Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of factors that determine how much the VA will send in education benefits:

►Each student is eligible for different benefits
►The level of benefits vary based on military service
►The academic program’s tuition rate
►A student’s enrollment status (e.g. part-time or full-time) 

If you would like to receive an estimate of how much the VA will send in benefits, please email the Military and Veterans’ Services Center and provide the benefit type you are eligible to receive (if Post-9/11 please provide the percentage of eligibility), how many months of eligibility you have remaining, whether you are on active duty or the spouse of someone on active duty, your Student ID if you are current student or your program of interest if you are prospective student, and if known how many credits you plan to take each semester.

The Department of Veterans Affairs determines eligibility based on your military records or the records of the service member who transferred benefits to you. Since our office does not have access to this information, you will need to contact the VA directly by either calling 1-888-GI-BILL-1 or using the Submit-a-Question feature on the VA’s website.

If you have used VA education benefits, you can access your benefit level and remaining eligibility by logging into the va.gov statement of benefits.

Once the VA receives an education benefits application or a request for an updated Certificate of Eligibility letter, it can take the VA 4-6 weeks to process the application and mail a Certificate of Eligibility letter. We understand that the timing of accessing a letter may conflict when certifications are submitted to the VA for the semester.

To assist with the process moving forward in a timely manner, please still complete your certification request through your MyPack Portal. Instead of attaching your COE, submit a screenshot showing when you have submitted your application. Once you do receive your COE, please submit it via email to Veterans Education Benefits at ncstatevets@ncsu.edu.

NC State participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, and students using military benefits often qualify for the Choice Act and Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act.

More information can be found here.

For the standard Fall or Spring semester, the Office of the University Registrar determines that full-time enrollment of 12 or more credits are required for undergraduates and 9 or more credits for graduate students. For the full Summer semester, 12 or more credits are required for undergraduate students and 6 or more credits are required for graduate students to be considered full-time.

Exceptions regarding full-time status due to Thesis Research and Continuous Registration can be found in the Graduate School Bulletin.

You are required to take a few steps to access VA education benefits. For detailed information about the certification process, please go to our Using Military Education Benefits section of our website.

If you used VA education benefits at another institution and you are enrolling in an NCSU program, you will need to complete a Change of Program (VA FORM 22-1995) form using the va.gov application to indicate North Carolina State University as your new institution. The VA will process the application and send you a new Certificate of Eligibility letter, which we ask you to provide to our office via email, phone, fax, or schedule an appointment.

The remaining steps of the certification process are the same as new students using VA education benefits. For more information about the certification process, please go to our Step-by-Step Instructions section of our website.

You need to apply for benefits from the VA using va.gov application at least once. If you wish to be certified for benefits while enrolled in a program, you must submit a Certification Request via your MyPack Portal each semester you register for classes and wish to use eligible VA education benefits.

You can opt to not request to be certified during specific semesters on their program by not completing the certification request. For example, a student may receive scholarships for certain semesters and may want to reserve VA education benefits for another semester.

The type of benefit you are receiving will determine when the VA will distribute funding.

If you are receiving Post-9/11 benefits, the VA will issue tuition benefits directly to the school within 2-3 weeks of the certification being submitted. In the event that you are certified for classes that begin later in the semester, the VA will distribute the tuition benefits closer to the date of the class(es) beginning.

If you are receiving VR&E benefits, it can take a few weeks for the VA to distribute the tuition benefits directly to the school.

If you are receiving any other VA education benefit, the benefit will be sent directly you in monthly installments at the beginning of the month for the previous month’s enrollment.

Due to NC State’s certification process, once you complete a Benefits Request Form for the semester, if you are receiving benefits where the VA will send tuition payments directly to the school, a memo will be placed on your account to reflect the anticipated payment that will be sent for the module course. 

The VA allows a school to submit a Post-9/11 certification to reflect course dates and number credits before or during the add/drop period so that the VA can issue the book stipend and housing allowance in a timely fashion. Since tuition and fees can change during the add/drop period, $0 is listed in the initial certification to avoid erroneous payments from the VA for tuition. After the add/drop period concludes, the School Certifying Official will submit an adjusted certification to indicate the accurate tuition amount so that tuition benefits can be sent to the school.

Once a certification requests tuition it can take 2-4 weeks for the VA to process and send payment directly to the school. As a part of this process, student tuition payment is on hold, so students do not need to pre-pay those costs. However, any other costs such as housing and meal plans do need to be paid.

Please note Ch 30, CH 35, and CH 1606 students receive a monthly stipend to their bank account, rather than the VA paying your tuition directly.

To be eligible to receive benefits, you must be enrolled in courses that are pursuant to an outcome (e.g. Certificate, Degree).

Some programs at NC State University will offer students a conditional or probationary admission offer, which requires student to complete coursework with passing grades before being admitted to the degree program. Since the courses will count toward the intended degree program, you can receive benefits for those courses.

The VA will NOT pay for courses if you do not intend to enroll in a degree program or if the courses do not apply to a degree program at another school.

Yes, as long as the courses count towards the degree requirements at your primary school. The School Certifying Official at your home institution must provide a primary school letter that indicates what courses can be applied to your degree.

The letter must be sent to the School Certifying Official in the NC State Military and Veterans Services office. 

If you are interested in taking a course at another institution that is countable toward your degree, you must first get the approval of your program. If it has been approved, inform your School Certifying Official of your intent to enroll at a second school. The School Certifying Official will provide a “Primary School Letter” that you will need to submit to the School Certifying Official at the other institution.

If you are eligible for Post-9/11 education benefits, the VA will send the book stipend directly to the bank account you provided the VA when you applied for benefits. It can take approximately 2-6 weeks from the date the initial certification was submitted by the school for payment to be released to you. The VA will continue to pay the book stipend at a per credit hour rate each term you are certified until your eligible maximum has been met for the academic year.

How much of the Post-9/11 book stipend you are eligible to receive depends on your percentage of eligibility. Please Note: If you are receiving benefits for Chapters 30, 35, and 1606 you are not eligible for the Book Stipend. If you are receiving VR&E benefits you are eligible to receive a Book Voucher to purchase books at the University Bookstore.

If you have questions about a book stipend you received from the VA, you will need to contact the VA directly at 888.442.4551.

The VA pays the book stipend based on a per credit hour rate of $41.67 (100% eligibility) until the maximum of $1,000 (maximum of 24 credit hours) has been met for the academic year.

For example, if you are 100% eligible for Post-9/11 benefits and enroll in 15 credits in the Fall term, and 15 credits in the Spring term, the VA will pay $625 ($41.67 X 15) for the Fall term. The VA will only pay an additional $375 ($1000-$625) for the Spring term because the book stipend cannot exceed the maximum amount.

In another example, if a you are 80% eligible for Post-9/11 benefits and enroll in 6 credits, the VA will send $33.37 per credit hour for a book stipend approximately $200 for the term, until the maximum of $800 (80% of $1,000) is met.

If you are receiving a book stipend for Post-9/11 benefits, the stipend is sent directly to the bank account the student provided the VA when you completed the va.gov education benefits application.

The VA does not regulate where the book stipend must be used.

Once you have submitted the semester’s Benefits Request Form and your VR&E Counselor provides the School Certifying Official a completed VA FORM 28-1905 form for the semester, the Certifying Officials will be able to review your eligibility for the term.

You can coordinate with the Certifying Officials to have book voucher provided to the NC State Bookstore to purchase your required course books.

The VR&E Book Voucher can only be used at the NC State Bookstore.

If you are eligible for VR&E benefits and your required books are not in stock at the NC State Bookstore, you have the option to purchase the books elsewhere and provide the receipts directly to your VR&E Counselor. You would not use the book voucher in this process.

If you are not on active duty or the spouse of someone on active duty and enrolled in classes more than half time in a term, then you should be eligible for the Post-9/11 Housing Allowance. If you are receiving transferred benefits from a parent/legal guardian and enrolled in classes more than half time for a term, there is no impact as to whether the service member is on active duty or not to receive the Post-9/11 Housing Allowance.

If you are eligible for the housing allowance and enrolled in courses 51% part-time or more, the VA bases the housing allowance on where the classes are taken:

►If you are taking courses in-residence, the allowance is generally the same as the Basic Allowance Housing Allowance (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents located in the zip code of the school.
►If you are taking exclusively online courses, the allowance is based on half the national average as determine by the VA.
►If you are taking a combination of in-residence and online courses, then as long as you are enrolled in at least one credit in-residence, the VA will issue the housing allowance as though you were taking all in-residence courses.

The VA sends the housing allowance at the beginning of the month for the previous month’s enrollment. For example, if you are eligible for the housing allowance and enrolled in classes in the month of September, the housing allowance will be sent to the bank account the VA has on file for you during the first week of October.

As a reminder, the VA will only send a payment for the dates you enrolled in classes, so if classes begin or end in the middle of the month, the VA will send a prorated monthly payment.

Please allow 72 hours from the first of the month for VA payments to show up in your bank account. You may call 888.442.4551 with payment questions or create an account through e-benefits. Once logged in, find the Education tab, then click on “VA Payment History.” Here you will find all pending payments, past payments and scheduled payments.

There are a number of factors that the VA reviews when determining how much a you are eligible to receive for the monthly housing allowance. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

► The VA will only pay benefits for the dates you are enrolled in classes and will not pay for breaks between modules,  breaks between semesters, or if courses begin or end part way through the month. The VA will prorate by day for the dates you are enrolled in classes.
►The military status (e.g. active duty or veteran), percentage of eligibility, and rate of pursuit are factors to determine how much of the housing allowance is sent each month during enrollment. If you are less than full time, the VA will look at the number of credits over a span of time to determine the rate of pursuit. If you are enrolled in classes less than half time, then the student is not eligible to receive a housing allowance.
►If you are enrolled in a module course (e.g. 8 weeks in length), the VA will review the rate of pursuit by correlating the number of credits you are taking (including an overlapping term) with the number of weeks of the term and what the university deems as full time (graduate programs only) to determine how much of the housing allowance is issued during your enrollment.
►If you are less than 100% eligible for Post-9/11 benefits and eligible for the housing allowance, the VA will factor the percentage of eligibility in addition to the rate of pursuit.

As long as you are taking one credit in-residence in a term, the VA will send an in-residence housing allowance based on your percentage of eligibility and rate of pursuit, even if the other credits in the term are online credits.

The answer varies from program to program since it is dependent on the structure of the course and what is reported to the Office of the University Registrar. To clarify how a residency will be certified, please contact the School Certifying Official.

As long as you have months of Post-9/11 eligibility remaining, are not on active duty or using transferred benefits from a spouse on active duty, and are enrolled in courses more than half-time, then you would be able to use eligibility to receive only the monthly housing allowance.

Once you have added or dropped a course in the MyPack Portal or with your academic advisor, log into the appropriate semester’s BRF to edit the numbers of credits you are requesting to be certified.

Depending on when the credit adjustment takes place will determine the additional steps you will need to take:

►If you adjust your credits prior to the start of the semester and before certifications have been submitted to the VA, other than editing the BRF, no further action is needed.
►If you adjust your credits during the add/drop period, notify your School Certifying Official in relation to the certification process at your academic school.
►If you adjust your credits after the add/drop period,
notify your School Certifying Official in relation to the certification process at your academic school regarding the change in credits and if you decreased in credits, provide a reason for the withdrawal. If the VA issues you a debt letter for any overpayments, provide a copy of the letter to the School Certifying Official to begin the Debt Management process.
► If you changed classes after tuition was reported to the VA and you are receiving Post-9/11 benefits, but the credit amount is the same, review your student account in your MyPack Portal to verify if your tuition and fees adjusted. If there was no financial adjustment to the course change, there is no further action needed, but if there was an adjustment, contact the School Certifying Official so an updated certification can be submitted to the VA to reflect the change. If tuition increased, then the VA will send a separate payment (if eligible) to pay the new amount, but if the tuition decreased, the VA will issue a debt letter in accordance to the Debt Management process.

In the event that your VA education benefits changes such as an increase of percentage for Post-9/11 benefits, become eligible for a new benefit, or you or your spouse separated from active duty, you will need to provide the School Certifying Official a new proof of benefits.

You can request a new Certificate of Eligibility letter from the VA using the Submit-a-Question feature. Another form of proof is to provide a screenshot of your eBenefits Portal.

If you or your spouse separated from the military, you can either provide the School Certifying Official an updated Certificate of Eligibility letter or provide a DD-214 (please black out any sensitive information such as a Social Security Number or classified information).

If you become eligible for VR&E benefits, your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor will need to provide a VA FORM 28-1905 to the School Certifying Official.

VA Education Benefits can be applied towards study abroad programs and those using Post 9/11 CH33 benefits may be eligible for additional costs outside of tuition and fees if the study abroad is a requirement of the student’s program.

Our Veterans Education office will work with you to get a cost expense sheet to be filled out by your study abroad advisor. You can email ncstatevets@ncsu.edu or stop by Military and Veteran Services for more assistance.

TA is authorized for active duty and reservists by a branch of service. Each service has its own portal for the student to apply for TA and receive a TA Authorization form.

Please notice a new change in procedure for students using Federal Tuition Assistance. Students must submit a copy of their Tuition Assistance Authorization/Approval to the Registrar’s Office for invoicing.

The Registrar’s Office will process the authorization form and send an invoice to the branch of service so payment can be sent directly to the school. To learn about TA and accessing your Authorization Form, please select the link appropriate to the branch of service:

U.S. Army
U.S. Navy U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Air Force

Post-9/11 benefits and TA can both be used for the same term, even if you are on Active Duty, but the School Certifying Official will have to report the net tuition cost of what is expected to be sent in TA. This policy is in accordance to a VA regulation where the VA deems themselves as the last payer for tuition-specific funding. For example, if your tuition is $10,000 and you are expected to receive $2,500 in TA, Georgetown will report the tuition to the VA for Post-9/11 GI Bill as $7,500.

If you are using chapter 30 you may also be eligible to use Top Up to help offset the cost of tuition.

If you are using chapter 1606, you cannot use reserve benefits and TA for the same courses. For example, if you are enrolled in 3 courses and you use TA for all 3 courses, then you cannot be certified for VA benefits, but if you are enrolled in 3 courses and use TA for 2 courses, then you can receive reserve benefits for the remaining course.

Top-Up is a program that allows GI Bill participants to use the GI Bill to supplement the tuition and fees not covered by tuition assistance. To be eligible for the Top-up benefit, you must be approved for federal TA by a military department and be eligible for Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty or Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

If you are using the Post-9/11 GI Bill the amount of the benefit can be equal to the difference between the total cost of a college course and the amount of Tuition Assistance that is paid by the military for the course. 

If you are using the Montgomery GI Bill the amount cannot exceed the GI Bill monthly maximum.

Top-up is limited to 36 months of payments.

For example, if you are paid Top-up for a three-month course, you use three of the 36 months. You can find more information about how to use Top Up on the Department of Veteran Affairs’s website.

All VA education beneficiaries need to submit the semester’s Benefits Request Form and submit a Proof of Benefits. Learn more about the steps required in relation to NC State’s certification process.

If you are receiving Post-9/11 or VR&E benefits and the necessary paperwork is on file, the Certifying Official will generate a memo to indicate the expected payment from the VA for the term. This memo will serve as a place holder until the payment is received. If the memo expected matches your account balance, then there are no further steps you need to take as we wait for payment.

In the event that the VA’s expected payment does not pay for your all of your account balance (e.g. you are expected to meet you yearly maximum of tuition benefits, you are less than 100% eligible for benefits, you have assessed fees the VA will not fund, or have room and board fees) then you are required to pay your contribution by the due date listed on your account or set up a University payment plan. If you do not pay your out of pocket expense by the date listed on your account or set up a payment plan, then you are responsible for paying any late fees and finance charges that accrue on your account.

If you are receiving Chapter 30, 35, or 1606 benefits and the necessary paperwork is on file, then you will need to pay your account balance by the due date listed on your bill or set up a payment plan. Since these chapter benefits have the monthly payments sent directly to the student, it is the student’s responsibility to pay the institution.

If you are unable to determine the out of pocket expense once a memo has been placed on your student account (if using Post-9/11 or Vocational Rehabilitation benefits), please contact the Military and Veterans Service Office to speak with the School Certifying Official.

Please be sure that you have completed the semester’s Benefits Request Form. If you have completed the Benefits Request Form for the semester, you will need to verify your enrollment in the VA’s WAVE system each month during your term’s enrollment. When the VA has a certification on file and you have verified enrollment for the month, the VA will be able to issue the monthly payment.

Please note that submitting information in the WAVE system is for Chapters 30 and 1606 recipients only.

Depending on the type of benefit eligibility change (e.g. increase of percentage, separation from active duty, or change in benefit chapters) will determine how the VA will adjust the payments. In most cases, the VA will prorate the payments to reflect the exact date in change for any eligible monthly housing allowances and effective the next term certified with the new eligibility for tuition benefits.

Please contact the the School Certifying Official to determine if a change in eligibility mid-semester will impact your student account.

Receiving VA education benefits does not impact federal aid (e.g. federal grants and loans). We always encourage students to complete the FAFSA application each year to check eligibility for grants and scholarships.

If you are using Post-9/11 GI Bill or VR&E benefits and have a tuition-specific scholarship, then yes, there will be impacts to what is reported to the VA. The School Certifying Official will have to report the net tuition cost of after the tuition is taken into account. This policy is in accordance to a VA regulation where the VA deems themselves as the last payer for tuition-specific funding. For example, if your tuition is $10,000 and you receive a $5,000 tuition scholarship, NC State will report the tuition to the VA for Post-9/11 GI Bill as $5,000.

If you are using Post-9/11 GI Bill or Vocational Rehabilitation benefits and have a non-tuition specific scholarship (e.g. it can be used towards housing, books, and living expenses) then the School Certifying Official is not required to report the scholarship to the VA.

If you are using Chapter 30, 35, or 1606 benefits and receiving a scholarship whether tuition-specific or not, then the School Certifying Official is not required to report the scholarships to the VA for recipients of these benefit chapters.

Receiving VA education benefits does not impact federal aid (e.g. federal grants and loans), but institutional aid may be impacted. Please contact your Financial Services Counselor to determine how your benefits could impact your financial aid package.

Normally the letter will give you a few payment options. If you have further questions contact the VA Debt Management Center at 1.800.827.0648.

As a current service member or veteran, you will apply as a transfer student. You can start by going here.

Please note the minimum 24-30 credit hour recommendation to be a competitive transfer student applicant, as well as the recommended coursework and GPA per college. The credit hours required to apply are typically earned at a community college or another university.

Application deadlines are October 1 for the spring semester and February 15 for the fall semester.

If you have questions about the application process, please contact undergraduate admissions at 919.515.2434 or undergrad-admissions@ncsu.edu.

We have partnerships with NC Community Colleges and participate in the Community College Collaboration, or C3 program. This is a great option to get back into the classroom mindset. Read more here.

You may also be interested in participating in the Non-Degree Studies program. Although benefits may not cover these courses, you can earn credits towards admission requirements. Read more here.

Contact undergraduate admissions for special accommodations at 919.515.2434 or undergrad-admissions@ncsu.edu.

Beginning in 2021, the undergraduate application fee will be waived for active-duty military personnel on the Common App, and for active-duty military personnel and veterans on the Coalition App. Additionally, your fee may be waived due to financial hardship. Please contact the Veterans Education office for more information regarding this process at 919.515.3048 or veterans-ed@ncsu.edu.

Specific programs may also have a military fee waiver, such as the MBA program. Check with your program of interest.

If applying as a transfer student, you do not need ACT or SAT scores.

If applying as a freshman, scores must be taken within five years of the semester you are applying for. For 2021 spring and fall applicants, submitting the SAT or ACT will be optional due to the limited testing opportunities caused by COVID-19. Check with Undergraduate Admissions for more information.

Yes! NC State loves the diversity that military-affiliated students bring to the life of the campus. We are a Best for Vets, Top Military-Friendly, and Military Spouse Friendly school.

NC State offers a Director of Military and Veteran Services, a Service Center on campus, and two VA Education Benefits specialists. Military and Veteran Services also provides programming to students, faculty, and staff to ensure we are in line with the nation’s best practices for serving our military-affiliated students. Some of these best practices include specialized advising and orientation for military-affiliated students, honor cords for graduating veterans and service members, and a number of specialized resources across campus for our military-connected students.

Although it is not required, we highly recommend that all military-connected students indicate their affiliation through the application process. That way, we can connect with you shortly after you are admitted!

If you did not indicate your affiliation during the application process, or your affiliation has changed, we recommend you update your information on your MyPack Portal.

Student Profile – Personal Information – Veterans Information – Military Affiliation. Our office uses this information to send emails and updates to our students with resources and opportunities.

Click here to see estimated costs for undergraduate and graduate courses along with other costs that may occur.

You can find numerous online degree and certificate programs here. For other online options, we suggest reaching out to the department of interest directly.

You can find the school’s policy here.

Yes! Once you have been accepted to NC State, visit our Military Credit page and complete the Military Credit Request form.

There are numerous resources to be utilized here at State. Click this link to read more.

Yes! The Student Veteran Association (SVA) is an organization for Veterans, Active Duty, Guard members, and Reservists enrolled at NC State. Founded in 2011, the SVA has launched service projects, fundraising events, veteran suicide awareness campaigns, professional networking events and social support gatherings. We generally have about one meeting a month and also have an online Facebook group. Read more here.

• VFW Post 7383 is located at 522 Reedy Creek Road in Cary, NC
• US Veterans Corps is located at 1100 S. Saunders Street in Raleigh, NC
• American Legion Post 1 is located at 3600 Lee Road in Raleigh, NC
• Military Missions in Action is located at 411 N. Judd Parkway NE in Fuquay-Varina, NC
• Vets to Vets United, Inc. is located at 2510 Glendale Avenue in Durham, NC

Yes! You are able to use your VA education benefits at NC State as long as you are enrolled in a degree-seeking program, certificate program, or are an approved guest student. Information can be found here.

Courses must be required for graduation to be covered by your Post 9/11 and Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits.

If you use the Post 9/11 GI Bill® at the 100% rate, the Student Health Insurance is covered, as health insurance is required to be enrolled at NC State. Also, if you are unable to find a tutor at the school for a certain subject, the VA may provide you with a stipend to help pay for one. You can learn more here.