Veteran Affairs (VA) Educational Benefits

Fletcher students that are eligible for Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits most commonly utilize the Chapter 33: Post-9/11 GI Bill program. Therefore, we are providing the information below to help you with the process of accessing these benefits. However, there are other VA and military benefits you may be eligible for, and we encourage you to be in contact with your VA Office and Military Branch Education Office to help you determine your eligibility. This webpage provides a helpful overview of VA educational benefits. Regardless of which chapter your benefits are under, we are dedicated to working with you while you are at Fletcher.

Fletcher Veterans: https://fletcher.tufts.edu/community/military-veterans.

Further information on VA benefits at Tufts University can be found here: http://provost.tufts.edu/institutionalresearch/veterans/aid/.

Further information on Post-9/11 GI Bill payment rates can be found here: https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/.

If you have questions, please contact Nora Moser McMillan, Associate Director of Veteran Affairs for The Fletcher School at nora.mcmillan@tufts.edu.

VA Benefit Certification Benefit

The Fletcher School’s School Certifying Official (SCO) will process your VA benefit certification in the following timeframe:

If you have not done so already, request your Certificate of Eligibility by applying for your VA Education Benefits (visit: https://www.va.gov/education/how-to-apply/) and send it to Fletcher’s School Certifying Official (Nora McMillan (Nora.McMillan@Tufts.edu.)
Complete our online survey, providing us information regarding your plans for the upcoming term. This survey can be accessed at: Fletcher VASCO Academic Status Update Form.
A school certifying officer will evaluate and verify your VA benefit details and certify your tuition, fees and Yellow Ribbon award through the VA ONCE database.
Provisional credit information of your VA benefit will be sent to the Tufts University Bursar’s Office based on your Certificate of Eligibility information. The amount of the expected VA benefit will be reflected in your university account as “Pending Credit.”
After receiving your certifying information, the VA transfers your educational benefit directly to your Tufts University financial account.
Ideally, all documentation is submitted by June 1 (for a fall start) and October 1 (for a spring start) in order to help ensure when your Tufts tuition bill is created, it accounts for your GI benefits.

Special Note for those in the GMAP Program: The GMAP program bills for each of the three semesters of the program. Because of the billing/semester cycles, those using GI benefits are able to tap into two VA fiscal/academic years. The VA’s fiscal year runs on a August 1 – July 31 cycle (i.e. August 1, 2024-July 31, 2025). Those using GI benefits must submit a Certificate of Eligibility and complete the Fletcher VASCO form at least two weeks prior to the start of the first term.

Yellow Ribbon Program

Veterans who qualify for 100% of the Chapter 33: Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit AND who are no longer in Active Duty are eligible to participate in the Yellow Ribbon program. As a note, beginning in August 2022, Active Duty students will be eligible for Yellow Ribbon. We are awaiting more details from the VA on this. As a note, one must be using their GI-benefits in order to access Yellow Ribbon funds. The current Yellow Ribbon award at Tufts University/The Fletcher School is $5,000 annually, and the VA matches 100% of the Tufts/Fletcher Yellow Ribbon amount.

The Tufts/Fletcher portion of the Yellow Ribbon award is part of your Fletcher Scholarship. If you are Yellow Ribbon eligible it is vital that you apply for Aid from the Fletcher School. Yellow Ribbon is typically paid once you have used all of your GI benefits. The VA portion of the Yellow ribbon award will be applied to your account after your Post-9/11 GI bill benefit is certified.