Educational Benefits

100% Tuition Waiver

Montana's 100% Tuition Waiver is available to all Montana Army National Guard Soldiers and can be used at all schools within the Montana University System. These schools include, but are not limited to:

UM Missoula

MSU Bozeman

Montana Tech

Rocky Mountain College

MSU Billings

MSU Northern

Great Falls College MSU

City College MSU

Gallatin College MSU

UM Western

Helena College UM

Missoula College UM

Highlands College MT Tech

Bitterroot College UM

Flathead Valley Community College

Miles City Community College

Dawson Community College

Remember that you have to reapply for the waiver every academic year. To find the instructions on how to apply for this waiver, click HERE

GI Bill

The GI Bill provides incredible education benefits for eligible Guard Soldiers. If you qualify, you could earn a monthly expense allowance of up to $384—totaling over $13,500 in a four-year period. And if you qualify for the GI Bill Kicker, you’ll earn even more.

Best of all, this money is sent directly to you (not to your school) to spend on books, supplies—anything you want.

Most of these benefits can be used to pay for a college degree, a trade or apprenticeship program, and many other training or professional licensing programs. And some benefits may be transferable to dependents.

GI Bill Kicker

The Army National Guard Montgomery GI Bill Kicker program encourages qualified applicants and Soldiers to enlist into critical military jobs and units. This program applies only to specific critical Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs) and certain deployable units. The Kicker is an incentive, not an entitlement, so you’ll need to be qualified in order to receive the benefit.

The Kicker is paid in conjunction with a basic Montgomery GI Bill benefit, and eligibility can be established only if you’re eligible for the MGIB-SR, Chapter 1606, or MGIB-AD, Chapter 30, programs. A Soldier may receive a maximum of 36 months of benefits under the Kicker program based on the kicker rate they contracted for ($100, $200 or $350). All payments are tax-free. When eligibility for the basic benefit expires, so does eligibility for the Kicker.

Student Loan Repayment Program

The National Guard values higher education and offers many types of assistance to help you stay on track while you serve. The Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is available to Soldiers and officer candidates (09S) who have one or more qualifying and disbursed Title IV federal loan(s) and will pay up to $50,000 of qualified loans!

The loans must be listed on the Department of Education National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) aid summary website.

Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) that are in the name of anyone other than the Soldier applying for the SLRP program are not eligible for repayment.

State and private loans are not eligible for repayment under the SLRP.

This information will help you understand the basic benefits and requirements of the SLRP. If you need more details or have questions about how to enroll, contact your Recruiter, state point of contact, officer strength manager or education services officer (ESO).

ELIGIBILITY

If you are a non-prior service (NPS) Soldier, you are eligible for the SLRP as a standalone incentive to include enlisting under the Split Training Option and/or Civilian Acquired Skills Program (CASP) options, provided you meet the following requirements:

Enlist for a minimum six-year term of service.

Enlist for a critical skills (CS) vacancy in the grade of E-4 or below.

Enlist into a qualifying position in most units (check with your Recruiter for more details).

Score a minimum of 50 on the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT).

Must not be enlisting as a non-09S SLRP Officer Candidate School (OCS) or as a 09R SMP cadet (except for the 09S SLRP option).

Must not have or will receive a Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty (GRFD) scholarship.

Must not be enlisting in the Recruit Force Pool or Active First Programs.

Must not be enlisting as a glossary non-prior service (GNPS) Soldier.