Can you please explain the difference between TA, GI bill and Post 9/11?

SSG Luis Ortiz Rodriguez — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 04:13:59 -0500

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 4 at 2013 6:31 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 06:31:05 -0500

TA: Tuition Assistance- primarily used while on active duty. allows for so many credit hours a year, and pays something like 250 dollars a credit hour. but I believe using it now incurs additional service time, but that may only be for officers.

GI Bill- (Old GI Bill)- generally used after separation or by troop who can not get approved by their command to use TA, or when TA funds are not available (either you used all of yours for this year, or the Dept. of the Army freezes them) GI bill will pay so much per credit hour depending on a few variables (less than 3 years in service, any "top-up" funds you have, etc.) Note that if you are still on active duty they will only pay for the cost of the course, so if your GI Bill rate is 1400 a month and you have 36 months of benefits remaining; if you take a course load that costs 800 a month for 4 months, you still loose 4 months of benefits even though they only paid for 800 a month.

Post 9-11(New GI Bill)- This one I do not know so much about. I know that if you use it after separation it will not only pay for courses it will also pay a certain level of BAH. And under certain conditions you can transfer it to your kids or spouse (with additional service requirements)

While on active service, I would try to utilize T.A. and save my GI Bill for after the service or to transfer to my kids. But to each their own. Below is a series of websites that may help.

https://www.goarmyed.com/public/public_tuition_assistance_policies.aspx

http://www.military.com/education/gi-bill/active-duty-gi-bill-users-guide.html?comp= [login to see] 70&rank=9

http://newgibill.org/post_911_gi_bill

GoArmyEd: Tuition Assistance (TA) Policies

The Tuition Assistance (TA) program provides financial assistance for voluntary
off-duty education programs in support of a Soldier's professional ...

The Post 9/11 GI Bill

The Post 9/11 GI Bill is the largest investment in veterans’ education since World War II, covering the full cost of an undergraduate education at any public university or college in the country and m...

Active Duty Montgomery GI Bill User's Guide | Military.com

Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) benefits are available for servicemembers to help with education and training costs. This guide includes the following topics:

A MGIB (GI Bill Chapter 30) Benefit Over...

Response by SPC James Connolly made Nov 15 at 2013 1:45 PM

SPC James Connolly — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 13:45:42 -0500

Post 9/11 GI Bill is for service members who have served on active duty for a total of 3 years since 9/11/2001.

The VA will pay tuition equal to the most expensive state school in the state that you are applying to.

(for example University of Maryland is the most expensive state school in Maryland so the VA will pay UP TO University of Maryland's in state tuition rate.)

If you are looking to go to an out of state school or a private school be sure to check and see if they participate in the Yellow Ribbon program (If they do then the VA and the School will team up to pay the cost difference.)

As long as you are enrolled in classes full time (12 credits a semester in most universities) and those classes fit into your degree plan you will also receive a monthly stipend equal to what an E-5 w/ a dependent would earn in the area that your school is in. (University of Maryland is around 2,000, schools in more rural areas would be less.)

Keep in mind that the housing allowance gets pro-rated, so if classes don't start until the 15th of the month you wouldn't receive the full amount.

You will also receive a one time payment for books at the start of each semester. You will get $41 to per credit that you are enrolled in.

to get the post 9/11 process started go to gibill.va.gov and get your certificate of eligibility. Once you have that take it to the school that you want to attend's veteran certification office and you will be good to go.

SOURCE: Military and Veteran Student Academic Advisor @ UMUC

Response by 1SG Frank Rocha made Nov 16 at 2013 12:25 AM

1SG Frank Rocha — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 00:25:41 -0500

Tuition Assistance (TA) is used primarily to pay for tuition but some sources intended for this purpose allow you to flex what you can use it for (Federal Grants for example). It can come from various sources (VA, Your State or local government, Military, Federal Grants, Etc.) and each one may be different in how much of your tuition they will cover each Fiscal Year. to qualify for Military TA you must, at a minimum, be an active serving member. other restrictions may apply based on your branch of service and/or component.

Montgomery GI Bill is Education Assistance. This is primarily indented to help you with living expenses during school but can be utilized to pay for tuition in the absence of additional sources. in order to receive this you must have have served during the time frame this was offered to service members and also have paid the $1200 fee (taken out at $100 a month for the first 12 months of active service) and have served honorably for 24 months. you cannot utilize this benefit while serving on active duty. additionally, you have 10 years from the date of your most recent release from active duty to use this entitlement. 36 Months of benefits at the full time rate is the limit to this benefit.

Post 911 GI Bill is a combination of Tuition AND educational assistance in one package. It pays for all tuition and fees plus up to $1000 for books and materials. additionally it pays a stipend equal to approximately the BAH rate for an E-5. you must have served 3 years of active service to earn this benefit, no monetary payment is required. You also cannot use this while serving on active duty. you have 15 years from your most recent release from active service (after qualifying for the benefit) to use this benefit. 36 months at the full time rate is also the limit to this benefit.

NOTE: If you are one of the rare cases that have earned both the Montgomery GI BILL AND the post 911 GI BILL both then you have the opportunity to receive up to 48 months of benefits if you utilize your ENTIRE (all 36 months) under the Montgomery GI BILL and after exhausting the entire Montgomery GI BILL have it converted to the Post 911 GI BILL you will be given 12 months of eligibility under the Post 911 GI BILL. be advised that if the entire Montgomery GI BILL is not exhausted prior to converting it to Post 911 GI BILL then your combined benefit will only be 36 months.

EXAMPLE: if you use 34 months on the MGIBILL and convert it to post911GIBILL than you Total benefit would be 34 Months of the MGIBILL and 2 Months of the Post911GIBILL.

If you use 36 FULL MONTHS of the MGIBILL and fterwards convert it to the Post911GIBILL than your total benefit would be 36 Months of the MGIBILL and 12 Months of the Post911GIBILL.

I encourage you to visit the Department of Veterans Affairs website to get a full overview of the more intimate details of these benefits. Hope this helps.

Response by SSG Carl Keene made Nov 20 at 2013 5:25 PM

SSG Carl Keene — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:25:11 -0500

The above responders know what they're talking about; I just wanted to add some information for those who served in the Reseve or National Gaurd. If you were deployed the post 911 GI Bill is available to you as well. The VA will pro-rate your percentage of benifits based on the number of months served. As stated above visit the VA website for further information. http://www.va.gov

Response by SFC Rich Carey made Jan 7 at 2014 10:26 AM

SFC Rich Carey — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 10:26:49 -0500

Post 9/11: If you have at least 90 days of aggregate active duty service
after Sept. 10, 2001, and are still on active duty, or if you are an honorably
discharged Veteran or were discharged with a service-connected disability after
30 days, you may be eligible for this VA-administered program. The time of
service is prorated, meaning the more active duty time you have the higher
percentage of benefits are rewarded. In addition you can receive a housing
stipend (BAH) paid directly to the individual and the tuition payment is sent directly
to the school. Beware of your residency status, because the 9/11 will pay the
highest in state rate and if you are not considered as a resident or going to a
private school you may be paying big bucks $$ out of pocket.

*** Side Note - when determining your residency status, typically it is
based upon your home of record recorded on your DD-214, be careful and check
with the school you plan to attend. (If you ever want to check your home of
record, you must leave the military and have at least a one day break and then
join the military in the state you want your new home of record)

I invite you to check out the http://www.gibill.va.gov website

Education and Training Home

The GI Bill provides educational assistance to servicemembers, veterans, and their dependents.