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Four Grants that Could Apply to You

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog ‘Soldier to Student”. This blog is going to cover the four educational grants you may or may not be eligible for. Since these grants are very complex, this post will be more of a broad overview with future posts going more into depth on individual grants. These grants include the Post 9-11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill, the Illinois Veterans Grant, and the Illinois National Guard Grant.

  1. The Post 9-11 GI Bill (PGIB or Chapter 33): This is a federal grant given to those who have served on active duty or in the Selected Reserve for 90 or more days after Sep. 10, 2001. The payment rate depends on how much active-duty time or federal service a member has. What it can pay may include…

    1. Tuition and fees

    2. Money for housing 

    3. Money for books and supplies

    4. Money to help you move from a rural area to go to school

    Below I am going to link the official page for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs 

which will include a more in-depth description about who qualifies, what is covered, the 

amount you can receive, how to apply, and so much more.

https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/ 


  1. The Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB-AD): This is also a federal grant given to those who served at least two years active duty. There is also a Montgomery GI Bill for selected reserves that I will not be covering as it does not pertain to those transitioning out of active duty. This grant is a flat rate that is determined based on a few things like length of service, type of education, your category, and a few other things. I will link the official page for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs again which goes into specific details. 

https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/montgomery-active-duty/ 


  1. The Illinois Veterans Grant (IVG): This is a state funded program that pays tuition and mandatory fees at all Illinois state-supported colleges, universities and community colleges for eligible Illinois veterans. For an individual to qualify for this grant they must…

    1. Be an honorably discharged veteran

    2. Reside in Illinois six months before entering the service

    3. Have at least one full year of active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces

    4. Return to Illinois within six months of discharge from the service

    For more information on this grant refer to the link below to the Illinois Student 

Assistance Committee.

https://www.isac.org/isac-gift-assistance-programs/illinois-veteran-grant/ 


  1. The Illinois National Guard Grant (ING): This is also a state funded program that provides eligible tuition and certain fees to members of the Illinois National Guard for undergraduate or graduate study at Illinois 2- and 4-year public colleges. I included this one because many soldiers transitioning from active duty sign national guard contracts which may open more doors like this one. That being said this grant also has many stipulations, one of the big ones being you must be in the guard for a year to receive benefits. I will again link the Illinois Student Assistance Committee in order to provide more information. 

https://www.isac.org/students/during-college/types-of-financial-aid/grants/ing-grant-program.html 


Aside from the ING, these grants are most likely the ones that you are offered solely from completing your active duty contract honorably. It is a lot of information to take in and can be difficult trying to determine which one is right for you. Another thing to consider is that some grants can be used in conjunction with each other. I plan on doing in-depth posts on each individual grant as well as posts on how to apply for these grants so stay tuned for more on ‘Soldier to Student’.

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