GI Bill Military Education Benefits FAQ

If you have never used your VA education benefits before, you will first need to apply with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA may also allow you to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a qualified family member, who must then apply to use the transferred benefits.

After you submit your application, the VA will mail you a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), usually within four to six weeks. The VA is responsible for determining your eligibility for education benefits.

Once the VA has determined that you are eligible for benefits, you will need to submit the following two documents to VACertify@du.edu:

1. Your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) or a Statement of Benefits from va.gov
2. A completed Intent to Use Veteran Benefits Information Sheet

The Intent to Use form asks for your full Social Security number, the term in which you intend to begin using your benefits, and your anticipated graduation date.

Chapter 35 dependents: Your VA File Number is the Social Security number of the service member who earned the benefit. The VA File Number is required for Chapter 35 dependents only.

Certification

Once DU has your required documentation on file and you have registered for classes, we will begin the two-step certification process. Certification typically begins 30 to 60 days before the start of the term.

Step 1: Enrollment certification
Before the term begins, we certify the credits for all courses that apply to your degree program. If you register for a course that does not apply to your degree program, our office will contact you.

Step 2: Tuition and fees certification
For Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill beneficiaries, we certify your tuition and fees after the 100% refund drop period ends. Depending on processing times, it may take several weeks for the VA to pay DU.

For most other VA education benefit chapters, no separate tuition and fees certification is required.

You will receive an automated notification from the VA each time a certification is submitted. These notifications will be sent to the email address on file with the VA.

No application needed for Yellow Ribbon. If you qualify, Yellow Ribbon benefits are applied automatically once you reach the annual tuition cap set by the VA. To qualify for Yellow Ribbon, you must have Chapter 33 benefits available to use and 100% eligibility. The amount of Yellow Ribbon funding received does not vary depending on your program. All Undergraduate and Graduate students eligible for Yellow Ribbon are eligible for unlimited funding. 

Chapter 35 benefits are paid directly to the student and are meant to assist with the cost of education, not pay for it completely. Payments are based on your enrollment credits. Please visit the Education and Training page and scroll down to the rate table for Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program (DEA/Chapter 35) to determine your payment.

Students are eligible for a $1000 book stipend each year (100% eligibility rate). Funds are disbursed after your enrollment has been certified and approximately one week before the start of the term. Plan to pay for books up front and be reimbursed when the VA makes its payment. Stipend amounts are prorated each term based on your number of credits. Once you reach the cap, you will not receive additional book stipends until next year. The current calculation for books is approximately $41 per credit hour.

The VA manages and distributes the book stipend. If you have questions about payment, please call them at 1-888-442-4551.

BAH is a housing benefit provided by the DoD and is for active-duty service members, whereas MHA is a benefit provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. MHA is for veterans, dependents, and National Guard and Reserves service members. Both use the same BAH rate tables, but eligibility and calculations differ. Only students registered for more than half-time qualify for housing. Full-time for undergraduates is 12 credits per quarter. Full-time for graduate students is 8 credits per quarter.  Additionally, VA will only pay housing for the dates you are in class. Online-only courses qualify for ½ of the national average housing rate. Classroom, hybrid courses, internships, externships, and independent study courses qualify for the housing rate based on DU’s zip code.

• To calculate your BAH click here. To calculate your MHA click here. The calculations are estimates only and assume at least 36 months of active-duty service. Service lengths of less than 36 months will reduce the percentage of maximum benefit payable. Please call the VA at (888)442-4551 for specifics on your particular payment eligibility.
• BAH and MHA are managed and distributed by the VA. If you have questions regarding eligibility or payment, call them at (888)442-4551.

Possibly. If the immersion or study abroad experience is a required part of your degree program, the VA may cover the experiential/immersion/program fee, provided it is billed to your student account and can be itemized into separate components (e.g., food, lodging, other costs).  The VA will not cover food, lodging, or travel components. It is the student’s responsibility to provide the VA Certifying Office with an itemized list. If it is not received, we cannot submit it to the VA for payment, and you will be required to pay for it out of pocket. Please work with your department if you are studying abroad through Korbel or Sturm College of Law, or with University Academic Programs (UAP) if you are utilizing Short-term or Interterm Travel to fulfill this requirement. 

No, students must be pursuing either an undergraduate degree, graduate certificate, or graduate degree at DU. Benefits cannot be used for Boot Camps or any other non-credit certificates.

That depends on several factors, so please email VACertify@du.edu for the best answer for your situation.

Students whose eligibility rate is less than 100% are subject to tuition caps based on their percentage. Each quarter, the VA will pay your percentage and you are responsible for paying the remainder. Once you have reached the tuition cap for your percentage, the VA will not make any more payments, and you will be responsible for the full cost of your tuition and fees for the remainder of the academic year.  Caps for less than 100% eligibility rates for the 2026-2027 academic year are as follows:

• 90% Eligibility = $27,817.51
• 80% Eligibility = $24,726.67
• 70% Eligibility = $21,635.84
• 60% Eligibility = $18,545.00
• 50% Eligibility = $15,454.17

The VA requires that all tuition-based funding, such as private scholarships, institutional scholarships, grants, federal tuition assistance, and employer assistance be deducted before billing them for the final tuition and fees each quarter. This means that any aid mentioned above cannot be used to bridge the gap between the student’s charges and what the VA pays. Students with less than 100% eligibility will have an out-of-pocket balance due each quarter.

Most likely the reason is that we simply have not submitted them yet. The certification process is completed in two steps. The first step is to certify for enrollment credits only. This is typically done 30 days before the start of each term and ensures that your book and housing stipends are sent at the appropriate times if you qualify to receive them. The second step of the certification process occurs approximately three weeks after the start of the term when we certify your tuition and fees.

Undergraduate students who withdraw from the University of Denver retain the ability to re-enroll for five calendar years. Graduate students seeking readmission after withdrawal should consult the graduate bulletin as well as their graduate program regarding time limits for completion of their degree. Please visit the Steps for Withdrawing from the University page for detailed information on the withdrawal process. As far as what the VA Certify office needs from you, please email VACertify@du.edu an updated COE or Statement of Benefits and complete and submit a new Intent to Use Veteran Benefits form before your return. Once we receive those documents we can set you up in our system to be certified each quarter through your expected graduation date as long as you have benefits to use.

That depends. You may be able to transfer your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits if you’re on active duty or in the Selected Reserve and you meet all requirements.

All of these must be true:

• You've completed at least 6 years of service on the date your request is approved, and
• You agree to add 4 more years of service, and
• The person getting benefits has enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).

Please visit the Transfer Your Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits page for more details

If you are in the final term of your program and the remaining credits needed to complete your degree will leave you less than full-time, the VA may allow you to “Round Out” your enrollment. This benefit is available only once per program and only during your final term. The rules for rounding out vary depending on which GI Bill benefit chapter you are using.

• Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill: You only need to be enrolled more than half-time to receive the full-time MHA rate. If you need to take an additional course to reach the more-than-half-time threshold, the course must apply to your major or minor. You must inform our office via email that this is your final quarter and you intend to round out.
• Chapters 30, 31, and 35: You may enroll in additional credits needed to reach the full-time enrollment rate. The additional courses must apply to your major or minor. You must inform our office via email that this is your final quarter and you intend to round out.

It could. The VA determines your housing stipend based on your enrollment during specific periods of the term. You may be registered for a full-time credit load overall, but if all of your classes do not run concurrently, there may be periods when you are not considered full-time for VA purposes. This can affect the amount of housing stipend you receive.

If your classes have different start and end dates, especially if you are enrolled in both standard and non-standard terms, please contact us at VACertify@du.edu. We can review your schedule and help you understand how your enrollment dates may affect your housing stipend.

Please remember that the VA ultimately determines housing stipend eligibility and payment.