through a semester while hitting the maximum 48 months entitlement, your tuition, book stipend and BAH payment will be prorated, day for day.

If I left you with more questions than answers, ask!


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5 Responses to “When the GI Bill Entitlement Exhausts During a Term”


  1. asm says:

    I used just under 36 months of entitlement with the old GI Bill. This allowed me to continue to use the old GI Bill during my last semester in college, which I only attended half-time.

    Since I can have up to 48 months of entitlement when I switch to Post 9/11 GI Bill, if I continue my education, will months be prorated?

    i.e. I went to school at half time for 4 months so really that’s 2 months–do I get 10 months of Post 9/11 GI BILL?

  2. NCCM(ret) says:

    Asm,

    If you otherwise qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, meaning you served the 36 months active duty after 9/11 to receive the full benefit, and you fully exhausted the MGIB benefit, then you will get the remaining months of the maximum 48 months as Post 9/11 GI Bill. If you have not exhausted the MGIB and try to use the Post 9/11, then you will only get the remaining months of MGIB as Post 9/11, ie., if you have 2 months remaining of MGIB and switch, you only get two months, so make sure the MGIB is truly done – Call the VA to make sure where you stand!!

  3. babs says:

    Good day NCCM….i scored 66 on my asvab..i want to know whether the navy will pay for my college if i am currently on a student financial aid at a local community college…i ship in june as a (MM surface) ..thanks….

  4. cihlli82 says:

    I used under a semester of MGIB back in 2009 then switched to the Post 9/11 right after it became available. I have used it since and i only now have 19 days remaining by the end of this semester with a semester left. will i still be eligible for atleast one more semester with those 19days left? Please help.

  5. NCCM(ret) says:

    Cihlli82,

    As long as you will not hit the maximum 48 months during the semester, and have at least one day of benefit remaining when the semester starts – you will receive the benefit throughout the entire semester.

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