VA Education Grants
- The latest version of the GI Bill is the Post-9/11 GI Bill and provides the most comprehensive VA education grant for qualifying veterans. Like the name of the program implies, the Post-9/11 GI Bill is open to veterans who served at least 90 days of service in any branch of the military after Sept. 11, 2001. The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides a grant to pay for tuition and fees at a college or university, books and housing. Tuition depends on your location and school while the book stipend is $1,000 annually for full-time students and a housing allowance based on the housing allowance for an E-5 with dependents.
- The GI Bill provides an education grant to help fund up to 36 months of university or college education, correspondence courses, technical or vocation training, apprenticeships, certificate programs or flight training. For veterans who entered active duty service after June 30, 1985, benefits are available after contributing $100 every month for a year. As of October 2010, veterans attending training or college full-time receive a monthly grant, for 36 months, of $1,426. In addition, service members may contribute up to $600 more to receive an extra $5,400 more in benefits over 36 months.
- Members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Cost Guard Reserves may qualify for the Selected Reserve GI Bill. The Selected Reserve GI Bill provides a financial assistance grant for a maximum of 36 months. Members of the Selected Reserve are authorized to use the grant to pursue a degree program, correspondence courses, certificate programs flight training or independent study programs. However, the education grant is only available while you are a member of the reserve component of the services mentioned above. The VA provides an exception for reservists mobilized or recalled for active duty. The VA extends your eligibility by four months of the time you were mobilized.
- In addition to veterans, spouses and dependents may also qualify for VA education grants under certain circumstances. According to the VA, the Dependents' Education Assistance program offers dependents with an education grant for 45 months to cover the cost of a degree program or vocational and technical training. As of December 2010, eligible dependents must be a spouse or child of a veteran who is disabled or died as a result of active duty military service, held forcibly by another government or is likely to be released from active duty due to a service-connected disability. However, qualifying children must be between the ages of 18 and 26 to use this education grant. Spouses may use the grant within 10 years of qualifying for the benefit.
