U.S. VETERAN’S EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS
It is quite fortunate that the veteran’s education is not neglected, as they are an important facet of persons in American society. With the concern to ameliorating their intellectual capacity, the U.S. government through its legal instruments has provided appropriate measures, in dealing with veterans’ educational schemes or programs. There exist four distinctive categories of Veteran’s Education Programs namely:
- The Montgomery Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (MGIB-AD)
- The Post 9/11 GI BILL haven equal similarities with the GI BILL Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR)
- Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP)
- Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA)
1) The Montgomery Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (MGIB-AD)
The MGIB-AD is geared towards discharged ex-service members and active-duty personnel who have served for at least two years. It is qualified for veterans who entered duty after June 30, 1985, and pays an enrollment fee of $1,200. The MGIB-AD donates a set sum of funds each month, to cover veteran students’ expenses such as tuition, books, housing, and other school expenditures.
Qualified veterans need to have 10 years from the last day of active military service, to be eligible for the 36 months of educational benefit provided by MGIB-AD. Also, this veteran’s education program offers each veteran student with a monthly direct payment benefit, which amount varies depending on the type of education and length of military service.
Veteran’s Eligibility for MGID-AD Education Program
If the veteran is discharged from soldierly service, he or she will be eligible if provided the following requirements.
- Should be honorably discharged
- Engaged in active military service after June 30, 1985
- Have served continuously for three years or two without a break as per agreement when enlisted
- Owns a high school diploma or has earned 12 hours of college credit.
2) The Post 9/11 GI BILL and the GI BILL Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR)
Similar to the Montgomery GI BILL, these two veterans’ education program covers all student veterans’ school expenditures including tuition, textbooks, housing, and school supplies. Each year, a student veteran is entitled to $1.000 for textbooks and school supplies. Housing allowance will vary depending on the cost of living beside school premises.
Veterans enrolling in a public establishment or university will receive full-time educational benefits covering their tuition and fees. This will be only if they were discharged after 30 days due to service-based incapability or have served a minimum of 3 years. Veteran students who have served less than that, are still qualified for a 40% tuition coverage.
Eligibility of Veterans to MGIB-SR Education Program
Veterans may be considered eligible if they meet the following.
- Signed a 6 years obligation after June 30, 1985, to serve in the Selected Reserve and finished an Initial Active Duty for Training (IADT)
- Acquired a high school diploma before completing the Initial Active Duty for Training
- Have a respectable standing in the drilling Selected Reserve unit.
3) The Reserve Education Assistance Program (REAP)
The REAP is a VA educational benefit scheme designated to issue schooling aid to service members of the reserved components. These service members are always called to active duty as a response to a national emergency or war, as declared by the U.S. Congress or the President. Also, they could be perceived as forces of contingency operations as defined in Title 10 U.S. Code.
However, it is quite unfortunate that the Reserve Education Assistance Program was abolished on November 25, 2015, leaving out some benefits for an added period of three years, under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 which was completely terminated in 2019.
Service Members Eligible for the REAP Benefits, But Lost the Benefits When the Program was Abolished
Qualified service members can credit their REAP towards the Post 9/11 GI BILL if they meet the following requirements
All statements must be true
- Service member’s accreditation under Section 502(f), title 32, U.S. Code.
- Authorized by the U.S. Secretary of Defense or the President for a national emergency, and sponsored by federal funds.
- Obtained a REAP qualification before November 25, 2015.
- Lost eligibility when the REAP program was retired on November 25, 2015.
If the above assertions are true, then a service member can credit their eligibility towards a Post 9/11 eligibility receiving benefits such as:
- An entitlement of 60% payment tier under the Post 9/11 GI BILL, irrespective of the length of Post 9/11 active duty service.
- Acquiring a partial monthly Post 9/11 GI BILL benefits as the remaining REAP benefits for a maximum period of 3 years.
4) The Dependents’ Education Assistance
The DEA provides educational benefits to spouses and children of service members or veterans who are dead, disabled, captured, or missing. To qualify for a Survivors’ Dependents’ Education Assistance, beneficiaries must be a spouse, son, and/or daughter of the servicemember concerned.
Monthly payments from this program cover costs such as:
- Vocational-training certificate courses
- College or university degree programs
- Career and educational counseling
Eligibility for Schooling Benefits through the DEA program
Persons may benefit from the DEA program only if the service member and the beneficiary attained a certain eligibility requirement. To this effect, one of the assertions below must be true about the veteran
- Died in active duty
- Is missing in the line of duty or was captured by hostility forces in active service
- Is everlastingly and completely disabled due to service-connected disability
- Was forcibly imprisoned in active duty by a foreign entity
If you are a veteran’s child, you may also benefit from the DEA program if you are between the ages of 18 and 26. Also, if he or she joined the military, can still benefit while on active duty.
Also, if you are a veteran’s spouse, you will benefit from this program, counting from the date of deceased of the veteran, which will last for 10 years. He or she will still benefit from the program if the VA Administration rates the service member as completely and permanently disabled.
How to Apply for Veteran’s Education Related Benefits
Before applying for VA educational benefits, the following information and documents are requested to ease application namely:
- A Bank account direct deposit information,
- A social security number, and
- Basic information concerning the school or vocational training facility you are attending or may want to attend.
Get the support of a VA accredited representative to help apply for your veteran’s related educational benefits. The application may take an average time of 30 days, for the VA to process the educational claim.