GI Bill students surprised when living stipend stops between semesters

Going to college on government promises gets tougher …

By Rick Maze – Staff writer Military Times
Posted : Tuesday Feb 28, 2012 14:57:23 EST

Breaks between college terms have become tough on some students using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, they say, because they no longer receive living stipends during those periods.

The change is costing former soldier Luke DiRaimo, an Afghanistan veteran attending Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y., about $8,000 over the course of a full school year, he said.

“I’m an honorably discharged veteran who served in the infantry. I did my part; now it seems like the government is going back on promises it made me in my contract when I enlisted,” said DiRaimo, 24, who wants to become a geologist.

He is one of the thousands of veterans hurt by a policy that took effect Aug. 1 that terminates GI Bill benefits on the day a term ends and doesn’t restart them until the next term begins. The length of such breaks varies from school to school but typically can last three weeks over the winter recess or several months over the summer.

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