New G.I. Bill vs. Old G.I. Bill

[5hundo]

I just wanted to see if there was anyone out there who seemed to know much about the parameters of the new G.I. Bill.

Back in 2002-2003, I signed up for the old one and did the additional "kicker" so that I would be able to get more money when I went back to school. How does that play into the new G.I. Bill? I'm a little bit confused about how the new G.I. Bill will work. Anyone know much about it?

[armygunsmith]

Parts of the bill are still unclear, but if you are going to regular college then the new GI Bill is right for you. If you enlisted and took the "Army College Fund" that is considered a kicker. At least that's what the VA rep told me. For example, once my paperwork goes through, I'm expecting about 1,300 dollars a month. However, once i convert to the new GI Bill my benefits will increase to about 2,300 dollars a month. Also matters if you were Active or Reserve. Anyways, PM me if you have any questions and I'll answer them the best that I can. Good luck!

[pro defensive greg]

if youre going to a csu or uc don't forget to ask the va rep about priority registration...not a big deal when you take upper division classes, but getting to register 3 days before every other freshman and sophmore can make your life a lot easier in the scheduling dept.

[SevenFifty]

You will have to choose between the two.
The Post 9/11 GI Bill is scheduled to go into effect August 1, 2009, but they have not started the application process yet. It will not cover any classes taken prior to 8/1/09.
There are benefits to both, Read the info on the VA website. http://www.gibill.va.gov/

The old version makes payments to you, the Post 9/11 GI Bill makes payments directly to the school. You can also receive a $1000 book stipend and a monthly housing allowance based on the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents. This amount is based on the ZIP code of the location of the school you are attending. If attending an Online Only program you will not receive the book or housing money under the new program.

Check out the Benefit Comparisons, pretty much explains the benefits of each program and will help you choose which will work better for you.

"If you are eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and other GI Bill benefits such as the Montgomery GI Bill you will be required to make an irrevocable choice of which benefit you wish to receive. If, however you switch training programs AND you have eligibility under more than one type of GI Bill you MAY be able to change which GI Bill you draw depending on your eligibility."

[Darklyte27]

from what i heard, I can use the new GI bill even though I already used my old GI bill correct?

[5hundo]

Parts of the bill are still unclear, but if you are going to regular college then the new GI Bill is right for you. If you enlisted and took the "Army College Fund" that is considered a kicker. At least that's what the VA rep told me. For example, once my paperwork goes through, I'm expecting about 1,300 dollars a month. However, once i convert to the new GI Bill my benefits will increase to about 2,300 dollars a month. Also matters if you were Active or Reserve. Anyways, PM me if you have any questions and I'll answer them the best that I can. Good luck!

I was active for 6 years...

I actually want to use it to get a second bachelor's in a technical field. My current degree is in management...

I'd really like to get a Master's in Engineering Management but all of those programs require a technical degree first, so I've gotta get my B.S. in some engineering discipline. I've been looking into the Aerospace Engineering program at CSU Long Beach. UCLA doesn't seem to accept applications for second Bachelor's degrees...

This is confusing! It seems like it would be a better deal to use the new, post 9/11 GI bill but I've already paid for the Montgomery G.I. Bill. I guess I cannot use them both (which is kinda what I was wondering)...

[jmlivingston]

I just wanted to see if there was anyone out there who seemed to know much about the parameters of the new G.I. Bill.

Back in 2002-2003, I signed up for the old one and did the additional "kicker" so that I would be able to get more money when I went back to school. How does that play into the new G.I. Bill? I'm a little bit confused about how the new G.I. Bill will work. Anyone know much about it?

Sheesh.... I signed up for the new in 1987. That means your old one, was my new one!

John

[PonchoTA]

Meh, at least you GET a GI Bill.

I got nuthin. 20 yrs in the Navy, $40k in student loans.

[Futurecollector]

I heard the new one was 80K and could go to Dependants, and you could draw on it anytime? Thats what i was briefed on at least?

[rastro]

There are still a lot of questions out there that nobody really knows the answer to yet. The biggest problem was that they didn't set up enough time to implement this program. Summer '08-HEY! We're going to come up with a new GI Bill and have it ready to hit the ground running August 2009!!! (RIGHT) It took two years to get the REAP (CH 1607) going and that isn't even 1/10 as complicated as this new GI Bill.

Proposed regs on implementation came out 20JAN09, VA hearing in congress was 23FEB09 IIRC.

Military.com has some good info on the new GI Bill, but take it with a grain of salt as everything is still subject to change.

http://www.military.com/money-for-school/gi-bill/new-gi-bill-overview

You can not switch back and forth between CH30 (current GI Bill) and CH33 (post 9/11 GI Bill). Once you opt in to the new bill, that's it.

You'll probably get more in your pocket at the community college (BAH for E5 w/dep is usually higher than the $1321/month), but the deal gets better when you go to the CSU or UC since the tuition costs are a lot higher.

5hundo-don't think your kicker will come into play. The school gets the money from the VA directly. You get the BAH (E5 w/dep) & $1000 per year for books & supplies pro-rated by quarter.

Darklyte27-you can opt in for the new GI Bill if you meet the qualifying criteria and still have some remaining entitlement.

active_shooter-you have to be taking at least half-time in classes directly at the institution to get the BAH.

futurecollector-the new GI Bill pays tuition up to the highest public institution in the state, in this case the UC system. So if you used the new GI Bill at Santa Monica City College, the amount spent for tuition would be a lot less than if you used it at UCLA. The amount given to you for BAH/books/supplies would still be the same, so 80K is misleading. It will be transferable to dependents & spouses, but that seemed to be more along the lines of a reenlistment bonus (once you sign up for another 4-6 years type thing).

The San Diego ELR (head VA Educational folks for California) are having workshops next month to train the VA reps at the schools. NorCal is the third week of April, SoCal is a week before or after. My VA rep is going to one on the 20th, so I'll have more info when she gets back.

[SevenFifty]

I heard the new one was 80K and could go to Dependants, and you could draw on it anytime? Thats what i was briefed on at least?

Here is a copy of the letter that went out explaining it.

It depends on where you go to school. The max per term in CA is $6,586.54, but in IL it is $17,530.00


If you are a member of the Armed Forces on August 1, 2009, the Department of Defense (DoD) may offer you the opportunity to transfer benefits to your spouse or dependent children. DoD and the military services will issue policy on use of transferability in the coming months.


The period of eligibility for the Post 9/11 GI Bill ends 15 years from the date of the last discharge or release from active duty of at least:

* 90 consecutive days
* 30 days but less than 90 days if released for a service-connected disability

Or 15 years from the date of discharge for the last period of service used to meet the minimum service requirements of 90 aggregate days of service.

You can not switch back and forth between CH30 (current GI Bill) and CH33 (post 9/11 GI Bill). Once you opt in to the new bill, that's it.

This is untrue. There are circumstances where you can switch and use both. See below...

"If you are eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill and other GI Bill benefits such as the Montgomery GI Bill you will be required to make an irrevocable choice of which benefit you wish to receive. If, however you switch training programs AND you have eligibility under more than one type of GI Bill you MAY be able to change which GI Bill you draw depending on your eligibility.

For example: you have eligibility under the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Selected Reserve GI Bill. You can get a degree in electrical engineering under the Post-9/11 GI Bill at a community college, then you can enroll in an apprenticeship program with the electrician's union under the Selected Reserve GI Bill and receive Journeyman certification."

[The Soup Nazi]

The 9/11 GI Bill is definitely good to go, and is what I probably would elect to use since I plan on reapplying to UCs upon EAS/getting a MECEP package.

[rastro]

The final rule for the new GI Bill came out today:

http://www.vasfaa.org/ListLock/HAmzkPNzL5yuaZGp.pdf

The details start in Subpart P.

[5hundo]

For example: you have eligibility under the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Selected Reserve GI Bill. You can get a degree in electrical engineering under the Post-9/11 GI Bill at a community college, then you can enroll in an apprenticeship program with the electrician's union under the Selected Reserve GI Bill and receive Journeyman certification."

See, now THAT is almost exactly along the lines of what I'd like to do...

I'd like to get an engineering degree (preferably Aero) and then follow that up with an A&P Program...

[jrcarr2]

Here is my question with the New GI Bill. Starting this May I will have 24mo 10 days left of my Chapter 30 benefits. I will be transfering to a UC this fall and plan on using the Chapter 33 benefits. Will I only have 24 months of benefits? Or 36?