Southwest Mississippi Community College G.I. Bill® Tuition Assistance

How much of the cost at SMCC will the G.I. Bill® cover? The answer depends on the school — benefits are capped and the details vary, so it pays to do your research.

$3,960 Veteran Tuition & Fees

$3,960 Guaranteed Post-9/11 Benefit

$0 Tuition Out of Pocket

Your Estimated Out-of-Pocket Cost
How Tuition Is Covered
Yellow Ribbon Participation
Per-Credit Fees & the Active-Duty Cap
Housing Allowance Coverage
Book Stipend Coverage
Veteran Benefit Dollars
References

Attend Southwest Mississippi Community College as a Veteran With Little to No Tuition Out of Pocket

Here is how the Post-9/11 GI Bill® tuition benefit stacks up against the published cost of attending SMCC. Living-expense and book benefits are addressed in their own sections below.

Item	Amount
Veteran tuition & fees	$3,960
Guaranteed Post-9/11 tuition benefit	$3,960
Tuition out of pocket	$0

Public College Tuition Fully Covered by GI Bill® Benefits

Public-college veterans generally have their entire in-state tuition paid by the Post-9/11 GI Bill® at SMCC.

Yellow Ribbon Participation Unconfirmed

Federal data does not indicate that SMCC currently participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Contact the veteran services office to confirm whether any programs offer Yellow Ribbon matching.

Active-Duty Tuition Assistance and Per-Credit Cost

Active-duty service members using DoD Tuition Assistance are capped at $250 per credit hour. The chart below shows whether the per-credit charge at SMCC falls under that cap.

Residency	Per-credit charge	Below $250 cap?
In-state	$300
Out-of-state	$300

Monthly Housing Allowance for Veterans

The Post-9/11 GI Bill® also covers housing through a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA). Here is how that benefit compares to the estimated cost of living at SMCC.

Item	Amount
Estimated living expenses (room & board, academic year)	$5,500
Post-9/11 monthly housing allowance (MHA)	$1,617/mo
Housing benefit (academic year, ~8 months)	$12,936
Estimated surplus in your pocket	$7,436

For most full-time students the housing allowance covers the cost of living off campus, with money left over. The MHA is based on the school’s ZIP code and is paid at the full-time rate for resident students.

Book and Supply Stipend

Eligible veterans receive up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies; SMCC estimates these costs at about $440, so the stipend covers them in full.

GI Bill® & DoD Benefits Used at Southwest Mississippi Community College

These figures show the GI Bill® and DoD Tuition Assistance dollars veterans and service members actually used at SMCC.

In the latest reporting year, about 19 veterans received Post-9/11 GI Bill® tuition payments of $53,667.

Benefit	Recipients	Total disbursed	Average / recipient
GI Bill® (all students)	19	$64,809	$3,411
GI Bill® — undergraduate	19	$64,809	—
DoD Tuition Assistance (all)	3	$5,750	$1,917
DoD TA — undergraduate	3	$5,750	—

GI Bill® dollars are paid on the veterans behalf, while DoD Tuition Assistance supports active-duty service members.

Veteran Services & Links

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at benefits.va.gov/gibill.