How long do most of you wait before you start using the GI Bill?

First question is what is your goal? Make this fit your goal. If you still have more school you can look at the guard or reserve which may cover most tuition

I transitioned from active duty into a 2nd semester freshman. At the time I did not know what I wanted to major in, but I knew that I wanted to get my degree. Because I was considered a "transfer" student, I utilized that first semester to get a feel for what courses I had an interest which led me to declaring Political Science as my major. I am now exhausting my GI Bill benefits to pay for my Masters in Public Administration, and will have a BA and MPA while incurring zero student loans. Everyone's situation is different, and my personal goals were to effectively utilize my education benefits. God knows we've earned them, so use them.

I wonder if maybe "re-framing" your situation might enable you? Perhaps ask "What is it that I want to do?" and the follow-up will be "How can I use my GI Bill to make this happen?"

Just a thought, I'm available off-line if you need to chat.

I didn't wait.
I retired in Feb 06 and I signed up for classes in Dec 05 when I was on Term Leave. When classes began I was still on and sweating a recall.
The day I retired I took a bottle of Champagne to my repealing class. Then I found out not only were the classmates under drinking age, they didn't even know what Champagne was.
I used my G.I Bill home load while I was on Active duty stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. in Aug 1991

I used mine 7 years after my discharge, and used it toward my education. Glad I waited all those years. I also had to figure out what to do with my life. I was blessed with a few mentors, who in turn were able to provide guidance, and the right perspective with respect to life after the military. Blessings.

I signed up for classes before I separated. I took general ed classes for the first year until I really nailed down what I wanted to do. But as most say, figure out for sure if going to school is really what you want to do. Once you decide on education, find the school that will fit your needs. Then start taking the classes.

I used my GI benefits right away, but I only used 2 years of it. There are so many ways to use those benefits, whether towards a degree or for vocational training, that I hope you will be able to use everything you have earned.

First thing you need to know is for CH 30 (Montgomery) has a life of up to 10 years after leaving service. CH 33 (Post 9/11) has a life of up to 15 years after leaving service. Also if you can afford to pay your bills with out the GI Bill Ch 30 gives you a stipend and once your 36 months of Ch 30 are depleted you can sign up for Ch 33 for one year. Another nice thing is you can use Federal Financial Aid (FASFA) at the same time. On the flip side you can only use GI Bill or Tuition Assistance but not both.

I did the same....started using it almost immediately. However, I stopped and started school several times. I didn't finally go back to school and get my degree until 4 years after I got out. I was told you only have a set amount of time to use it (I think 10 years) but I never followed up to find out if that were true.

I did the same....started using it almost immediately. However, I stopped and started school several times. I didn't finally go back to school and get my degree until 4 years after I got out. I was told you only have a set amount of time to use it (I think 10 years) but I never followed up to find out if that were true.

Thought i had responded on this before, but don't see my comment. I Was out for almost two years before I started using mine. I gave myself time to try to find a job. But I also knew i did not want to let me GI bill go to waist. I got lucky when i could not find a job, and found a major that was similar to what I did at my last assignment in the Army. You have six months left on it. You can change your major and go part time and extend it for 12 months that's another year of benefits. Also not sure if you qualify like I did. I served before and after 9/11. So i used my Montgomery GI bill, but then found out i served long enough after 9/11 to qualify for post 9/11 GI bill. That is something you could look into also. It would be a matter of thinking what you want to do and which major can help get me there