Veteran's Voice: Education Benefits Every Military Family Should Know
If there's a veteran in your household or you're a dependent of one, there are education benefits available that many families never find out about. Too many families have college-age kids, a qualifying veteran, and no idea any of this existed.
It's that time of year. Acceptance letters are arriving, campus visits are getting scheduled, and families are staring down the same question they've been dreading since kindergarten: how are we going to pay for this?
If there's a veteran in your household or you're a dependent of one, there are education benefits available that many families never find out about. Too many families have college-age kids, a qualifying veteran, and no idea any of this existed.
If you're the veteran
The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) is the starting point most people know about. If you served at least 90 days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, it can cover full tuition and fees at a Virginia public school, pay a monthly housing allowance while you're enrolled, and include a book stipend. You get up to 36 months of benefits, and the percentage you receive scales with your time in service.
What often gets missed: if you qualified for the full benefit and had dependents, you may have been able to transfer unused months to a spouse or child, but that transfer had to happen while you were still on active duty. If that window closed without anyone telling you it existed, you're not alone. There are still options for your family, covered below.
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The benefit that doesn't get enough attention is Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, or VR&E (Chapter 31). If you have a service-connected disability, this program is frequently more valuable than the GI Bill and most veterans never think to ask about it. VR&E covers tuition, fees, books, and supplies for education or training that leads to suitable employment. The monthly subsistence allowance is comparable to the GI Bill housing allowance. It covers undergraduate and graduate programs, licensing and certification, and in some cases self-employment. You generally need at least a 10% service-connected disability rating and a determination that the disability creates an employment barrier.
If you're trying to figure out which benefit makes more sense for your situation, the Virginia Department of Veterans Services is the right call — though you won't reach them by phone. Appointments are scheduled through their website at dvs.virginia.gov, their benefits counselors are VA-accredited, they know this material thoroughly, and the service is free.
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If you're a dependent or a parent
If your service member transferred their Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement to you before separating from active duty, that benefit can cover full tuition at a Virginia public university. Children need to use it before age 26. If the transfer happened, you're in good shape.
If it didn't, Virginia has its own program — and it's one of the best in the country.
VMSDEP, the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program, provides a full waiver of tuition and fees at any Virginia public college or university for eligible spouses and children of veterans who were killed in action, became a POW or MIA, or are permanently and totally disabled as a result of their military service. That includes UVA, Virginia Tech, VCU, JMU, and every Virginia community college.
If there's a veteran in your household with a service-connected disability rating of at least 90%, or who died from a service-connected cause, your family may qualify right now. Eligibility details and applications go through the Virginia Department of Veterans Services — dvs.virginia.gov.
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A few more things worth knowing
Once your student picks a school, find the veterans office on campus. Most colleges and universities have one, and they're not just for student veterans. They help dependents navigate benefits, cut through administrative confusion, and connect students with resources that can make a real difference in that first year. It's one of the most underused offices on any campus.
There are also scholarships specifically for military families that don't get enough attention. Folds of Honor is one worth looking into — it provides scholarships for spouses and children of fallen or disabled service members. A focused search for military family scholarships will turn up more options than most people expect. It's worth an hour of your time.
Author of the "Veteran's Voice" column, Kathryn Whittenberger is a retired Navy Senior Chief, the Executive Director of Mountain Valor Services, and a Floyd County resident.
Do you have a question or idea you’d like to see covered in a future column? Email us at support@mtnvalor.org — your input helps us share the information our community needs most.
