If you’ve thought about going to college, but didn’t know if you could afford it, then the Military Tuition Assistance program may be just the benefit you need. The program is available to active duty, National Guard and Reserve Component service members. While the decision to pursue a degree may be a difficult one personally, TA can lessen your financial concerns considerably, since it now pays up to 100% of tuition expenses for semester hours costing $250 or less.

Courses and degree programs may be academic or technical and can be taken from two- or four-year institutions on-installation, off-installation or by distance learning. An accrediting body recognized by the Department of Education must accredit the institution. Your service branch pays your tuition directly to the school. Service members need to first check with an education counselor for the specifics involving TA by visiting their local installation education office or by going online to a virtual education center. Tuition assistance may be used for the following programs:

• Vocational/technical programs
• Undergraduate programs
• Graduate programs
• Independent study
• Distance-learning programs

All four service branches and the U.S. Coast Guard offer financial assistance for voluntary, off-duty education programs in support of service members’ personal and professional goals. The program is open to officers, warrant officers and enlisted active-duty service personnel. In addition, members of the National Guard and Reserve Components may be eligible for TA based on their service eligibility. To be eligible for TA, an enlisted service member must have enough time remaining in service to complete the course for which he or she has applied. After the completion of a course, an officer using TA must fulfill a service obligation that runs parallel with – not in addition to – any existing service obligation.

The Tuition Assistance Program may fund up to 100% of your college tuition and certain fees with the following limitsNot to exceed $250 per semester credit hour or $166 per quarter credit hour
Not to exceed $4,500 per fiscal year, Oct. 1 through Sept. 30

While the TA program is offered by the services, the Department of Veterans Affairs administers a variety of education benefit programs. Some of the VA programs, such as the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008, also known as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, can work well with the TA program, as it can supplement fees not covered by TA. In addition, the Post-9/11 GI Bill® funds are available to you after you leave the military. If your service ended before Jan. 1, 2013, you have 15 years to use this benefit. If your service ended on or after Jan. 1, 2013, the benefit won’t expire. The TA program is a benefit that is available only while you’re in the service.

Tuition assistance will cover the following expenses:

• Tuition
• Course-specific fees such as laboratory fee or online course fee

NOTE: All fees must directly relate to the specific course enrollment of the service member.

Tuition assistance will not cover the following expenses:

• Books and course materials
• Flight training fees
• Taking the same course twice
• Continuing education units, or CEUs

Keep in mind that TA will not fund your college courses, and you will have to reimburse any funds already paid, if any of the following situations occur:

• Leaving the service before the course ends
• Quitting the course for reasons other than personal illness, military transfer or mission requirements
• Failing the course

Each military branch has its own TA application form and procedures. To find out how to get started, visit your local installation education center, go online to a virtual education center or click on the following links for each service branch:

• Army

• Marine Corps

• Navy

• Air Force

Prior to your course enrollment, you may be required to develop an education plan or complete TA orientation. Be sure to keep the following important information in mind when you apply:

• Military tuition assistance may only be used to pursue degree programs at colleges and universities in the United States that are regionally or nationally accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S Department of Education. A quick way to check the accreditation of a school is by visiting the Department of Education.

• Your service’s education center must approve your military tuition assistance before you enroll in a course.

The Top-up program allows funds from the Montgomery GI Bill — Active Duty or the Post-9/11 GI Bill – to be used for tuition and fees for high-cost courses that are not fully covered by TA funds.

Eligibility. To use Top-up, your service branch must approve you for TA. You also must be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or the Montgomery GI Bill — Active Duty.
Application. First apply for TA in accordance with procedures of your service branch. After you have applied for TA, you will need to complete VA Form 22-1990 to apply for Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits. The form is available online from the VA. Make sure you specify “Top-up” on the application and mail it to one of the education processing offices listed on the form.

You may be eligible for benefits through the Post-9/11 GI Bill if you’ve served on active duty for at least 90 days, whether continuous (all at once) or interrupted (for shorter periods over time), after September 10, 2001.

Learn more about the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Note: If you choose to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) instead of the Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD, or Chapter 30), you can’t switch at some later date to use MGIB-AD.

You may be eligible for benefits through one of our Montgomery GI Bill programs.

Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD)

You can get benefits through MGIB-AD if you served at least 2 years on active duty and you meet all of these requirements.

All of these must be true:

• You were honorably discharged, and
• You have a high school diploma, GED, or 12 hours of college credit, and
• You meet other requirements

Note: If you have only 1 period of service that begins on or after August 1, 2011, and you start receiving payments for MGIB-AD, you may lose your eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Learn more about MGIB-AD

You can get help deciding which education benefits to use by calling us at 888-442-4551 (TTY: 711). We’re here Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.

Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR)

You can get benefits through MGIB-SR if you’re a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard Reserves, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard, and you meet all of these requirements.

All of these must be true:

• You have either a 6-year service obligation (you agreed to serve 6 years) in the Selected Service, or
• You’re an officer in the Selected Reserve who agreed to serve 6 years in addition to your initial service obligation, and
• You meet other requirements

Learn more about MGIB-SR

You may be able to get a maximum of 48 months of VA education benefits—not including Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits. But many applicants are eligible for only 36 months.

You may be able to get help paying for school tuition, testing fees, and advanced licensing and certifications through other VA educational assistance programs. You may also be able to get entrepreneurship training to help start or improve a small business.Learn more about advanced training and certifications.

Learn about other educational assistance programs.

You may be able to get free educational and career counseling through the Personalized Career Planning and Guidance program (Chapter 36) if you meet one of these requirements.

One of these must be true:

• You’re leaving active service soon, or
• You have been discharged within the past year, or
• You’re a Veteran or dependent who is eligible for VA education benefits

Learn more about educational and career counseling

If you have a service-connected disability that limits your ability to work or prevents you from working, you may be eligible for Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits and services—like help exploring employment options and getting more training if required.Find out if you qualify for Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E).

If you’ve received one of these discharge statuses, you may not be eligible for VA benefits.There are 2 ways you can try to qualify:

Find out how to apply for a discharge upgrade .
Learn about the VA Character of Discharge review process.

In some cases, the dependent or surviving spouse and children of a Veteran can get educational assistance through a GI Bill program.Learn more about Survivors’ and Dependents’ Assistance.

Also, if you haven’t used all of your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, you may be able to transfer up to 36 months of benefits to your spouse or a dependent child.

Learn more about transferring benefits.

If you have a service-connected disability that limits your ability to work or prevents you from working, your dependent family members may be eligible for educational and career counseling benefits through the Personalized Career Planning and Guidance program (Chapter 36).

Learn more about employment benefits for dependent family members.

You can apply online right now. Just answer a few questions, and we’ll help you get started with the education benefits form that’s right for you.Apply for education benefits
Learn more about how to apply for education benefits.Note: To apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31) or educational and career counseling through Personalized Career Planning and Guidance (Chapter 36), you’ll need to use a different application.Find out how to apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31).Find out how to apply for educational and career counseling (Chapter 36).