What Happens When My Post 9/11 GI Bill Entitlement Runs Out Mid-Semester?
Q: Hello and thanks for all the info! I have 12 classes (2 semesters) before I graduate. I have 5 months and 28 days of benefits left. 12 credits are full time at my school. I have calculated that my next semester will use 4 months and 28 days ([111 days * 16 credit hours]/12) leaving me with 30 days for my last semester. I am confused with post 9/11 v1 and v2. Do I assume correctly that I will have to pay for the rest of the semester’s tuition and my BAH will end after those 30 days?
A: No, you will not have to pay the rest of your tuition nor will your housing allowance stop once you run out of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits mid-semester. As far as your entitlement use calculation, it may or may not be correct. While your formula is correct, I’m learning that at some schools, entitlement use remains the same once you take enough credits to be classified as full-time. They don’t charge for extra credits above their full-time threshold.
In other words, you are not charged more entitlement if you take 16 credits than you are if you take 12. But that is based on how your school records their information. If that is the case at your school, then you would have 67 days of entitlement left after the first semester instead of 30 days.
But it really doesn’t matter how it is calculated. According to the VA rules, once you run out of GI Bill benefits, they will continue to pay you through to the end of the semester. However, that is not the case if you still have benefits left but hit your delimitation date – the date 15 years from your discharge date when your Post 9/11 GI Bill expires. In that situation, your housing allowance stops immediately and by law, the VA can’t continue paying you.
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