Kicker and College Fund

College Fund: Qualifications for the College Fund are established by the military branches. The qualifications are usually based on a critical occupational specialty. The VA does not determine eligibility of this additional benefit.

If you qualify for the College Fund, you do not receive it in one lump-sum payment. Your total College Fund is divided into monthly payments (based on the 36 months of eligibility under the MGIB) that are added to regular MGIB payments. You cannot receive your College Fund money without receiving MGIB benefits. It is an add-on to your MGIB benefit.

To speed processing of your College Fund, please send the VA Regional Processing Office a copy of your Enlistment Contract: P.O. Box 8888, Muskogee, OK 74402-8888. It is best to send this with your initial Application For Educational Benefits (DD Form 22-1990).

Kicker: Currently the VA does not have a way to interface with the US Department of Defense to verify service members who pay the $600.00 additional contribution. The VA requests each service member who paid this contribution to submit Xeroxed copy of the following:

• DD Form 2366
• Copy of LES's - if deductions are payroll deducted
• DD Form 1131 - Cash Voucher if paid cash in full

These documents provide proof to the VA that the $600.00 was paid and they will process your claim to include this kicker.

To speed processing of your kicker, please send the VA Regional Processing Office a copy of the abovelisted documents to: P.O. Box 8888, Muskogee, OK 74402-8888. It is best to send this with your initial Application For Educational Benefits (DD Form 22-1990).

The kicker is divided by the number of months of eligibility available under the MGIB or MGIB-Selected Reserve. It is an add-on to your MGIB or MGIB-Selected Reserve benefit.

Advance Pay

• You may apply for advance payment of educational benefits before the start of the term if you are enrolled at least half time (6 units). You must indicate submit the Advance Pay/Advance Certification Request Form. This must be done at least 45 days prior to the start of classes but not more than 120 days in advance.
• Advance payment will include two months of payments and the student will not receive further benefits until the end of the third month. Benefits are normally paid at the end of the month for the preceding month.
• Checks are mailed to the Sacramento State Office of Veterans Affairs, including those for veterans who have signed up for direct deposit.
• Once your check is received by the Sacramento State Veterans Affairs Office, you will be notified with a postcard. To obtain your check, you will be required to bring a photo I.D. and your enrollment sticker for the semester that you were certified. This typically occurs 2 weeks before the semester begins.

Taxes

Paid Days

Break Pay

Break (Interval) pay between semesters, quarters, and terms is paid according to the rules outlined below. Breaks are paid at the rate paid on the ending date of the term preceding the break. Breaks are paid automatically by VA unless one of the following restrictions precludes payment for the break.

Restrictions on Break Pay

• The break is more than 8 weeks.
• The term before or after the break is shorter than the break.
• Training time the last day of the preceding semester, quarter, or term is less than 1/2-time.
• The student withdrew from all courses during the preceding semester, quarter, or term.
• The student's entitlement will exhaust and not paying the break is to the student's advantage.
• The student requests no pay for a break before payment for the break is authorized.
• The student is on active duty.

Keeping these restrictions in mind, the following tables summarize break pay for students who continue at the same school and for students who transfer from one school to another:

Summer Term Rule

Summer term is the whole of the period of instruction that takes place between ordinary school years. Summer term may be divided into several summer sessions. The following table summarizes summer term break pay for students who continue at the same school.

Summer term may have multiple sessions. For example, a school operating on a quarter system might have an 8 week session, an 11 week standard length quarter, and three 4 week sessions during its "summer term".

• If a student only attends the 8 week session, VA will pay benefits for the 8 week session and will pay the spring to summer term break and the summer term to fall break following the basic restrictions on break pay.
• If a student attends the first and the third 4 week session, the student's summer term is 12 weeks with a 4 week break between the first and third sessions. VA will pay each session and will pay the break between the first and third session because it's 30 days or less. It's exactly 30 days. If it were 31 days or more, the break between the first and third sessions wouldn't be paid. VA will consider this student's summer term to be 12 weeks and will pay the spring to summer term break and the summer term to fall break following the basic restrictions on break pay.
• If terms overlap, the basic rules apply and the break is paid using the combination of dates that pays the highest rate to the student. Using the same dates, a student is certified 8 credits for the 8 week session and 3 credits for the 11 week summer quarter. The student will be paid full-time for 8 weeks and < 1/2-time for 3 weeks.