Achieving Your Education Goals
Education is the #1 reason for joining the military. With good reason -- the armed services offer a tremendous array of education benefits. Fully using these benefits can make it possible for you to completely pay for all of your schooling. Some benefits can be used while you are on active duty, and some after you leave the service. Many benefits can be combined and leveraged together. Getting a college degree is essential for your career -- both when you're in the military and when you're out. Taking advantage of the education benefits you earned is the key to your future!
The center piece of armed services educational benefits is the G.I. Bill. There is one G.I. Bill for Active Duty Members and Veterans in which you may earn up to $1034 per month for school/training. The G.I. Bill for Reservists has a reduced benefit, with up to $297 per month for school/training.
Another option you may consider is Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), which helps pay college tuition and book costs and provides a monthly stipend. It allows individuals to obtain a college degree while developing military skills. Upon graduation an ROTC member is commissioned as an officer and serves four years. Click here to learn more about ROTC.
Finally, remember too that each service has its own scholarships, college funds and other means that may be able to help you in ways beyond those of the "standard" benefits listed here. Talk with a counselor or recruiter to find out more.
| Program | What is it? | Who is Eligible? | Benefit | ||||||||||
| Montgomery G.I. Bill - Active Duty & Veteran | MGIB provides up to 36 months (4 regular school years) of education benefits to eligible veterans for:
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Active Duty members who have served at least two years on active duty. Veterans - there are four categories of Veteran eligibility depending on when you enlisted and how long you served on active duty. |
Up to $1034 per month for full-time institutional education (beginning Oct. 1, 2005). Benefits end 10 years from the date of your last discharge or release from active duty. You must forfeit $100 / mth of your basic pay for the first year of Active Duty. This amount is non-refundable. |
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| Montgomery G.I. Bill - Selected Reserves | Same as MGIB Active Duty. | To be eligible a reservist must:
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Up to $297 per month for full-time institutional education (as of Oct. 1, 2005). Generally your benefits end 14 years from the date you become eligible for the program. You do not forfeit any pay as in the Active Duty version. The benefit is correspondingly less. |
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| The Army, Navy and Marine Corps College Funds - also known as - The GI Bill Kicker |
Provides an additional amount to your GI Bill benefit. | Generally for enlisted members only. Several factors determine your eligibility, including your branch, your MOS, and terms of your contract. | This additional GI Bill benefit does not require additional contributions to the VA. It is simply an additional amount added to the GI Bill benefits. | ||||||||||
| Loan Repayment (LRP) and Tuition Assistance (TA) Programs | Your service may partially or fully repay college loans. | Generally for enlisted members only. Several factors determine your eligibility, including your branch, your MOS, and terms of your contract. Your loans must be in good standing, i.e. not in default. |
About repayment programs:
There are also specialized loan repayment programs for health professional officers. |
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| Tuition Assistance "Top-Up" Program | An additional benefit intended to supplement other tuition assistance programs such as the G.I. Bill. | To be eligible for the Top-up benefit, the person must be approved for federal Tuition Assistance by a military department and be eligible for MGIB-Active Duty benefits. | The amount of the benefit is limited to the amount that the person would receive for the same course if regular MGIB benefits were being paid. |
EDUCATION LINKS
Department of Defense |
Army |
Navy |
Marine Corps |
Air Force |
Coast Guard |
If you are interested in learning more about how military service can help you earn college credit and education benefits, visit the Military.com Education Center or contact a military recruiter near you.
