How Does the Military Pay for College?

How does active duty military pay for college books?

• My husband has decided to go back to college. He is still active and gets TA assistance that pays for his tution ONLY. He called the VA today to find out how to get his GI Bill money to pay for his books and was told that he CANNOT use the GI Bill to pay for his books, only his tution. So, what sense was it to pay in the $200 a month if he cannot use his GI Bill money to pay for his textbooks? They have told him when he gets out, he can use his GI Bill money for ANY college expense. This doesn't sound right AT ALL. But he did talk to 3 different people about this and all 3 told him the same thing: If active duty you can only pay for your tution with your GI Bill. So now we are on the hunt for ways to pay for his books. I am also going to school and am using my GI Bill to pay for my college expenses. We are currently looking for scholarships and have filled out the FAFSA. If anyone has any ideas that would be great. Thanks.

• Answer:

  What you were told is, unfortunately, true. Active duty military offers TA (tuition assiatance) where the education office on base pays the school directly the cost of tuition. So, the military member never actually sees the money and doesnt have a chance to spend it on anything else... including books. The GI Bill, when used as a veteran not on active duty, is a monthly check sent to the member intended to cover the cost of tuition, books, etc. This amount is mostly determined by the number of hours a semester, a part time student would recieve half the amount of money a full time student would and vice versa. The problem I can think of when trying to use the GI Bill on active duty to cover the cost of books, is that there is not a way to recieve a certain amount of money because books cost different amounts. For example, I borrowed an english book from a coworker when I was taking english... and I bought a psycology book for $20 from someone in the dorms. On the other hand, my anatomy book cost me $180. SO, you can see where this could cause some problems. Another reason is because TA is a military federal benefit as is the GI Bill, also why reserve duty cant use the 2 benefits at the same time... kind of ''double dipping''. You guys should be thankful that TA is currently 100%. I was taking classes at one time when it fell to 75% and the other costs had to be covered by my GI Bill (not in excess.. so no books here either) they just took the money directly. Tell your husband to ask around at his shop and see if he can borrow a book. The base library SOMETIMES has the correct text books for the college classes. Check the bulliten board at the school. Finially, amazon.com, half.com (ebay), and check ecampus.com (cheap!!) hope this helps!