What Fees are Covered by the GI Bill?
Students can search by college to determine estimated GI Bill benefits, housing allowance and book stipend. Amounts may vary if Veteran Students have dependents. For personalized details of your VA Education Benefits, please visit the GI Bill Comparison Tool for Cabrillo College.
Each chapter of the GI Bill covers different fees associated with attending college. Below is a breakdown of fees that are generally covered by each Chapter of the GI Bill:
Under the Montgomery GI Bill students receive a monthly stipend that is sent directly to your bank account. This GI Bill does not cover any tuition costs paid directly to the school or books and supplies. Students are given the monthly stipend to help defray the cost of college attendance.
Students utilizing VR&E are entitled to have tuition costs covered by the VA for courses that are required for their program of study. Courses not required for the program of study will not be covered without prior approval from your VR&E Counselor. VR&E will also cover the full cost of your books and certain school supplies to be purchased through the campus bookstore.
If you are eligible at the 100% rate for the Post 9/11 GI Bill the VA will pay 100% of your tuition and fees costs for courses that are required for your program of study. However, Math and English support courses will not be covered by the GI Bill, so you will need to pay those costs out of pocket or via financial aid. If you are eligible for the GI Bill at a lower percentage, the VA will pay tuition costs at whatever percent you are eligible at. For Example, if you are eligible at the 60% rate and your tuition costs are $650 the VA will pay $390 (650x.6) leaving you with $260 in fees that you will be responsible for paying to the College. You are entitled to a book stipend under this GI Bill that will also be paid at a rate proportional to your eligibility percentage. For students participating in programs that require special equipment (police academy, welding, fire academy, nursing etc.) the VA will cover section fees associated with these courses but will not cover costs such as uniforms and protective equipment.
Under Chapter 35, students receive a monthly stipend that is sent directly to your bank account or via check. This chapter does not cover any tuition costs paid directly to the school. or books and supplies. Students are given the monthly stipend to help defray the cost of college attendance.
Under the Montgomery GI Bill students receive a monthly stipend that is sent directly to your bank account. This GI Bill does not cover any tuition costs paid directly to the school or books and supplies. Students are given the monthly stipend to help defray the cost of college attendance.
How do I verify my monthly enrollment?
Chapter 33 (Post 9/11): VA’s New Monthly Verification of Enrollment Policy
Starting Friday, December 17, 2021, all students using Chapter 33 (Post 9/11) GI Bill Educational Benefits, who receive Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) and/or kicker payments will be required monthly to verify their enrollment status monthly to continue receiving their payments.
The new monthly enrollment verification is a Veteran Affairs requirement for Post 9/11 GI Bill students to certify that they have remained enrolled in the same courses the VIC has previously certified.
Understand the post-9/11 GI Bill monthly verification requirement by watching this video.
To verify monthly enrollment:
Via Text Message (Easiest and fastest method):
To opt-in contact the Education Call Center (ECC) at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) to ensure the VA has your mobile phone number
After opting-in, you can verify your enrollment by responding to a text message from the VA
NOTE: the VA will never ask for your personal information, for example, social security number or bank account number via text
Via Education Call Center:
Contact the Education Call Center (ECC) at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551) and ask the representative to verify enrollment on your behalf
NOTE: Wait times may be high due to the number of students verifying each month.
If you opt-out of text verification and later change your mind, or need to change your mobile number, call the ECC at 1-888GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551).
FAILURE TO VERIFY ENROLLMENT:
If you fail to verify your information for two consecutive months, your monthly payments will be placed on hold. You will then have to take additional steps to verify your enrollment and have the payments released.
More information can be found on the Enrollment Verifications FAQs.
Using Your GI Bill® Education Benefits at Cabrillo College
Students must apply for GI Bill® benefits by visiting https://www.va.gov/education/ and selecting apply for education benefits. If you have used benefits at another college, you will need to go on and make an update to your claim and add Cabrillo College as your new school.
Submit your DD2-14 and Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to the Veteran Information Center.
Complete and submit a Veteran Enrollment Certification Request Form for each term you wish to receive benefits.
Students Utilizing Chapter 30 benefits must verify their enrollment on the last day of each month electronically through the Web Automated Verification of Enrollment (WAVE) system or via phone at 1-877-823-2378.
Students utilizing Chapter 33 benefits will also be required to verify their enrollment monthly. GI Bill® students to certify that they have remained enrolled in the same courses the VIC has previously certified.
Enrollment Certification of GI Bill® Benefits
Automatic renewal of enrollment certifications are prohibited for any course and/or program. It is required that each covered individual approves their enrollment certification in a course(s) each semester.
Enrollment certification renewal for upcoming semesters/terms is NOT automatic. If you plan to use GI Bill® Benefits, you must submit an Enrollment Certification Request Form as soon as you register for courses to reactivate your benefits and prevent a lapse in payment. Without the completion of a new form, your payments will stop.
You must submit an Enrollment Certification Request Form if you add or drop any courses throughout the semester to certify changes and to prevent any debt from occurring.
Complete a New Veteran Student Intake Form to get connected to the Veteran information Center and start your journey at Cabrillo College. If you have any questions feel free to email us at vetcenter@cabrillo.edu to set up a Zoom meeting.