gi-bill-checklist

Preparation

Collect the following information

Discharge Papers (DD-214 or equivalent)
Health Insurance Card (VA or Private)
Update medical records (immunizations, etc.)
Bank Account Information

Application for Educational Benefits

Apply by submitting all documents in one of these ways:

Submit your application online using eBenefits or va.gov/education (Ch. 31 or Ch. 33)
Complete an application in person at a VA Regional Office
Official Certificate of Eligibility will be mailed 30 days after submission

Submit Final Documents to the University of Virginia

All Documents must go to UREG at veteransbenefits@virginia.edu

DD-214
Certificate of Eligibility
All transcripts

Moving Forward... Every Semester You Must

Fill out the Military educational Benefits Request Form

Some important next steps:

Priority Enrollment

As veterans, we're eligible for priority enrolment. This becomes particularly useful if you are trying to make sure you don't have class on Fridays or don't want to do calculus before noon. In order to get access to priority enrollment you will need to submit a priority enrolment form to the registrars office. Once this form has been submitted once you will have priority enrollment for the rest of your time in UVa. Its important to remember that this will only give you priority within your class year when signing up for classes. Sign up for priority enrolment here:
https://www2.virginia.edu/registrar/va-priorityreg.html

Health Insurance

All students at UVa are required to have insurance and the school does provide an insurance plan built in to the tuition, however if you have access to VA healthcare you can opt out of this plan. When filling out the insurance form, select "Veteran Affairs" as the insurance provider. Then, put your birthdate or VA policy number (Usually your SSN) into the policy number and policy ID fields. Follow this link for more steps.
https://www.studenthealth.virginia.edu/sites/studenthealth.virginia.edu/files/HowToSubmitProofofHealthInsuranceCoverage.pdf

Learning Accommodations

The Student Disability Access Center (SDAC) is the University of Virginia’s designated access agency for students with disabilities. They're primary role is to determine eligibility and to provide reasonable academic accommodations for students with disabilities. The SDAC provides services to two groups of students: those who have been previously diagnosed with a disability; and those who have never been diagnosed, but find themselves struggling academically, and seek advice and support on their difficulties. Many Veterans can find the transition from the military stressful and challenging especially while trying to maintain academic excellence at UVa and the university works had to accommodate that.
https://www.studenthealth.virginia.edu/apply-services-0

Orientation Resources

Below you will find the links to both the schools orientation website and to a transfer student program the university uses to get students familiar with all of the overly complex websites UVa uses. Crash Course UVA will help new transfer students get involved and learn about resources on grounds. Students are invited to attend events during their first six weeks to ease their transition to the University.
https://orientation.virginia.edu/
https://orientation.virginia.edu/crash-course-uva

Things to Consider

Warrior-Scholar Project

In partnership with many top colleges and universities, Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) hosts intensive and immersive one and two-week college-preparatory academic boot camps for enlisted veterans and transitioning service members. Boot camps are offered in three disciplines: Humanities, STEM, and Business & Entrepreneurship. Many of our veterans have attended and we can't sing the praises of this program enough it can be exectly what you need to get you back into the school mindset and meet a lot of other great veterans.
https://www.warrior-scholar.org/

University Officials

Many of us recommend reaching out to the schools registrar or its certifying official if there is any issue with ensuring your veteran status is recorded and your Military Veterans Request form is submitted.

https://www2.virginia.edu/registrar/va-certification.html

veteransbenefits@virginia.edu

Apply for VA Education Benefits

Am I Eligible for VA Education Benefits?

Your eligibility depends on a number of factors including length and era of service, type of discharge, and time since separation. It’s difficult to summarize eligibility because requirements are different for each type of GI Bill. Refer to the table below and visit va.gov/education to learn more about eligibility and details regarding the GI Bill.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EDUCATION BENEFITS?

BENEFIT TYPE	BASIC ELIGIBILITY	WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE
POST 9/11 GI Bill	Qualifying active service on or after 9/11/01	Payment for 50% - 100% of tuition, the stipend for housing and books
Veteran Readiness & Employment	Eligible with 20% disability rating or higher	Similar to GI Bill in payments, employment counseling, unrestricted stipend for books and equipment
MONTGOMERY GI BILL— ACTIVE DUTY	Qualifying active services, high school, diploma or GED	Monthly stipend for tuition and fees (refer to rates table online)
MONTGOMERY GI BILL— SELECTED RESERVE	Six-year commitment to Selected Reserve (usable only while serving)	Monthly stipend for tuition and fees (refer to rates table online)
SURVIVOR’S AND DEPENDENTS EDUCATION ASSISTANCE	Spouse or dependent of qualifying veteran	Monthly stipend for tuition and fees (refer to rates table online)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

For additional resources checkout the university's webpage titled, Wahoo Warrior

This resource is a guide for all military-affiliated students. Click the link below to learn more:

https://www2.virginia.edu/registrar/va-wahoowarriorhb.html

Best Practices to Ensure Benefits

To ensure you receive your GI Bill benefits in a timely fashion, the VA recommends that you:

Plan ahead of time. You can use the GI Bill Comparison Tool (find it in Quick Links) to estimate the general level of benefits you should expect.
Enroll as early as you can and avoid changing your course schedule as much as possible once you are enrolled.
Get to know and stay in contact with your School Certifying Officials. You can find them by searching the GI Bill Comparison Tool (find it in Quick Links) for your school and scrolling down to “Contact Details.”
Be sure you understand your school’s procedures regarding requests for certification to VA.
If you do drop/add hours, contact your School Certifying Official immediately to mitigate potential overpayment.
If you have changed your bank account or moved to a new address, please contact VA Education Service to update your information either on the GI Bill website through our “Ask a Question” link or by phone at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551). If we do not have your correct information, your payment will be delayed.
If you need to contact us by mail, use the address of the Regional Processing Office handling your claim. You can find your Office and the mailing address on our website. If you use a different address, we may not receive your message.
If you are experiencing financial hardship due to a delay in payment, we ask that you contact the Education Call Center at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) between 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. Central Time, Monday-Friday. VA will expedite any hardship request.

Incoming Vet Checklist