Will I Get Paid Only for the First Month or for the Whole Semester?
Q: After the summer 2011 semester, I will have 25 days left on my old GI Bill. I do not qualify for the new GI Bill. If I sign up for classes in the fall semester will I only get paid for the first month since it will be about 25 days or will I get paid every month for the entire semester? I just don’t want to sign up for full time and then only get paid for one month. Thank you for your help! – Jody
A: The rules of the VA state they will pay for the whole semester or up to 12 weeks, whichever is shorter, after you exhaust your GI Bill benefits. So with your 25 days of Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) benefits left and up to 12 weeks of pay, that should take you almost up to the end of the semester, if your semester is 16 weeks long.
However, if you hit your delimiting date – the date when your MGIB benefits expire – that is a different rule. Then by law, the VA has no choice but to cut your benefits on the day they expire. Different situation, different rule.
Are you sure you don’t qualify for the New GI Bill? Being your 10-year MGIB delimiting date has not past yet tells me you served after 2001. All you need for minimum Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits is 90 days of service after September 10, 2001. If you don’t qualify, it is too bad as that would have given you an additional 12 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits once you exhausted your MGIB.