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

Can I Use My Father’s GI Bill to Attend a Community College?


Q: Hi, I recently heard about the GI Bill and I have a few questions. My father is retired military, but my parents are divorced and I live with my mother. How do I receive the benefits, or do I even qualify for them? Would my father have to fill out paperwork? I am interested in attending a community college in the fall, and was interested in knowing if the GI Bill qualified for community colleges or just universities. Thank you for your help.

A: First, if your father is already retired, then he cannot make a transfer to you regardless of which GI Bill he has. If he was still on active duty and had the Montgomery GI Bill, he couldn’t make a transfer either as it does not have a transfer of benefits option.

If he had the Post 9/11 GI Bill, it does have a transfer option, but only if he had served at least 6 years on active duty and agreed to serve an additional four years. The way Congress worded the New GI Bill, the sponsor has to be “on active duty on or after August 1, 2009″ to make a transfer.

The last part is your age. If you are over the age of 26, you could not use transferred benefits even if you had them.

So the short answer is being your father is retired, he will not be able to transfer any benefits to you.

Just so you know, the Post 9/11 GI Bill is generally used to pay for degree-producing courses and non-degree courses taught at degree-producing schools, where the Montgomery GI Bill can be used for both degree-producing and non-degree courses regardless of where they later are taught.


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