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11 May 2015

Five facts about using VA educational benefits: What you need to know

By Renzo Lara



If you have served in the United States military and are eligible for educational benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), UC San Diego Extension is proud to play a part in realizing your educational goals. Applying for VA educational benefits at any college or university can be a complicated process, so we’ve compiled five fast facts that address frequently asked questions to help make registration easier.

1. We can help you with multiple types of VA educational benefits.

  • The Post 9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33)

  • The Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 33)

  • Vocational/Rehabilitation Benefits (Chapter 31)

  • Dependent Benefits (Chapter 35)

  • Montgomery GI Bill for Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606)

2. The VA only pays for approved academic programs.

Eligible students must plan to pursue an entire certificate or program of study as opposed to individual classes or multiple certificates. VA benefits exclude courses that are not part of the selected certificate or program study.

3. You must apply directly to the VA for benefits.

If you have never applied for VA benefits, start by filing form #22-1990. If you have applied for educational benefits and used them at another school, please complete form #22-1995. (Chapter 31 students, please visit the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment website.)

It typically takes 4-5 weeks for the VA to process new applications. For continuing students, it usually takes 2-3 weeks for the VA to process paperwork, so plan accordingly.

4. Students must complete the benefits application process.

In order to process your benefits, we will need:

  1. VA Educational Benefits Intake Form

  2. VA Requirements and Student Responsibilities

  3. UC San Diego Extension Terms & Conditions - Various VA forms (corresponds to a particular VA Chapter)

Our VA Registration Packet provides all of these forms, and provides full details on required VA forms and academic transcripts needed to process your educational benefits.

5. Registration depends on educational benefit.

  • Students using Chapter 33 and 31 benefits must contact their VA representative for class enrollments.

  • Chapter 30, 35, or 1606 students must enroll and pay for courses.

After students have enrolled, the VA representative certifies classes to the VA. Given the multiple student requests during our peak weeks (the first week or two of the quarter), students must submit course enrollments within a reasonable time frame before the beginning of each quarter.

For more information on our VA Educational Benefit procedures, please visit our VA benefits page or feel free to contact us at unex-veterans@ucsd.edu.

We sincerely thank you for your service and look forward to assisting you with the next steps in your educational career. It's our goal for you to succeed. Please let us know how else we can help you reach your educational goals.