Bills to Aid in Your Education and Training

Education and Training Resources

GI Bill® Overview

Career readiness may involve going back to school or participating in skills training.

The VA GI Bill benefits can help fund your education dreams.

The GI Bill can help you pay for tuition and fees, books, supplies and even monthly housing costs.

There are four types of GI Bill benefits:

• • • Post-9/11 GI Bill (or Chapter 33)  
    • Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (or Chapter 30)  
    • Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (or Chapter 1606)  
    • Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (or Chapter 35) 

• • • A 4-year degree  
    • An advanced degree  
    • Technical training  
    • On-the-job training  
    • Vocational school  
    • Flight training  
    • Correspondence courses 
    • Apprenticeships  
    • Certification training and exams  
    • Remedial, refresher and deficiency training in some cases 

Transfer of Entitlement

• • • Transfer of entitlement is a DOD program, which VA administers. Each military service makes decisions about eligibility. 
    • Transfer of entitlement for benefits can only happen while you are on active duty.  
    • You can revoke the transfer of unused GI Bill benefits (in this instance, transfer them back to yourself) at any time. 
    • Eligibility now includes certain unmarried children placed in the legal custody of the Service member for at least 12 months as a result of a recent court order. 

Post-9/11 GI Bill 

The Choice Act

The Choice act ensures that, in most cases, you won’t have to pay out of state tuition even if your permanent address s in another state.

The Yellow Ribbon Program

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Scholarship

• • • Are seeking an undergraduate STEM degree and are seeking a teaching certification,  
    • Have earned a STEM degree and are seeking a teaching certification,  
    • Are enrolled in dual secondary degrees OR  
    • Are healthcare professionals completing clinical training to become licensed to practice in a state or locality 

• • • Have served honorably for at least a total of 90 days on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, OR 
    • Have been honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and served 30 continuous days on or after September 11, 2001. 

• • • 100% At least 36 months 
    • 100% At least 30 continuous days on active duty and must be discharged due to service-connected disability; or received a Purple Heart effective August 1, 2018 
    • 90% At least 30 months, but less than 36 months 
    • 80% At least 24 months, but less than 30 months 
    • 70% At least 18 months, but less than 24 months 
    • 60% At least 6 months, but less than 18 months 
    • 50% At least 90 days, but less than 6 months 

• • • Full-time service in the National Guard for the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing or training. OR 
    • Activation in support of a national emergency under Title 32. 

Tuition Assistance Top-Up

• • • You are approved for federal TA. AND  
    • You qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD) or Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits. AND The cost of the course and fees is more than TA will cover. 

Tutorial Assistance

• • • You are enrolled in an educational program for half-time or more. AND  
    • You are taking a difficult course. AND  
    • You have to take the course as part of your educational program. 

Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty 

• • • A high school diploma. OR  
    • General Educational Development (GED). 

Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve

• • • You must have a 6-year service obligation (you agreed to serve 6 years) in the Selected Reserve, OR.  
    • You must be an officer in the Selected Reserve and you agreed to serve 6 years in addition to your initial service obligation, AND.  
    • You must complete your initial active duty for training (IADT), AND.  
    • You must get a high school diploma or certificate of equal value, like a High School Equivalency Diploma or GED, before finishing IADT, AND.  
    • You must stay in good standing while serving in an active Selected Reserve unit. You’ll still be eligible if you’re discharged from Selected Reserve service due to disability that was not caused by misconduct. 

Montgomery GI Bill Buy-Up Program $600 Buy-Up Program

• • • Active Duty 
    • National Guard 
    • Reserve 
    • Veteran 

Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance 

The Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) benefit, also called Chapter 35, offers education and training opportunities to:  

• • • Eligible dependents of Veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to a service-related condition, OR 
    • Eligible dependents of Veterans who died while on active duty or as a result of a service-related condition 

• • • A Veteran who died or is permanently and totally disabled as the result of a service-connected disability. 
    • A Veteran who died from any cause while a permanent and total service‐connected disability existed. 
    • A Service member who died during active military service.  
    • A Service member missing in action or captured in the line of duty by a hostile force. 
    • A Service member forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power.  
    • A Service member who is hospitalized or receiving outpatient treatment for a permanent and total service‐connected disability and is likely to be discharged for that disability 

Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Memorial Scholarship (Fry Scholarship) 

• • • Children and surviving spouses of Service members who died in the line of duty while on active duty after September 10, 2001. 
    • Children and surviving spouses of Service members who died in the line of duty other than active duty as a member of the Armed Forces.  
    • Children or surviving spouses of members of the Selected Reserve who died on or after September 11, 2001 from a service-connected disability while a member of the Selected Reserve. 

• • • Children are eligible when they turn 18, unless they already graduated from high school. A child may be married or older than 23 and still be eligible.  
    • A spouse will lose eligibility for this benefit upon remarriage.  
    • If you are eligible for both the Fry Scholarship and Survivors’ DEA Benefit, you are required to make an “irrevocable election” to waive one of these two benefits. This means you cannot change or reverse your choice. This does not apply if you are the child of a Service member who died in the line of duty before August 1, 2011. 

• • • For children and surviving spouses of Service members who died in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001, to use Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, members of the reserve components must have died while on full-time active duty under Title 32 Section 502(f) as Active Guard Reserve or while responding to a national emergency declared by the President that is federally funded.  
    • If members of the reserve components died while on weekend drill or annual training, children and surviving spouses do not qualify for the Fry Scholarship. 

Comparing GI Bill Benefits

You may be eligible for both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. Take note of these important guidelines regarding eligibility for multiple programs:  

• • • You can only get payments from one program at a time. 
    • You can only get a total of 48 months of benefits under any combination of VA education programs. 
      • For a single period of service, you can get up to 36 months of benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill or MGIB.  
      • Having multiple periods of service may result in eligibility for an additional 12 months. For example, if you qualify for both MGIB-AD and MGIB-SR benefits (based on separate periods of service), you can get 36 months of funding at your MGIB-AD payment rate and then an additional 12 months at your MGIB-SR payment rate, for a total of 48 months.  
      • The 48-month limit does not apply if a family member uses benefits transferred to them (possibly by two Service members who are parents of the beneficiary). 
    • If you are eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and another benefit program (like MGIB-AD), you must make an irrevocable election in writing before receiving any Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. This means you cannot change back to the MGIB-AD after you receive any Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.  
    • Check out VA’s fact sheet, Post-9/11 GI Bill: Factors to Consider at: Post-9/11 GI Bill: Factors to Consider

• • • The VA provides valuable Education and Training Benefits to members of the reserve components, including financial support for undergraduate and graduate degrees, vocational and technical training, licensing and certification tests, apprenticeships and on-the-job training.  
    • Members may be eligible for one or more of the following programs if they meet certain service requirements: 
      • Post-9/11 GI Bill  
      • MGIB-SR 

The VA developed the three-part series, “Building Your Future with the GI Bill,” to assist GI Bill beneficiaries: 

• • Part One focuses on navigating education pathways and includes information on how to get started, choosing an education pathway and accessing on-campus resources. 
  • Part Two focuses on outlining and comparing VA Education Benefits.  
  • Part Three focuses on ways to further your career. 

For more information, visit the resources provided below.

Building Your Future with the GI Bill: A Guide to Understanding Your Benefits

Building Your Future with the GI Bill: A Guide to Furthering Your Career

**All of this information has been taken from the VA transition guide. We have broken down the information into much easier pieces for you to navigate.**

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