National Guard Residency Classification

I have a question about the National Guard and residency. I was looking at out of state colleges. If you are in another states National Guard unit are you considered a resident of that state? I have been looking specifically at Louisiana and Kentucky. I have tried getting answers from the National Guard and they always get me in contact with in- state recruiters. I am aware of the federal tuition assistance offered and my states specific benefits. If anyone could shed light on the general process about residency relating to the National Guard for out of state students, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Your timing is impeccable!
I had the same question and contacted the ROO at my DS' first choice school which is out of state.

He told me that YES, you would qualify for in-state resident tuition AFTER completing Basic and AIT (for Army NG). I would suspect it would be the same for the for the Air National Guard (although they do not offer SMP, so you would need to do either ROTC or ANG enlisted but not both).

The ROO also confirmed that if DS only completed Basic, that he would NOT receive in-state tuition rate and would only be eligible for $4500 Federal Tuition Assistance (MGIB: Montgomery GI Bill I presume).

The real financial benefits don't kick in until after AIT is completed.

Thats great information thank you!! So then the question is it worth starting college late for AIT. I'm not sure what state your DS is looking at. I'm certain from my research on these two states and my homestate of Illinois the national guard pays full tuition. Would you think that you would have to complete AIT for that bonus?

ZAROTCZ33 said:

Thats great information thank you!! So then the question is it worth starting college late for AIT. I'm not sure what state your DS is looking at. I'm certain from my research on these two states and my homestate of Illinois the national guard pays full tuition. Would you think that you would have to complete AIT for that bonus?

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Recommend talking to someone in ILNG

http://www.isac.org/students/during...al-guard-(ing)-grant-program.html#Eligibility

Eligibility
To be a qualified applicant, you must:

•Be an Illinois National Guard member, defined as meeting one of these two criterion:
◦be active in the Illinois National Guard or
◦have been active in the Illinois National Guard for at least five consecutive years and had his/her studies interrupted by being called to federal active duty service for at least six months and be within 12 months after your discharge date from the Illinois National Guard. (These applicants may be eligible to receive an additional year of ING Grant Program eligibility. Eligibility under this provision is determined by the Education/Incentives Branch of the Military Personnel Office in Springfield, Illinois. Questions regarding your individual eligibility status under this provision should be directed to your chain of command, or to the Education/Incentives Branch of the Military Personnel Office at 217.761.3782.)
•Have completed one full year of service in the Illinois National Guard
•Be an enlisted member or an officer
•Be enrolled at an Illinois public 2- or 4-year college
•Not be in default on any student loan, nor owe a refund on any state or federal grant
•Maintain an acceptable grade point average (GPA) according to the policy determined by your college
•Submit your complete application on or before the deadline date, based on the first term for which you wish to receive funds each academic year. For 2012-13:
◦October 1, 2012 - Full Year Consideration
◦March 1, 2013 - Only 2nd Semester (2nd/3rd Quarter) and Summer Consideration
◦June 15, 2013 - Only Summer Term Consideration

Yes, by all means PLEASE check with the particular state NG you are considering. Their tuition assistance programs do vary (sometimes significantly) from state to state.

For my DS, we were looking at IA (Iowa) NG.

From our ROO:

I'll answer your questions in order here:

1) ZYZ would join the IANG and be eligible for in-state tuition?

Yes, once he completes basic training and AIT, he would be eligible for the in-state tuition rate of payment. That would reduce his out-of-state tuition in half.

2) Would he have a chance to attend and complete Basic Training before Fall semester starts?

Yes, he could complete basic training before fall semester, but he would need to talk with a recruiter soon because the summer slots fill up fast. If he only completes basic training, and not AIT, he would only get federal tuition assistance at 4500 for the year his first year.

I talked to a national guard recruiter in the state of Louisiana and he said Louisiana is one of five states which you get 100 percent tuition paid for and are automatically considered a resident in joining the national guard.

ZAROTCZ33 said:

I talked to a national guard recruiter in the state of Louisiana and he said Louisiana is one of five states which you get 100 percent tuition paid for and are automatically considered a resident in joining the national guard.

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I'm curious as to what this means after graduation. What is your obligation to the LA NG? Basically, how long are you required to essentially live in or near LA?

I'm curious to this recruiter said he can't really do anything for me until I graduate highschool. I would be living down their full time is what he implied though. I had a couple other things he mentioned that im just going to make a new thread about.

ZAROTCZ33 said:

I'm curious to this recruiter said he can't really do anything for me until I graduate highschool. I would be living down their full time is what he implied though. I had a couple other things he mentioned that im just going to make a new thread about.

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OK. Thanks.