View source for G.I. Bill

{{Short description|U.S. law providing benefits for World War II veterans}}
{{distinguish|Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008|Forever GI Bill}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle        = Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944
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| longtitle         = AN ACT To provide Federal Government aid for the readjustment in civilian life of returning [[World War II]] veterans
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| nickname          = G.I. Bill
| enacted by        = 78th
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| signedpresident = [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
| signeddate      = June 22, 1944
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The '''G.I. Bill''', formally the '''Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944''', was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning [[World War II]] veterans (commonly referred to as [[G.I. (military)|G.I.s]]). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, but the term "G.I. Bill" is still used to refer to programs created to assist American military veterans.
It was largely designed and passed through Congress in 1944 in a bipartisan effort led by the [[American Legion]], which wanted to reward practically all wartime veterans. [[John H. Stelle]], a former Democratic Governor of Illinois, served as the Chairman of the Legion's Executive Committee, which drafted and mobilized public opinion to get the G.I. Bill to President Roosevelt's desk on June 22, 1944.  Stelle was rewarded for his efforts by the Legion which unanimously elected him its National Commander in 1945.  He is commonly referred to as the "Father of the G.I. Bill."  Since the First World War the Legion had been in the forefront of lobbying Congress for generous benefits for war veterans.<ref>Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart M. Blumin, ''The GI Bill: A New Deal for Veterans'' (2009), pp. 54-57</ref> President Roosevelt initially proposed a much smaller program.<ref>Suzanne Mettler, "The creation of the GI Bill of Rights of 1944: Melding social and participatory citizenship ideals." ''Journal of Policy History'' 17#4 (2005): 345-374.</ref> As historians Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart Blumin point out, FDR did not play a significant role in the contours of the bill. At first, Roosevelt shared with nearly everyone the idea that "satisfactory employment," not educational opportunity, was the key feature of the bill.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Altschuler |first=Glenn C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/352900594 |title=The GI Bill : a new deal for veterans |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Stuart M. Blumin |isbn=978-0-19-972042-2 |location=Oxford |oclc=352900594}}</ref> This changed in the fall of 1944, when Roosevelt's special representative to the European Theatre, [[Anna M. Rosenberg]], returned with her report on the G.I.'s postwar expectations. From her hundreds of interviews with servicemen then fighting in France, it was clear they wanted educational opportunities previously unavailable to them.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=GORHAM |first=CHRISTOPHER C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1322810779 |title=CONFIDANTE : the untold story of the woman who helped win wwii and shape modern america. |date=2023 |publisher=CITADEL PR |isbn=978-0-8065-4200-3 |location=[S.l.] |oclc=1322810779}}</ref> FDR "lit up," Rosenberg recalled, and subsequent additions to the bill included provisions for higher education.<ref name="auto"/>
The final bill provided immediate financial rewards for practically all World War II veterans, thereby avoiding the [[Bonus Army|highly disputed postponed life insurance policy payout for World War I veterans]] that had caused political turmoil in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart M. Blumin, ''The GI Bill: A New Deal for Veterans'' (2009), pp. 54–57.</ref> Benefits included low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business or farm, one year of [[unemployment benefits|unemployment compensation]], and dedicated payments of tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college, or [[vocational education|vocational school]]. These benefits were available to all veterans who had been on active duty during the war years for at least 90 days and had not been [[dishonorably discharged]].<ref>Altschuler and Blumin, ''The GI Bill'' (2009) p. 118</ref>
[[File:GI Bill signing.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] signs the G.I. Bill into law on June 22, 1944.]]
By 1956, 7.8 million veterans had used the G.I. Bill education benefits, some 2.2 million to attend colleges or universities and an additional 5.6 million for some kind of training program.<ref>Olson, 1973, and see also Bound and Turner 2002.</ref> Historians and economists judge the G.I. Bill a major political and economic success—especially in contrast to the treatments of World War I veterans&mdash;and a major contribution to U.S. stock of human capital that encouraged long-term [[economic history of the United States|economic growth]].<ref>Stanley, 2003</ref><ref>Frydl, 2009</ref><ref>Suzanne Mettler, ''Soldiers to citizens: The GI Bill and the making of the greatest generation'' (2005)</ref> It has been criticized for various reasons including increasing racial wealth disparities during the era of [[Jim Crow]].
The original G.I. Bill ended in 1956. The [[Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008]] provided veterans with funding for the full cost of any public college in their state. The G.I. Bill was also modified through the passage of the [[Forever GI Bill]] in 2017.
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==History==
[[File:Veterans Administration letter for Don A. Balfour, July 6, 1944 - GI Bill student at George Washington University.jpg|thumb|Don A. Balfour was "the first recipient of the 1944 GI Bill." [[United States Veterans Administration|Veterans Administration]] letter to [[George Washington University]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The George Washington Uni Profile |work=DCMilitaryEd.com |access-date=January 9, 2014 |url=http://www.dcmilitaryed.com/cms/storyHE.php?county=DCMilitary&school=25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728100559/http://www.dcmilitaryed.com/cms/storyHE.php?county=DCMilitary&school=25 |archive-date=July 28, 2011 }}</ref>]]
On June 22, 1944, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill of Rights, was signed into law. Professor [[Edwin Amenta]] states:
:Veterans benefits were a bargain for conservatives who feared increasingly high taxation and the extension of New Deal national government agencies.  Veterans benefits would go to a small group without long-term implications for others, and programs would be administered by the VA, diverting power from New Deal bureaucracies.  Such benefits were likely to hamper New Dealers in their attempts to win a postwar battle over a permanent system of social policy for everyone.<ref>Edwin Amenta. ''Bold Relief: Institutional politics and the origins of modern American social policy'' (Princeton UP, 1998)  p247.</ref>
During the war, politicians wanted to avoid the postwar confusion about veterans' benefits  that became a political football in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>David Ortiz, ''Beyond the Bonus March and GI Bill: how veteran politics shaped the New Deal era'' (2013) p xiii</ref><ref>Kathleen Frydl, ''The G.I. Bill'' (Cambridge University Press, 2009) pp 47-54.</ref>  Veterans' organizations that had formed after the First World War had millions of members; they mobilized support in Congress for a bill that provided benefits only to veterans of military service, including men and women. Ortiz says their efforts "entrenched the VFW and the Legion as the twin pillars of the American veterans' lobby for decades."<ref>Ortiz, ''Beyond the Bonus March and GI Bill: how veteran politics shaped the New Deal era'' (2009) p xiii</ref><ref>Frydl, ''The G.I. Bill''  (2009) pp 102-44, emphasizes the central role of the American Legion.</ref>
[[Harry W. Colmery]], Republican National Committee chairman and a former National Commander of the American Legion, is credited with writing the first draft of the G.I. Bill.<ref name="gibill.va.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/benefits/history_timeline/index.html|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114015716/http://www.gibill.va.gov/Benefits/history_timeline/index.html|archive-date=November 14, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Findarticles.com">{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_/ai_n11807386 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231234425/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_/ai_n11807386 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 31, 2008 |title=FindArticles.com - CBSi |access-date=June 19, 2016 }}</ref> He reportedly jotted down his ideas on stationery and a napkin at the [[Mayflower Hotel]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="Findarticles.com"/>   A group of 8 from the [[Salem, Illinois]] American Legion have also been credited with recording their ideas for veteran benefits on napkins and paper. The group included Omar J. McMackin, Earl W. Merrit, Dr. Leonard W. Esper, George H. Bauer, William R. McCauley, James P. Ringley, A.L. Starshak and Illinois Governor, [[John Henry Stelle|John Stelle]] who attended the signing ceremony with President Roosevelt.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-01-16|title=History|url=https://salemamericanlegionpost128.com/history|access-date=2021-01-06|website=Luther B Easley Salem American Legion Post 128|language=en-US|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124150648/https://salemamericanlegionpost128.com/history|url-status=dead}}</ref>
U.S. Senator [[Ernest McFarland]], (D) AZ, and National Commander of the American Legion [[Warren Atherton]], (R) CA were actively involved in the bill's passage. [[Edith Nourse Rogers]], (R) MA, who helped write and who co-sponsored the legislation, might be termed as the "mother of the G.I. Bill". As with Colmery, her contribution to writing and passing this legislation has been obscured by time.<ref>{{cite book|author=James E. McMillan|title=Ernest W. McFarland: Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Governor and Chief Justice of the State of Arizona : a biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NAmWD6lvfMC|year=2006|publisher=Sharlot Hall Museum Press|isbn=978-0-927579-23-0|page=113}}</ref>
[[File:GIBill.jpg|thumb|left|A government poster informing soldiers about the G.I. Bill]]
The bill that President Roosevelt initially proposed had a means test—only poor veterans would get one year of funding; only top-scorers on a written exam would get four years of paid college. The American Legion proposal provided full benefits for all veterans, including women and minorities, regardless of their wealth.
An important provision of the G.I. Bill was low interest, zero [[down payment]] home loans for servicemen, with more favorable terms for new construction compared to existing housing.<ref>{{citation|title=A CHRONOLOGY OF HOUSING LEGISLATION AND SELECTED EXECUTIVE ACTIONS, 1892-2003|author=THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE|year=2004|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-108HPRT92629/html/CPRT-108HPRT92629.htm}}</ref> This encouraged millions of American families to move out of urban apartments and into suburban homes.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jackson, Kenneth T.|title=Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States|url-access=registration|year=1985|publisher=New York: Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-503610-7|url=https://archive.org/details/crabgrassfrontie00jackrich/page/206}}</ref>
Another provision was known as the 52–20 clause for unemployment. Unemployed war veterans would receive $20 once a week for 52 weeks for up to one year while they were looking for work. Less than 20 percent of the money set aside for the 52–20 Club was distributed. Rather, most returning servicemen quickly found jobs or pursued higher education.
The recipients did not pay any income tax on the GI benefits, since they were not considered earned income.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ellsworth Harvey Plank|title=Public Finance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mIPQAAAAMAAJ|year=1953|page=234}}</ref>
The G.I. Bill received criticism for directing some funds to [[For-profit higher education in the United States|for-profit educational institutions]]. The G.I. Bill was racially discriminatory, as it was intended to accommodate [[Jim Crow laws]]. Due to the discrimination by local and state governments, as well as by private actors in housing and education, the G.I. Bill failed to benefit African Americans as it did with white Americans. Columbia University historian [[Ira Katznelson]] described the G.I. Bill as [[Affirmative action in the United States|affirmative action]] for whites.<ref>ra Katznelson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Lw5xzMyzE5AC&dq=ewer+than+100+of+the+67%2C000+mortgages+insured+by+the+G.I.+Bill+supported+home+purchases+by+nonwhites&pg=PA140  ''When Affirmative Action Was White''], W. W. Norton & Co., 2005, p. 140.</ref> The G.I. Bill has been criticized for increasing racial wealth disparities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Darity, William A. Jr.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1119767347|title=From here to equality : reparations for Black Americans in the twenty-first century|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1-4696-5497-3|oclc=1119767347}}</ref>
The original G.I. Bill ended in 1956.<ref>{{citation|title=History And Timeline|publisher=U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs|url=https://benefits.va.gov/gibill/history.asp}}</ref> A variety of benefits have been available to military veterans since the original bill, and these benefits packages are commonly referred to as updates to the G.I. Bill.
===After World War II===
A greater percentage of [[Vietnam veteran]]s used G.I. Bill education benefits (72 percent)<ref name=Routledge>{{cite book|title=Student Veterans and Service Members in Higher Education|author1=Jan Arminio|author2=Tomoko Kudo Grabosky|author3=Josh Lang|publisher=Routledge|series=Key Issues on Diverse College Students|year=2015|page=12|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t1mcBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA12|isbn=9781317810568}}</ref> than World War II veterans (49 percent)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/history.asp|publisher=U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs|title=History and Timeline - Education and Training|access-date=February 3, 2019}}</ref> or [[Korean War]] veterans (43 percent).<ref name=Routledge />
====Canada====
Canada operated a similar program for its World War II veterans, with a similarly beneficial economic impact.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Thomas |last1=Lemieux |first2=David |last2=Card |title=Education, earnings, and the 'Canadian GI Bill' |journal=Canadian Journal of Economics |year=2001 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=313–344 |doi=10.1111/0008-4085.00077 |s2cid=154642103 |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w6718.pdf }}</ref>
==Problems==
===Racial discrimination===
The G.I. Bill aimed to help American [[World War II]] [[veteran]]s adjust to civilian life by providing them with benefits including low-cost [[mortgages]], low-interest loans and financial support. The chairman of the American Veterans Committee at the time, Charles G. Bolte, wrote that federal agencies were consistently discriminating "as though the legislation were earmarked 'For White Veterans Only'".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bolte|first1=Charles|last2=Harris|first2=Louis|url=https://gateway.uncg.edu/islandora/object/wvhp%3A4804#page/22/mode/1up|title=Our Negro Veterans, Public Affairs Pamphlet No. 128|date=1947}}</ref> According to historian Ira Katznelson, "the law was deliberately designed to accommodate [[Jim Crow]]".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kotz|first1=Nick|title=Review: 'When Affirmative Action Was White': Uncivil Rights|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/28/books/review/when-affirmative-action-was-white-uncivil-rights.html?_r=0|access-date=2 August 2015|work=The New York Times|date=28 August 2005}}</ref> In the New York and northern New Jersey suburbs 67,000 mortgages were insured by the G.I. Bill, but fewer than 100 were taken out by non-whites.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Katznelson|first1=Ira|title=When affirmative action was white : an untold history of racial inequality in twentieth-century America|date=2006|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York|isbn=978-0393328516|edition=[Norton pbk ed.]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lw5xzMyzE5AC&q=ewer+than+100+of+the+67%2C000+mortgages+insured+by+the+G.I.+Bill+supported+home+purchases+by+nonwhites&pg=PA140 | title=When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America| isbn=9780393347142| last1=Katznelson| first1=Ira| date=2006-08-17| publisher=W. W. Norton & Company}}</ref>
Additionally, some banks and mortgage agencies refused loans to black people.<ref name="Herbold 1994" /> After the war, many people, black people included, returned to their former lives of poverty, making it difficult for them to pursue the higher education opportunities afforded by the G.I. Bill.
In the South, which was still segregated at that time, some universities refused to admit black people until the Civil Rights movement. Colleges accepting black people in the South initially numbered 100. Some of those institutions were of lower quality, with 28 of them classified as sub-[[Bachelor's degree|baccalaureate]]. Only seven states offered post-baccalaureate training, while no accredited engineering or doctoral programs were available for blacks. These institutions were all smaller than white or non-segregated universities, often facing a lack of resources.<ref name="Turner and Bound">{{cite journal|last1=Turner|first1=Sarah|last2=Bound|first2=John|title=Closing the Gap or Widening the Divide: The Effects of the G.I. Bill and World War II on the Educational Outcomes of Black Americans|journal=The Journal of Economic History|date=March 2003|volume=63|issue=1|pages=151–2|doi=10.3386/w9044|doi-access=free}}</ref>
By 1946, only one fifth of the 100,000 black people who had applied for educational benefits had been registered in college.<ref name="Herbold 1994"/> Furthermore, [[historically black colleges and universities]] (HBCUs) came under increased pressure as rising enrollments and strained resources forced them to turn away an estimated 20,000 veterans. HBCUs were already the poorest colleges. HBCU resources were stretched even thinner when veterans' demands necessitated an expansion in the curriculum beyond the traditional "preach and teach" course of study.<ref name="Herbold 1994">{{cite journal|last1=Herbold|first1=Hilary|title=Never a Level Playing Field: Blacks and the GI Bill|journal=The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education|date=Winter 1994|issue=6|pages=104–108|doi=10.2307/2962479|jstor=2962479}}</ref>
Though black people encountered many obstacles in their pursuit of G.I. benefits, the bill greatly expanded the population of African Americans attending college and graduate school. In 1940, enrollment at Black colleges was 1.08% of total U.S. college enrollment. By 1950 it had increased to 3.6%. However, these gains were limited almost exclusively to Northern states, and the educational and economic gap between white and black nationally widened under the effects of the G.I. Bill.<ref name="Turner and Bound conclusion">{{cite journal|last1=Turner|first1=Sarah|last2=Bound|first2=John|title=Closing the Gap or Widening the Divide: The Effects of the G.I. Bill and World War II on the Educational Outcomes of Black Americans|journal=The Journal of Economic History|date=March 2003|volume=63|issue=1|pages=170–72|doi=10.3386/w9044|doi-access=free}}</ref> With 79 percent of the black population living in southern states, educational gains were limited to a small portion of black Americans.<ref name="Herbold 1994" />
===Merchant marine===
Congress did not include the [[United States Merchant Marine|merchant marine]] veterans in the original G.I. Bill, even though they were considered military personnel in times of war in accordance with the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1936]]. As President Roosevelt (Democrat) signed the G.I. Bill in June 1944 he said, "I trust Congress will soon provide similar opportunities to members of the merchant marine who have risked their lives time and time again during war for the welfare of their country." Now that the youngest World War II veterans are in their 90s, efforts have been made to recognize the merchant mariners' contributions by giving some benefits to the remaining survivors. In 2007, three different bills to address this issue were introduced in Congress, of which one only passed in the House of Representatives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usmm.org/urgent.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131131445/http://www.usmm.org/urgent.html|url-status=dead|title=Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007|archive-date=January 31, 2012}}</ref> The Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007 establishes Merchant Mariner equality compensation payments by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of a monthly benefit of $1,000 to each individual who, between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, was a documented member of the U.S. Merchant Marine (including Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service).  This bill was introduced to the House by Rep. Bob Filner (D-California) in 2007 and passed the House but not the Senate so did not become law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/23|title=H.R.23 - 110th Congress (2007-2008): Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007|first=Bob|last=Filner|date=September 5, 2007|website=www.congress.gov}}</ref> Another attempt to notice Merchant Marines in the G.I. Bill was the 21st Century GI Bill of Rights Act of 2007, introduced by Sen. Hillary Clinton, Entitles basic educational assistance to Armed Forces or reserves who, after September 11, 2001: (1) are deployed overseas; or (2) serve for an aggregate of at least two years or, before such period, are discharged due to a service-connected disability, hardship, or certain medical conditions. Entitles such individuals to 36 months of educational assistance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-bill/1409|title=S.1409 - 110th Congress (2007-2008): 21st Century GI Bill of Rights Act of 2007|first=Hillary Rodham|last=Clinton|date=May 16, 2007|website=www.congress.gov}}</ref> Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Florida)  got the house to pass easier access to the GI Bill by "verifying honorable service as a coast-wise merchant seaman between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977." It passed the House and went no further.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/2189|title=H.R.2189 - 113th Congress (2013-2014): To improve the processing of disability claims by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.|first=Jeff|last=Miller|date=October 29, 2013|website=www.congress.gov}}</ref>
===Colleges that target veterans===
After the GI Bill was instituted in the 1940s, a number of "fly-by-night" vocational schools were created. Some of these for-profit colleges still target veterans, who are excluded from the [[90-10 rule]] for federal funding. This loophole encourages for-profit colleges to target and aggressively recruit veterans and their families.<ref name="newgibill.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.newgibill.org/blog/the-90-10-rule-why-predatory-schools-target-veterans|title=The 90-10 Rule: Why Predatory Schools Target Veterans|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-date=August 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817223750/http://www.newgibill.org/blog/the-90-10-rule-why-predatory-schools-target-veterans|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/06/for-profit-college-veterans-loophole/396731/|title=Why For-Profit Colleges Target Military Veterans|first=Alia|last=Wong|website=[[The Atlantic]]|date=June 24, 2015|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Davidson |first=Jake |date=November 11, 2014 |title=Money Military Heroes: How For-Profit Colleges Target Military Veterans (and Your Tax Dollars) |url=https://money.com/collection-post/veterans-college-for-profit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224143504/https://money.com/collection-post/veterans-college-for-profit/ |archive-date=February 24, 2020 |access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref> Legislative efforts to close the 90-10 loophole have failed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/best-for-vets/education/2015/06/23/for-profit-colleges-gibill-problems/29160377/|title=For-profit schools targeted again over GI Bill payouts|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/profit-colleges-9010-loophole-latest-target-democrats-military-veterans-education-1982127|title=For-Profit Colleges' 90/10 Loophole Latest Target For Democrats With Military And Veterans Education Protection Act|website=[[International Business Times]]|date=June 24, 2015|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref>
According to the GI Bill Comparison Tool, the largest recipients of GI Bill Funds are
*[[University of Phoenix]]  $190,941,289
*[[University of Maryland Global Campus]] $67,806,473
*[[American Public University System]]  $58,773,186
*[[Full Sail University]]  $48,678,834
*[[Colorado Technical University]] $48,024,079
*[[Arizona State University]] $42,759,321
*[[Liberty University]]  $33,938,851
*[[National University (California)|National University]]  $32,080,876
*[[Southern New Hampshire University]] $30,986,463
Lead generators like [[QuinStreet]] have also acted as third parties to recruit veterans for subprime colleges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/04/09/150148966/for-profit-schools-under-fire-for-targeting-veterans|title=For-Profit Schools Under Fire For Targeting Veterans|website=NPR.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/military-branded-websites_b_9131742|title=Military-Branded Websites Push Veterans to Troubled For-Profit Colleges|date=February 1, 2016|website=HuffPost}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.democraticmedia.org/article/private-profit-colleges-and-online-lead-generation|title=Private For-Profit Colleges and Online Lead Generation &#124; Center for Digital Democracy|website=www.democraticmedia.org|access-date=August 26, 2017|archive-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827001627/https://www.democraticmedia.org/article/private-profit-colleges-and-online-lead-generation|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Inadequate disability coverage ===
The bill specified that any veteran requiring a prosthetic limb would be entitled to one and the training required to utilize it, as well as limited funding for  custom automobiles and home renovations. Author Bess Williamson highlighted that there were extensive obstacles to veterans receiving prosthetic limbs following the first and second World Wars. These included inadequate types of prosthetics, poor quality of prosthetics, and a high emphasis on societal reintegration that emphasized aesthetics over function.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Williamson |first=Bess |title=Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design |publisher=NYU Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781479894093 |pages=19–42}}</ref> However, the sympathetic perception of veterans, influenced by films like ''Meet McGonegal'' (1944),<ref>Department of Defense (1944), Meet McGonegal http://exhibits.usu.edu/items/show/18493</ref> helped to drive innovation of prosthetic devices. Williamson also argued that these veteran's benefits, despite their flaws, set the stage for later government support and legislation, like the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disabilities Act]].<ref name=":0" />
==Content==
All veteran education programs are found in law in Title 38 of the United States Code.  Each specific program is found in its own Chapter in Title 38.
Unlike scholarship programs, the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) requires a financial commitment from the service member. However, if the benefit is not used, the service member cannot recoup whatever money was paid into the system.
In some states, the National Guard does offer true scholarship benefits, regardless of past or current MGIB participation.
===Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI Bill)===
In 1984, former Mississippi Democratic Congressman [[Gillespie V. Montgomery|Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery]] revamped the G.I. Bill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/history.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060709175000/http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/history.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 9, 2006|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref> From 1984 until 2008, this version of the law was called "The Montgomery G.I. Bill". The '''Montgomery GI Bill&nbsp;— Active Duty''' (MGIB) stated that active duty members had to forfeit $100 per month for 12 months; if they used the benefits, they received {{As of|2012|lc=on}} $1564 monthly as a full-time student (tiered at lower rates for less-than-full-time) for a maximum of 36 months of education benefits. This benefit could be used for both degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship/on-the-job training, and correspondence courses if the veteran was enrolled full-time. Part-time veteran students received less, but for a proportionately longer period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/mgib_ad.asp|title=Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD) - Education and Training|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref> This meant that for every month the veteran received benefits at the half-time, the veteran's benefits were only charged for 1/2 of a month. Veterans from the reserve had different eligibility requirements and different rules on receiving benefits (see Ch. 1606, Ch. 1607 and Ch. 33). MGIB could also be used while active, which only reimbursed the cost of tuition and fees. Each service has additional educational benefit programs for active duty members. Most delay using MGIB benefits until after separation, discharge or retirement.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}}
===="Buy-Up" option====
The "Buy-Up" option, allows active duty members to forfeit up to $600 more toward their MGIB. For every dollar the service member contributes, the federal government contributes $8.  Those who forfeit the maximum ($600) will receive, upon approval, an additional $150 per month for 36 months, or a total of $5400. This allows the veteran to receive $4,800 in additional funds ($5400 total minus the $600 contribution to receive it), but not until after leaving active duty (unless the tuition of a term is higher than the monthly MGIB rate would pay).  The additional contribution must be made while still on active duty. It is available for G.I. Bill recipients using either Ch. 30 or Ch. 1607, but cannot be extended beyond 36 months if a combination of G.I. Bill programs are used.  It will pay past 36 months of eligibility, by being paid to the end of the term where entitlement is exhausted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/benefits.htm#MGIBAD|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005040618/http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/benefits.htm#MGIBAD|archive-date=October 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The "buy-up" option is not to be confused with a "kicker".  A kicker is an additional payment as well, however it is a contractual incentive for specific jobs, and not an optional offering soldiers can pay into.
====Time limit/eligibility====
MGIB benefits may be used up to 10 years from the date of last discharge or release from active duty. The 10-year period can be extended by the amount of time a service member was prevented from training during that period because of a disability or because he/she was held by a foreign government or power.
The 10-year period can also be extended if one reenters active duty for 90 days or more after becoming eligible. The extension ends 10 years from the date of separation from the later period. Periods of active duty of fewer than 90 days qualify for extensions only if one was separated for one of the following:
* A service-connected disability
* A medical condition existing before active duty
* Hardship
For those eligible based on two years of active duty and four years in the Selected Reserve (also known as "call to service"), they have 10 years from their release from active duty, or 10 years from the completion of the four-year Selected Reserve obligation to use MGIB benefits.
At this time, service members cannot recoup any monies paid into the MGIB program should it not be utilized.
====Top-up option====
Service members may use GI bill in conjunction with Military Tuition Assistance (MilTA) to help with payments above the MilTA CAP. This will reduce the total benefit available once the member leaves service. Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–377, January 4, 2011), Section 111, amended Title 38, U.S. Code, by adding section 3322(h), "Bar to Duplication of Eligibility Based on a Single Event or Period of Service," which does not allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish eligibility for a Service Member under more than one education benefit. If a service member applies for Montgomery GI Bill benefits (such as the Top-up option to augment Tuition Assistance) and entered service on/after August 1, 2011, then they must incur a subsequent period of service to convert to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. If the service member cannot incur another period of service, they are not eligible to convert.  The VA considers a service member has elected a GI Bill upon submission of VA Form 22–1990.and VA approval and issues a Certificate of Eligibility.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=William |title=INFORMATION PAPER |url=https://www.hrc.army.mil/Site/Assets/Directorate/tagd/Post_9-11_GI_%20Bill_Bar_to_Duplication.pdf |work=hrc.army.mil |publisher=US Army |access-date=September 5, 2016 |ref=AHRC-PDE-I |pages=2 |language=en |format=Information Paper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918015708/https://www.hrc.army.mil/Site/Assets/Directorate/tagd/Post_9-11_GI_%20Bill_Bar_to_Duplication.pdf |archive-date=September 18, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
====Educational====
* College, business
* Technical or vocational courses
* Correspondence courses
* Apprenticeship/job training
* Flight training (usually limited to 60% for Ch. 30, see Ch. 33 for more flight information)
Under this bill, benefits may be used to pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree at a college or university, a cooperative training program, or an accredited independent study program leading to a degree.
===Chapter 31 (Vocational Rehabilitation Program)===
"Chapter 31" is a [[vocational rehabilitation]] program that serves eligible active duty servicemembers and veterans with service-connected disabilities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/|title=Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Home|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref>  This program promotes the development of suitable, gainful employment by providing vocational and personal adjustment counseling, training assistance, a monthly subsistence allowance during active training, and employment assistance after training. Independent living services may also be provided to advance vocational potential for eventual job seekers, or to enhance the independence of eligible participants who are presently unable to work.
In order to receive an evaluation for Chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation and/or independent living services, those qualifying as a "servicemember" must have a memorandum service-connected disability rating of 20% or greater and apply for vocational rehabilitation services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp|title=U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs|first=Philadelphia|last=IIT|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-date=June 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617181843/http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> Those qualifying as "veterans" must have received, or eventually receive, an honorable or other-than-dishonorable discharge, have a VA service-connected disability rating of 10% or more, and apply for services. Law provides for a 12-year basic period of eligibility in which services may be used, which begins on latter of separation from active military duty or the date the veteran was first notified of a service-connected disability rating. In general, participants have 48 months of program entitlement to complete an individual vocational rehabilitation plan. Participants deemed to have a "serious employment handicap" will generally be granted exemption from the 12-year eligibility period and may receive additional months of entitlement as necessary to complete approved plans.
===Chapter 32 (Veterans Educational Assistance Program)===
The Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) is available for those who first entered active duty between January 1, 1977, and June 30, 1985, and elected to make contributions from their military pay to participate in this education benefit program. Participants' contributions are matched on a $2 for $1 basis by the Government with a maximum allowable participant contribution of $2,700.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/veap.asp|title=Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) - Education and Training|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref> (Maximum possible government contribution: $5,400. Maximum possible benefit: $8,100.) This benefit may be used for degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship/on-the-job training and correspondence courses.
===Chapter 33 (Post-9/11)===
{{Main|Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008}}
Congress, in the summer of 2008, approved an expansion of benefits beyond the current G.I. Bill program for military veterans serving since the [[September 11 attacks]] originally proposed by Democratic Senator [[Jim Webb]].  Beginning in August 2009, recipients became eligible for greatly expanded benefits, or the full cost of any public college in their state. The new bill also provides a housing allowance and $1,000 a year stipend for books, among other benefits.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp|title=Post-9/11 GI Bill - Education and Training|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref>
The VA announced in September 2008 that it would manage the new benefit itself instead of hiring an outside contractor after protests by veteran's organizations and the [[American Federation of Government Employees]].  Veterans Affairs Secretary [[James B. Peake]] stated that although it was "unfortunate that we will not have the technical expertise from the private sector," the VA "can and will deliver the benefits program on time."<ref>Davenport, Christian, "Expanded GI Bill Too Late For Some", ''[[Washington Post]]'', October 21, 2008, p. 1.</ref>
President Obama Launches Post-9/11 GI Bill
August 3, 2009 | 12:01
President Obama marks the launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which will provide comprehensive education benefits to our veterans. The bill will provide our veterans the skills and trainings they need to be successful in the future, and is part of the Presidents plan to build a new foundation for the 21st century. August 3, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/4161|title=President Obama Launches Post-9/11 GI Bill|website=The White House}}</ref>
In December 2010 Congress passed the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2010. The new law, often referred to as G.I. Bill 2.0, expands eligibility for members of the National Guard to include time served on [[Title 32 of the United States Code|Title 32]] or in the full-time [[Active Guard Reserve|Active Guard and Reserve]] (AGR). It does not, however, cover members of the Coast Guard Reserve who have served under [[Title 14 of the United States Code|Title 14]] orders performing duties comparable to those performed by National Guard personnel under Title 32 orders.
The new law also includes:
enrollment periods. In this case if the veteran is full-time, and his or her maximum BAH rate is $1500 per month, then he or she will receive (13/30)x$1500 = $650 for the end of the first period of enrollment, then the veteran will receive (10/30)x$1500 = $500 for the beginning of the second period of enrollment. Effectively, the change in break-pay means the veteran will receive $1150 per month for August instead of $1500 per month. This has a significant impact in December - January BAH payments since most Colleges have 2-4 week breaks.
Another change enables active-duty servicemembers and their G.I. Bill-eligible spouses to receive the annual $1,000 book stipend (pro-rated for their rate of pursuit), adds several vocational, certification and OJT options, and removes the state-by-state tuition caps for veterans enrolled at publicly funded colleges and universities.
Changes to Ch. 33 also includes a new $17,500 annual cap on tuition and fees coverage for veterans attending private colleges and foreign colleges and universities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://military-education.military.com/2011/01/va-offers-more-details-on-gi-bill-changes/|title=Education|last=Military.com|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140128053137/http://military-education.military.com/2011/01/va-offers-more-details-on-gi-bill-changes/|archive-date=January 28, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Chapter 34 (Vietnam Era G.I. Bill)===
The Vietnam Era G.I. Bill provided educational assistance for service members serving on Active Duty for more than 180 days with any portion of that time falling between January 31, 1955, and January 1, 1977.  To be eligible, service members must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.  There was no service member contribution for this program like Chapter 30 or 32.  This program was sunset on December 31, 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gibill.va.gov/Training/stakeholder/runtime/jobaids/glossary/glossarypages.html?chapter34-vietnameragibill
|title=Vietnam Era G.I. Bill (REAP)|website=www.gibill.va.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/admin22/m22_4/part01/ch03.htm
|title=Vietnam Era G.I. Bill|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref>
===Chapter 35 (Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program)===<!-- This section is linked from [[SDEAP] -->
The Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Program delivers education and training advantages to dependents from eligible resources to veterans who have either have a terminal illness due to a service-related condition, or who were called to active duty or had a disability related to serving in the American forces in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.va.gov//education/survivor-dependent-benefits/dependents-education-assistance|title=Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance|date=November 15, 2019|website=Veterans Affairs|access-date=April 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324095550/https://www.va.gov/education/survivor-dependent-benefits/dependents-education-assistance/|archive-date=March 24, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> That program gives around 50 months of education benefits. However, there are still more opportunities. The benefits may be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, and on the job training. Spouses of veterans and former spouses are offered free courses occasionally.
===Chapter 1606 (Montgomery GI Bill- Selective Reserve)===
The Montgomery G.I. Bill&nbsp;— Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) program may be available to members of the
Selected Reserve, including all military branch reserve components as well as the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. This benefit may be used for degree and certificate programs, flight training, apprenticeship/on-the-job training and correspondence courses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/mgib_sr.asp|title=Montgomery GI Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) - Education and Training|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref>
===Chapter 1607 (Reserve Educational Assistance Program)===
{{Main|Chapter 1607 (G.I. Bill of Rights)}}
The Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) was available to all reservists who, after September 11, 2001, complete 90 days or more of active duty service "in support of contingency operations." This benefit provided reservists return from active duty with up to 80% of the active duty (Chapter 30) G.I. Bill benefits as long as they remained active participants in the reserves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/reap.asp|title=Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) - Education and Training|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref>  Chapter 1607 was sunset on November 25, 2019, to make way for the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.va.gov/education/other-va-education-benefits/reap/|title=Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP)|website=www.benefits.va.gov|date=February 11, 2022}}</ref>
==MGIB comparison chart==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!align="left"|Type
!align="left"|Active Duty MGIB [[Chap 30 (G.I. Bill of Rights)|Chapter 30]]
!align="left"|Active Duty Chap 30 Top-up
!align="left"|Post-9/11 G.I. Bill [[Chapt. 33 (G.I. Bill of Rights)|Chapter 33]]
!align="left"|Voc Rehab [[Chap 31 (G.I. Bill of Rights)|Chapter 31]]
!align="left"|VEAP [[Chap 32 (G.I. Bill of Rights)|Chapter 32]]
!align="left"|DEA [[Chap 35 (G.I. Bill of Rights)|Chapter 35]]
!align="left"|Selected Reserve [[Chap 1606 (G.I. Bill of Rights)|Chapter 1606]]
!align="left"|Selected Reserve [[Chap 1607 (G.I. Bill of Rights)|(REAP) Chapter 1607]]
!align="left"|Additional Benefits [[Tuition Assistance]]
!align="left"|Additional Benefits [[Student Loan Repayment Program]]
|-
!align="left"|Info link
!align="left"|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_gibill_active.cfm|title=ArmyStudyGuide.com - A FREE Online and Audio Army Board Study Guide for U.S. Army Promotion Boards and Soldier / NCO Boards.|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418173746/http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_gibill_active.cfm|archive-date=April 18, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH30/CH30_Pamphlet_General.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523122900/http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH30/CH30_Pamphlet_General.htm|archive-date=May 23, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="military.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.military.com/education/gi-bill|title=GI Bill, Montgomery and Post 9/11 GI Bills|last=Military.com|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref>
!align="left"|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_tuition.cfm|title=ArmyStudyGuide.com - A FREE Online and Audio Army Board Study Guide for U.S. Army Promotion Boards and Soldier / NCO Boards.|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417155556/http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_tuition.cfm|archive-date=April 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/tatu.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529192241/http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/tatu.htm|archive-date=May 29, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
!align="left"|<ref name="military.com"/>
!align="left"|
!align="left"|<ref name="military.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_veap.cfm|title=ArmyStudyGuide.com - A FREE Online and Audio Army Board Study Guide for U.S. Army Promotion Boards and Soldier / NCO Boards.|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525073406/http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_veap.cfm|archive-date=May 25, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH32/CH32_Pamphlet_General.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529055512/http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/Ch32/Ch32_Pamphlet_General.htm|archive-date=May 29, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
!align="left"|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_dea.cfm|title=ArmyStudyGuide.com - A FREE Online and Audio Army Board Study Guide for U.S. Army Promotion Boards and Soldier / NCO Boards.|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225192817/http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_dea.cfm|archive-date=February 25, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH35/CH35_Pamphlet_General.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131120044001/http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/ch35/ch35_pamphlet_general.htm|archive-date=November 20, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
!align="left"|<ref name="military.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_gibill_reserve.cfm|title=ArmyStudyGuide.com - A FREE Online and Audio Army Board Study Guide for U.S. Army Promotion Boards and Soldier / NCO Boards.|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418184238/http://www.militaryconnections.com/education_gibill_reserve.cfm|archive-date=April 18, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH1606/CH1606_Pamphlet_General.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524034015/http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH1606/CH1606_Pamphlet_General.htm|archive-date=May 24, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
!align="left"|<ref name="military.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH1607/REAP_FAQ.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528042156/http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH1607/REAP_FAQ.htm|archive-date=May 28, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gibillmaze.webs.com/ |title=Help For GI Bill Applications|website=GIbillmaze.webs.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028044521/http://gibillmaze.webs.com/ |archive-date=October 28, 2012 }}</ref>
!align="left"|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.armyreserveeducation.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929103816/https://armyreserveeducation.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 29, 2019 |title=Armyreserveeducation.com |access-date=June 19, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.military.com/education/content/money-for-school/tuition-assistance-ta-program-overview.html|title=Military Tuition Assistance|first=Radhika|last=Bodapati|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref>
!align="left"|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/reserve/soldierservices/pay/studentloanrepay.htm |title=Student Loan Repayment |access-date=April 13, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630202424/https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/reserve/soldierservices/pay/studentloanrepay.htm |archive-date=June 30, 2016 |url-status=dead }} |</ref>
|-
!align="left"|Time limit (eligibility)
|align="left"|10 yrs from last discharge from active duty.
|align="left"|While on active duty only.
|align="left"|If service ended before January 1, 2013; benefits expire 15 yrs after last discharge from active duty. If discharged on or after January 1, 2013; benefits do not expire.
|align="left"|12 yrs from discharge or notification of service-connected disability, whichever is later. In cases of "extreme disability", the 12-year timeline can be waived.
|align="left"|Entered service for the first time between January 1, 1977, and June 30, 1985; Opened a contribution account before April 1, 1987; Voluntarily contributed from $25 to $2700
|align="left"|
|align="left"|While in the Selected Reserve
|align="left"|
While in the Selected Reserve.  If separated from Ready Reserve for disability which was not result of willful misconduct, for 10 yrs after date of entitlement.
|align="left"|On the day one leaves the Selected Reserve; this includes voluntary entry into the [[Individual Ready Reserve|IRR]].
|align="left"|On the day one leaves the Selected Reserve; this includes voluntary entry into the [[Individual Ready Reserve|IRR]].
|-
!align="left"|Months of benefits (full time)
|align="left"|36 months<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/rates/CH30/ch30rates100107.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204011519/http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/rates/CH30/ch30rates100107.htm|archive-date=December 4, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|align="left"|36 months
|align="left"|36 months
|align="left"|48 months
|align="left"|1 to 36 months depending on the number of monthly contributions
|align="left"|up to 45 months<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/rates/CH35/ch35rates100105.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523232435/http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/rates/CH35/ch35rates100105.htm|archive-date=May 23, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|align="left"|36 months<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/rates/CH1606/ch1606rates100105.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926030908/http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_info/rates/CH1606/ch1606rates100105.htm|archive-date=September 26, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|align="left"|36 months<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/rates/CH1607/ch1607rates100105.htm|title=Education and Training Home|last=223D|access-date=June 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227110343/http://www.gibill.va.gov/GI_Bill_Info/rates/CH1607/ch1607rates100105.htm|archive-date=December 27, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|align="left"|Contingent as long as one serves as a drilling Reservist.
|align="left"|Contingent as long as one serves as a drilling Reservist.
|}
==Other legal safeguards==
The State of California has an 85-15 rule that aims to prevent predatory for-profit colleges and "fly-by-night schools" from targeting veterans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.revealnews.org/article-legacy/university-of-phoenix-barred-from-enrolling-veterans-in-7-programs/|title=University of Phoenix barred from enrolling veterans in 7 programs|date=July 30, 2014|access-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref>
In 2012, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13607 to ensure that military service members, veterans, and their families would not be aggressively targeted by sub-prime colleges.<ref name="gpo.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-02/pdf/2012-10715.pdf |title= Executive Order 13607 of April 27, 2012 Establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members |date=May 2, 2012 |access-date=October 11, 2016 |publisher=Government Publishing Office}}</ref>
==GI Bill Comparison Tool and college choice==
The Department of Veterans Affairs maintains a website for veterans to compare colleges that use the GI Bill, in order to use their educational benefits wisely.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.va.gov/education/gi-bill-comparison-tool|title= GI Bill comparison-tool|website=Veterans Affairs|access-date=Sep 21, 2023}}</ref>
VA also has a GI Bill Feedback System for veterans to lodge their complaints about schools they are attending.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/Feedback.asp|title=Feedback - Education and Training|website=www.benefits.va.gov}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Social history of soldiers and veterans in the United States]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* Abrams, Richard M. "The U.S. Military and Higher Education: A Brief History." ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' (1989) 404 pp.&nbsp;15–28.
* Altschuler, Glenn, and Stuart Blumin. The GI Bill: The new deal for veterans. Oxford University Press, 2009. [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Of_ClUdHQYUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=BLUMIN+G+I+BILL+Veterans&ots=9zAK83mCfL&sig=OgSchajeGiy0GWibvuJheG2kZKw online]
*  Ballard, Jack S. ''The shock of peace: military and economic demobilization after World War II'' (1983) [https://archive.org/details/shockofpeacemili0000ball online]
* Bennett, Michael J. ''When Dreams Came True: The GI Bill and the Making of Modern America'' (Brassey's, 1996).
* Bound, John,  and Sarah Turner. "Going to War and Going to College: Did World War II and the G.I. Bill Increase Educational Attainment for Returning Veterans?" ''Journal of Labor Economics'' 20#4 (2002), pp.&nbsp;784–815 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/342012 in JSTOR]
* Boulton, Mark. ''Failing our Veterans: The G.I. Bill and the Vietnam Generation'' (NYU Press, 2014).
* Childers, Thomas. ''Soldier from the war returning: The greatest generation's troubled homecoming from World War II'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mrgU33zij9gC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=childers+soldier+war&ots=b4c4XVk4P0&sig=5ayl_Znl-Fd9HdFXklrdtOKVcSg online].
*  Clark, Daniel A. "'The two joes meet—Joe College, Joe Veteran': The GI Bill, college education, and postwar American culture". ''History of Education Quarterly'' (1998),  38#2, pp.&nbsp;165–189.
* Frydl, Kathleen. ''The GI bill'' (Cambridge University Press, 2009).  [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ewBz5b9_QAwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA36&dq=frydl+bill&ots=B5LVOvQ8Ih&sig=EZ3e2VZwkGJ41Wtl6D7GlCYDk5E online]
* Gambone, Michael D. ''The greatest generation comes home: the veteran in American society'' (Texas A&M University Press, 2005) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hMivsITJikkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Gambone+Greatest&ots=vPcMRfLXMK&sig=y3kiXyMwCeLPSAr1ADXfDBgoq8Y online]
* Gambone, Michael D. ''Long Journeys Home: American Veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam'' (Texas A&M University Press, 2017) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=obtCDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=Gambone+Greatest&ots=V8Wlzy0eNL&sig=jLnAErvt02v0nhXNLo2RVFZxAAk online].
* {{cite book | title = Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream | publisher = Harcourt | isbn = 0-15-100710-1 | year = 2006 | author = Humes, Edward | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/overhere00edwa }}
* Jennings, Audra. ''Out of the Horrors of War: Disability Politics in World War II America'' (U of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). 288 pp.
* Mettler, Suzanne. ''Soldiers to citizens: The GI Bill and the making of the greatest generation'' (Oxford University Press, 2007) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=U7LcLK3zGR8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=mettler+soldiers&ots=HdApoPp_-p&sig=9z82OS9qWAhVUmAb7n624saOj7M online].
* Nagowski, Matthew P. "Inopportunity of Gender: The G.I. Bill and the Higher Education of the American Female, 1939-1954" ''Cornell University ILR Collection" (2005) [http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=student online]; statistical approach
* Nam, Charles B. "The Impact of the 'GI Bills' on the Educational Level of the Male Population" ''Social Forces'' 43 (October 1964): 26-32.
* Olson, Keith.  "The G. I. Bill and Higher Education: Success and Surprise," ''American Quarterly'' Vol. 25, No. 5 (December 1973) 596-610. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2711698 in JSTOR][https://www.jstor.org/stable/2711698 in JSTOR]
* Olson, Keith, ''The G.I. Bill, The Veterans, and The Colleges'' (Lexington: [[University Press of Kentucky]], 1974)
* Peeps, J. M. Stephen. "A B.A. for the G.I. . . . Why?" ''History of Education Quarterly'' 24#4 (1984) pp 513-25.
* Ross, David B. ''Preparing for Ulysses: Politics and Veterans During World War II'' (Columbia University Press, 1969).
* {{cite journal |last=Stanley |first=Marcus |year=2003 |title=College Education and the Midcentury GI Bills |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics |volume=118 |issue=2 |pages=671–708 |doi=10.1162/003355303321675482 |jstor=25053917 }}
* Van Ells, Mark D. ''To Hear Only Thunder Again: America's World War II Veterans Come Home''.  Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2001.
*Woods, Louis, "Almost 'No Negro Veteran…Could Get a Loan:' African Americans, the GI Bill, and the NAACP Campaign Against Residential Segregation, 1917-1960," ''The Journal of African American History'', Vol. 98, No. 3 (Summer 2013) pp.&nbsp;392–417.
{{Div col end}}
==External links==
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'''Official'''
* {{Official website}}
* [https://www.va.gov/education/gi-bill-comparison-tool GI Bill Comparison Tool]
'''General information'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150620024645/http://www.gibillforum.com/ GI Bill Forum]
* [http://www.mygibill.org The American Legion's MyGIBill.org]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20001110043800/http://gibill.va.gov/ The Department of Veteran Affairs' GI Bill website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190929103752/http://www.objector.org/before-you-enlist/postwar.html Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors analysis of the MGIB]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121120130605/http://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/DOD_Flyer.pdf Education Fact Sheet for Guard & Reserve Members]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090201152148/http://education.military.com/money-for-school/state-veteran-benefits Education Benefits Available by States]
* [https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00019 Guide to the GI Bill Oral Histories 2003-2004]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200801020728/https://www.armyreserveeducation.com/Unsecured/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fMGIBWeb%2fCH_1607_Notification.aspx%3fSessionID%3d34ef341d-60ac-497e-a660-19450135795c&SessionID=34ef341d-60ac-497e-a660-19450135795c Web-Enable Education Benefits System]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193052/http://www.gibill.va.gov/resources/education_resources/programs/tuition_assistance_top_up.html GI Bill top up program]
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