PART III · BUILDING A LIFE · CH 04

School, training and the GI Bill

The GI Bill is the benefit most people have heard of and the one most people misread. Here is who it covers, what it pays, and what is left for those of us who served before 2001.

Start here: which GI Bill is yours?

There isn't one GI Bill. There are several, and which one you have depends on when you served and what you signed up for. The two you hear about most are the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) and the Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30 for active duty, Chapter 1606 for the Selected Reserve). Separate from both is Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31), which runs on different rules entirely.

I served 1986 to 1990, so most of this chapter is about benefits I can't use. I'm writing it anyway, because a buddy who got out in 2015 needs it, and because the last section is for the rest of us.

The finder below works across this chapter and the next two. It doesn't tell you that you qualify. It tells you what's worth checking.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill

You may qualify if you meet at least one of these, all counted from September 11, 2001 onward:

At least 90 days on active duty, all at once or with breaks.
At least 30 continuous days on active duty, then an honorable discharge with a service-connected disability.
A Purple Heart received on or after September 11, 2001, and an honorable discharge, after any amount of service.

How much of the benefit you get depends on how long you served. Full (100%) benefit takes at least 1,095 days (36 months) of active duty, or a post-9/11 Purple Heart, or 30 continuous days followed by a discharge for a service-connected disability. Less time gets a percentage:

Total active duty after 9/10/2001	Share of full benefit
1,095 days or more (36+ months)	100%
910 to 1,094 days (30 to 35 months)	90%
730 to 909 days (24 to 29 months)	80%
545 to 729 days (18 to 23 months)	70%
180 to 544 days (6 to 17 months)	60%
90 to 179 days	50%

Source: VA: Post-9/11 GI Bill and VA: How we determine your percentage (checked 2026-10)

What it actually pays

At the 100% level, three things:

Tuition and feesFull in-state tuition and fees at a public school. At private and foreign schools, up to $30,908.34 per academic year (rate effective August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027).

HousingA monthly housing allowance if you're enrolled more than half time, based on the military housing allowance (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents near your school. Online-only students get half the national average, up to $1,261 a month for the same rate year.

Books and suppliesUp to $1,000 per academic year.

At a lower tier, multiply those numbers by your percentage. Most people get 36 months of entitlement. Some who served 56 months or more and also qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill can get up to 48 months total.

Source: VA: Post-9/11 GI Bill rates, effective Aug 1, 2026 (checked 2026-10)

The Forever GI Bill: does yours expire?

It depends on one date. If your service ended on or after January 1, 2013, your Post-9/11 benefits don't expire. That's the Forever GI Bill (the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act). If your service ended before January 1, 2013, they expire 15 years after your last separation from active service. If you got out in 2011, do the math today.

Source: VA: Post-9/11 GI Bill (checked 2026-10)

The Montgomery GI Bill, briefly

Active Duty (MGIB-AD, Chapter 30). Most people in this program entered active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985, had their pay reduced by $100 a month for their first 12 months, served the required continuous time, and got an honorable discharge with a high school diploma, GED, or 12 college credits. There are other categories for older and special cases. The catch is the clock: you usually have 10 years to use it.

Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR, Chapter 1606). For members with a 6-year obligation in the Selected Reserve who finished initial active duty for training and stay in good standing in a drilling unit. Up to 36 months. Eligibility usually ends the day you leave the Selected Reserve, with narrow exceptions.

Source: VA: Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty and VA: Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (checked 2026-10)

Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31)

VR&E is the one I'd tell an older veteran to look at first. It isn't a GI Bill. It's for veterans with a service-connected disability that limits their ability to work, and it can pay for school, training, apprenticeships, and job help built around what you can actually do.

Discharge: anything but dishonorable, though some discharges need a review first.
Rating: a service-connected disability rating of at least 10% from VA.
Time limit: discharged on or after January 1, 2013, no time limit. Discharged before that, 12 years from your separation or your first rating, whichever is later. A counselor can extend it if you have a serious employment handicap.
Five tracks: reemployment, rapid access to employment, self-employment, long-term services (including college or trade school), and independent living.

Read that time-limit rule carefully. The 12 years can start from your first rating, not your discharge, so a veteran who got rated recently may still be inside the window decades after getting out. You apply with VA Form 28-1900.

Source: VA: VR&E eligibility and VA: Veteran Readiness and Employment (checked 2026-10)

Passing it to your family

You can transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a spouse or children, but only while you're still in. The rules:

At least 6 years of service on the date the request is approved, and you agree to serve 4 more.
You're on active duty or in the Selected Reserve, and the family member is enrolled in DEERS.
You request it through milConnect. VA can't process it.
A spouse can use it right away. A child can use it only after you've finished at least 10 years of service.

Once you're out, the door is closed. If you're still serving and you might want this, put in the request now.

Source: VA: Transfer your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits (checked 2026-10)

It's not just college

The GI Bill pays for more than a degree. On-the-job training and apprenticeships (plumbing, electrical, law enforcement, firefighting and more) come with a monthly payment for living expenses on top of the wage your employer or union pays you. Veterans and reservists can use them. Active-duty members can't.

The GI Bill can also repay licensing and certification test fees, up to $2,000 per test, including retakes and recertification. It doesn't pay for the license itself. That's covered under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, both Montgomery programs, and Chapter 35. VA charges your entitlement based on the amount it repaid, not a flat month.

Source: VA: On-the-job training and apprenticeships and VA: Licensing and certification test fees (checked 2026-10)

If you served before 9/11, like me

Straight answer for a veteran who served in the late 1980s and got out around 1990:

Post-9/11 GI Bill: doesn't apply unless you served again on or after September 11, 2001.
Montgomery GI Bill: if you paid in, the usual 10-year window to use it closed long ago. If something prevented you from using it, ask VA, but don't count on it.
VR&E: still open if you have a service-connected rating of 10% or more and you're inside the 12-year window, which can run from your first rating date.
Your state: states run their own programs. In New York, Veterans Tuition Awards (managed by HESC) cover New York residents discharged under honorable conditions who served in certain periods or places, including in the Persian Gulf on or after August 2, 1990, or in hostilities with an expeditionary medal. The list is tied to those periods and places, so read it against your DD214.

Source: VA: Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty, VA: VR&E eligibility, NYS DVS: State education and scholarships (checked 2026-10)

Source: VA: Accredited representative FAQs, NYS Department of Veterans' Services (checked 2026-10)