3 Key Points to Know About Veterans Educational Benefits

By Ginny Estupinian

The current law that allows Veterans assistance with college cost first became law under the Montgomery GI Bill that was passed back in 1944. This law was initially targeted to help World War II veterans and is still a benefit that veterans can take advantage of today.  However, it is important for anyone using these benefits to know the limitations of the GI bill so not to miss out.  Knowing a few important key aspects of the bill will help in making the financial decision as to where you should go to school and how you will pay for it.  This is especially true considering a recent report from the College Board showing that the average four year public university could cost as much as $65,000 and the costs at a private university could be as much as $133,000.   

So let’s take a broad view of the Bill and take note of some of its features. In order to be able to use the benefit service members have to first have agreed to have $1200 deducted from their pay during their first year in the military. This money once paid in can’t be refunded even if the veteran decides not to use the benefits. A key limitation to remember is that the benefits are only good for 10 years from the date of discharge. According to many reports this time limit appears to be the single biggest problem for veterans who want to avail themselves of the benefits. Often when veterans leave the service they are not ready to go back to school because they may need to find a job first. Then years later they decide to return to school only to find out that their benefits have expired. Secondly, it is important to know what the maximum available educational benefits are. For veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan the benefits are $1,101 per month, or $39,636 over four years. However, for those veterans who served combat tours with the National Guard or Reserves those benefits are approximately $440 per month.  

The way that these benefits work is also important to recognize. According to the current regulations veterans must pay their own tuition, room and board, and other college costs upfront before they will be reimbursed up to their eligible amount.  Lastly, there is one more thing that is critical to know concerning these benefits. These benefits count against federal student aid when trying to qualify for student loans and other financial aid. In other words a veteran may not qualify for as large of a financial aid package because of these benefits. Therefore, it is very important that any veteran thinking about using these benefits first have a college financial aid officer work the numbers with and without these benefits to see what gives them the best outcome.