Friday, January 27, 2012

How Online Education for Military Personnel?

Whether you are in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps, now is a great time for you to continue your education. Going back to school online is a great way for active duty service men and women to get their education while continuing their service.

Military service is tough and time consuming. For active service members who are also taking care of a family, free time is almost non-existent. Going back to school online is a great way to continue your education, while staying home with your family and continuing your service.

One of the greatest benefits offered to military personnel is financial assistance towards continuing their education. Not only do the benefits apply to the service members, but in some cases their depends can benefit as well.

Military tuition benefits and subsidies

In some cases, if you are an active service member, your tuition could be entirely covered by your military branch. For additional financial benefits and aide, there are a number of military financial grants and subsidies in place including:

The Montgomery GI Bill:

The Montgomery GI Bill is available to active duty service members who enroll in the program. The program requires members to pay $100 a month for a 12 month period. After the 12 months and once you have completed a minimum service obligation, the service member is eligible to receive an education benefit each month. You must have a 6 year obligation to be eligible.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill:

If you have at least 90 days of active service post September 10, 2001 then you are most likely eligible for the post-9/11 GI Bill. The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides finances to service members for both education and housing. The Post 9/11 GI Bill can be very helpful for individuals going back to school. The bill will pay your entire tuition up to $17,500 per school year depending on what state you are in - some states offer even more financial assistance.

In addition to your tuition, the bill will also help you pay for your text books. You can receive up to $1,000 for books and supplies each year.

Also, the bill also offers a monthly housing allowance for those service members going back to school. The allowance varies on a number of factors, including where you go to school and what state you live in, but the allowance can be as much as $700.

Lastly, a very unique feature of the Post 9/11 GI Bill is that the benefits are transferrable to dependents. So in the event that your spouse or children are going back to school, they can use the same benefits as the service member would.

The Yellow Ribbon program:

The Yellow Ribbon Program is a unique program and varies on many factors. You should consult your branch's education councilor for further details on eligibility and the program.

Active duty service members are not eligible for the program. Furthermore, the program is not transferrable to their family members like the Post 9/11 GI Bill is.