The Post – 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) – What I know about it

I had the pleasure a couple weeks ago of delivering a presentation to my staff on the Post-9/11 GI Bill. It took everything I had to make the presentation interesting and engaging! So, I called upon my 10-year old son to help me with some visuals for my slides. Below is one visual I used during my presentation on the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The “post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008” (Program) is a federal program that provides funds specifically for tuition, fees, housing and books. Individuals who served on active duty after 09/10/01 for an aggregate period of at least 90 days may be eligible.

What makes this GI Bill different from the others? Well, for starters payments for tuition and fees are made directly to the school. Also, in certain circumstances, benefits can be transferred from a veteran to their dependent or spouse.

What is the value of the benefit? Depending on the amount of time served, the value ranges from 40% - 100% of tuition (at the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate), fees, $1,000/year for books and a monthly housing allowance determined by zip code of where the student is enrolled. At RIT, the housing allowance is approximately $1,197/month. RIT participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program. If the highest in-state undergraduate tuition rate is less than RIT’s tuition, RIT will cover the remaining tuition balance. This is only for students eligible for benefits equal to 100%.

How does a Veteran apply for these benefits?

1)                   Apply on-line through the VA at www.gibill.va.gov/

2)                   Receive Certificate of Eligibility

3)                   Submit Certificate of Eligibility to school’s Veterans Administrator (www.rit.edu/emcs/ptgrad/veterans.php3)

4)                   Veterans Administrator certifies enrollment

5)                   VA sends tuition and fees payments to RIT and book and monthly housing allowance paid directly to student