Post 9/11 GI Bill and Excelsior College Exams

[Leherself]

So, some people might already know this, but it was a surprise to me when I found out (and if I'd known, I would have approached my degree plan totally differently).

This only applies to people who are using the Post 9/11 Gi Bill at Excelsior College. (I don't think TECEPs work this way, but if I'm wrong then by all means let me know!)

Most people using the GI Bill already know how the Monthly Housing Allowance works. If you're taking more than half time, you get a certain amount of money. If all of your classes are distance, then it's a percentage (based on course load) of half the national average BAH for an E5 with dependents. If you're taking one in-person class, then you get the local MHA rate.

What I was surprised to find out was that Excelsior's exams are treated like classes, at least if you're enrolled at Excelsior when you're taking them. The day you register for an exam is the first day of your "semester". The day you take the exam is the last day of your semester. 3 credits in 4 weeks is full time enrollment. So if you're taking one local class for three credits, and on the first day of semester you also sign up for three, three-credit Uexcel exams (and you take them all at the end of the semester), then you're going to get the max GI Bill benefits for that semester. Or you can sign up for one exam at a time, and take them faster (standard semester is about 15 weeks, so one in-person 3-credit class that is full length, then one 3-credit Uexcel exam every five weeks). Or combine with online classes as needed - whatever your degree plan requires. Keep in mind that the timeline is the important bit here. Excelsior lets you take an exam up to six months after you register, and the GI Bill *will* pay for that, but your rate of pursuit doing things that way is so low that it's not even going to be a blip on their radar.

Yes, this actually works. This is my first semester attempting it, and I tell you what, the extra money in my pocket is *amazing* (local housing allowance here is more than 2k a month. Huge). I wouldn't be able to handle this kind of load with full-on courses (even online courses), since I work full time, but exams are easier to manage. Study though! You don't get credit for failing.