This website is not affiliated with the U.S. government or military.

Is It Possible to Expend Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits Only One Semester At a Time?


Q: Is it possible to expend GI Bill benefits one semester at a time vice “expend all remaining”? Specifically, I’d like to use my daughter’s 12 months of transferred benefit by paying for one semester (4 months) in each of her first three years of college. Is there a way to do this without manipulating her total months of eligibility in the system (i.e., reduce from 12 to 4 prior to start of school year)?

A: Yes, veterans or dependents using transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits can start and stop at will. I don’t know where you are getting the “expend all remaining”, unless it is from the school, but it is not something the VA forces you to do.

If you are going to help your daughter use her GI Bill benefits intermittently, then it is critical her school knows which semesters she is on the GI Bill and which ones she is not. Why? Because for the school to get paid by the VA for her tuition and fees and for her to get paid her housing allowance and book stipend, her school has to send in a Certificate of Enrollment. That gets the payment process started for all involved.

And the way to ensure her school knows if she is on GI Bill benefits or not for a particular semester is to hand in a copy of her Certificate of Eligibility (COE) for the semesters she wants to use GI Bill benefits when she registers and for her to inform the school that for the next semester she will not be on the GI Bill even though she has benefits left to use.

Otherwise, her school may just assume she will be using her GI Bill benefits as long as she has some left. Although they shouldn’t do that if she has not turned in a COE for that semester.

The key here is communication with the school.


Privacy Policy | About Us | FAQ | Terms of Service | Disclaimers | Do Not Sell My Personal Information (CA and NV residents)

Copyright © 2023 EducationDynamics. All Rights Reserved.

This is a private website that is not affiliated with the U.S. government, U.S. Armed Forces or Department of Veteran Affairs. U.S. government agencies have not reviewed this information. This site is not connected with any government agency. If you would like to find more information about benefits offered by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, please visit the official U.S. government web site for veterans’ benefits at http://www.va.gov.

The sponsored schools featured on this site do not include all schools that accept GI Bill® funding or VA Benefits. To contact ArmyStudyGuide, email us.

Disclosure: EducationDynamics receives compensation for the featured schools on our websites (see “Sponsored Schools” or “Sponsored Listings” or “Sponsored Results”). So what does this mean for you? Compensation may impact where the Sponsored Schools appear on our websites, including whether they appear as a match through our education matching services tool, the order in which they appear in a listing, and/or their ranking. Our websites do not provide, nor are they intended to provide, a comprehensive list of all schools (a) in the United States (b) located in a specific geographic area or (c) that offer a particular program of study. By providing information or agreeing to be contacted by a Sponsored School, you are in no way obligated to apply to or enroll with the school.

This is an offer for educational opportunities that may lead to employment and not an offer for nor a guarantee of employment. Students should consult with a representative from the school they select to learn more about career opportunities in that field. Program outcomes vary according to each institution’s specific program curriculum. Financial aid may be available to those who qualify. The financial aid information on this site is for informational and research purposes only and is not an assurance of financial aid.

VFW $30,000 Scholarship!
Write an essay on the annual patriotic theme. This year’s theme is, “Why Is The Veteran Important?”

X