- You must be recertified every semester to receive benefits.
- To gain access to benefits from your GI Bill, you must submit a certificate to the Penn State Certifying Official through LionPATH (your student account profile). This ensures that your tuition bill is paid and that you will receive your monthly benefit. It is best to submit the certificate after you sign up for classes each semester.
- You must verify enrollment every month through text message.
- The VA will text you asking if you stayed enrolled for the full month. It will also ask if you dropped or added any classes. You must reply to the text every month to ensure you get your monthly benefit throughout the school year.
- The Certifying Official will conduct a monthly audit of your classes. Any changes to your course load will then be reported to the VA and could result in the loss of part or the full amount of your monthly benefit. Notify the Certifying Official if you plan to make any changes to your course load throughout the year.
- The book stipend is linked to the number of credits you take. A maximum of twenty-four credits will be paid for a full school year.
- Every semester, you will be paid a book stipend depending on the number of credits you are enrolled in. This will not exceed the twenty-four credits or $1,000 book stipend limit for one school year.
- The GI Bill can be used for summer classes. Benefits will be paid according to enrollment status (i.e., full-time or part-time).
- A course load of six credits is considered full-time for the summer.
- You can continue your monthly benefit into the summer.
- The first twelve credits of each semester must be in your degree plan. Anything over twelve credits can be used for any class.
- If you drop below twelve credits or are at twelve credits, but one class is not in your degree plan, you will be considered part-time and will not receive the full benefit.
- If you need to drop a class, meet with your academic adviser and your Certifying Official to ensure your full-time status and monthly benefit remain intact. Both can advise about replacement classes that will satisfy the rules of the GI Bill, help you avoid accruing additional debt, and keep your monthly benefit.
- You must maintain a 2.0 or higher GPA in every class. If your GPA drops below 2.0, you will be responsible for paying back the VA unless there are special circumstances.
- This includes any grants you receive. Falling below a 2.0 might result in having to pay back both.
- Students are responsible for VA debt, not the school
- If you gets a refund for tuition, Penn State will pay, not the VA. The VA will charge a debt against you, and you must pay the debt. If you are receiving any compensation from the VA (i.e., service connection, retirement, education benefit, etc.), the VA will take the debt from that payment first.
- If you have one day remaining on your GI Bill award, you can take a semester full-time and still receive the monthly benefit for the whole semester. As long as you have one day left on your GI Bill (you will get a notice from the VA stating how much time you have left), you can take that semester, and they will pay out full benefits. They will only do this once.
- This only applies for one semester.
- You must have enough courses to enroll as a full-time status (twelve credits).
- These classes cannot be classes you have taken before. If you have failed a class and need to take it again, or if you passed it and want to take it for a better grade, that class is not eligible for this rule.
You can receive up to $1,000 each school year for tutoring.
A monthly housing stipend for full-time students is available. The housing stipend will include summer if you take classes at the full-time load.