Veterans Resources

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides significant financial aid opportunities to students who served in the U.S. Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001, as well as the dependents of these veterans.

Through a new initiative authorized by the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, higher education institutions can provide eligible student veterans with a tuition waiver or grant that is matched by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This program, known as the Yellow Ribbon Program (YRP), enhances the base tuition benefits provided by the Post-9/11 GI Bill®. More information about the bill’s benefits and eligibility requirements is available at http://www.gibill.va.gov/.

The YRP application process consists of two steps:

1. YRP Online Application

   Students who are qualifying veterans, or the qualifying dependents of veterans, and are interested in benefiting from the Yellow Ribbon Program, must complete the online application. As stipulated by the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, eligibility for the Yellow Ribbon Program is determined on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is important to complete the application as early as possible. Students are notified of the status of their application prior to the start of each academic year.

   Students who received Yellow Ribbon Program funding in the prior academic year do not need to submit another YRP online application; however, in order to receive YRP funding for the upcoming semester, students must submit the Veterans Certification Request.

2. Veterans Certification Request

   In addition to completing the YRP online application, each semester students must submit a Veterans Declaration Form to Columbia’s VA Certifying Official by completing the Veterans Request Certification, in order to receive VA benefits for that semester.