You may be able to get these benefits if both you and the Veteran or service member meet certain eligibility requirements. Please click here to learn more about the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program.

One of the descriptions listed below must be true:

• The Veteran or service member is permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability, or
• The Veteran or service member died while on active duty or because of a service-connected disability, or
• The Veteran or service member is missing in action or was captured in the line of duty by a hostile force, or
• The Veteran or service member was forcibly detained (held) or interned in the line of duty by a foreign entity, or
• The Veteran or service member is in the hospital or getting outpatient treatment for a service-connected permanent and total disability and is likely to be discharged for that disability.

If you are the child of a Veteran or service member

• You can get benefits if you are between the ages of 18 and 26, except in certain cases. You may be married or unmarried.
• If you are over 18 years old and using DEA, you cannot get Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the VA. 
• If you join the military, you cannot use this benefit while on active duty. If you want to use this benefit after you leave the service, you cannot have a dishonorable discharge. Military service can extend your eligibility, but this increase does not usually go past your 31st birthday.

If you are the spouse of a Veteran or service member

• Your benefits start on the date the Department of Veterans Affairs concludes that you qualify or on the date of the Veteran’s death, and last for 10 years.
• If the Department of Veterans Affairs rated the Veteran as permanently and totally disabled, with an effective date that’s 3 years after discharge from active duty, you will qualify for benefits for 20 years from that effective date. The Department of Veterans Affairs will not pay benefits for training you started before this date.
• If the service member died on active duty, your benefits end 20 years from the date of death.
  You can get DIC payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs and use DEA benefits.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will send you a monthly stipend to help you cover the cost of:

• College or graduate degree programs
• Career-training certificate courses
• Educational and career counseling
• Apprenticeships
• On-the-job training

Note: If you began using this program to pay for your school or training before August 1, 2018, you can get benefits for up to 45 months. If you began using the program on or after August 1, 2018, you can get benefits for up to 36 months.

Check the current payment rates for DEA

Apply online through the Department of Veterans Affairs website you will need to complete a Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits (VA Form 22-5490). If you are not legally an adult, your parent or guardian must sign the application.

If you are interested in applying for either the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance or Fry Scholarship benefit(s), please follow the Steps to Using VA Benefits below:

1. Apply for admission to our university.
   
2. Select a program of study that best meets your future goals.
   
3. Decide which GI Bill® best fits your needs.
   
4. Visit https://www.va.gov/education/how-to-apply/ to submit your application for benefits. The site will prompt you to complete VA form 22-5490 (first time VA applicant).
   
5. Enter this information in the Full Name and Address of School field:
   American Public University System
   111 W. Congress Street
   Charles Town, WV 25414
6. Keep an eye out for the VA certificate of eligibility (COE). This will be mailed from the VA Regional Processing Office.
   
7. You may upload a clear copy of your VA paperwork through the secure My Documents portal, using your eCampus login credentials. You can also email your documents to [email protected]. Please ensure all email attachments are properly sized and in a PDF or image file format.
   
8. Log into the student ecampus and register for class. If you use the the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance benefit, the VA will pay you directly meaning you will need to self-pay during registration. Fry Scholarship students should select the Post 9/11 GI Bill® payment option corresponding with their VA Percentage of Eligibility.
   
9. If prompted during the registration process, give your consent for the university to submit your course registrations to the VA.
   
10. Your VR&E counselor will need to submit a Purchase Order authorization for educational benefits to American Public University using the Tungsten Network portal.  
    • This Purchase Order authorization will allow us to grant course access for upcoming registrations
    
11. We will submit verification of your enrollment (VA Form 22-1999) electronically to the VA after the drop period for  your course(s).
    
12. Any stipends you are entitled to will be reviewed against the 22-1999 enrollment certifications
    
13. Visit the Finance Center in the student ecampus to view the VA Enrollment Status (Rate of Pursuit) table for course load requirements.

You may be able to get these benefits if both you and the Veteran or service member meet certain eligibility requirements. Please click here to learn more about the Fry Scholarship.

You may be eligible for Fry Scholarship benefits if you are the child or surviving spouse of:

• A member of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty while serving on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, or
• A member of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty while not on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, or
• A member of the Selected Reserve who died from a service-connected disability on or after September 11, 2001.

As the child of a service member:

• You can be married or unmarried.
• If you turned 18 or graduated from high school before January 1, 2013, you can get a Fry Scholarship until you are 33 years old.
• If you turn 18 or graduate from high school after January 1, 2013, you can get a Fry Scholarship at any age over 18 or after you graduate (whichever comes first).
• If your parent was a member of the Selected Reserve and died from a service-connected disability while not on active duty, you can get a Fry Scholarship at any time, no matter how old you are.
•  If your parent died in the line of duty before August 1, 2011, you may qualify for both the Fry Scholarship and the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) program, but you can use only one program at a time. Department of Veterans Affairs cap combined benefits at 81 months of full-time training.
• If you are receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), you’ll need to give up those payments when you start to use the Fry Scholarship.

As the spouse of a service member:

• If you remarry, you will no longer be eligible for the Fry Scholarship.
  
• You can still get Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments while using the Fry Scholarship.
  

Note: If your parent or spouse was “not on active duty,” this means they were a member of the Reserve serving on active duty for training or inactive duty training. This term does not include Army and Air National Guard members who were on State orders (sometimes called “State Active Duty").

You may be able to get up to 36 months of benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, including:

• Money for tuition 
• Money for housing
• Money for books and supplies

Check the current payment rates for the Fry Scholarship

Apply online through the Department of Veterans Affairs website you will need to complete a Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits (VA Form 22-5490). If you are not legally an adult, your parent or guardian must sign the application.

If you are interested in applying for either the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance or Fry Scholarship benefit(s), please follow the Steps to Using VA Benefits below:

1. Apply for admission to our university.
   
2. Select a program of study that best meets your future goals.
   
3. Decide which GI Bill® best fits your needs.
   
4. Visit https://www.va.gov/education/how-to-apply/ to submit your application for benefits. The site will prompt you to complete VA form 22-5490 (first time VA applicant).
   
5. Enter this information in the Full Name and Address of School field:
   American Public University System
   111 W. Congress Street
   Charles Town, WV 25414
6. Keep an eye out for the VA certificate of eligibility (COE). This will be mailed from the VA Regional Processing Office.
   
7. You may upload a clear copy of your VA paperwork through the secure My Documents portal, using your eCampus login credentials. You can also email your documents to [email protected]. Please ensure all email attachments are properly sized and in a PDF or image file format.
   
8. Log into the student ecampus and register for class. If you use the the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance benefit, the VA will pay you directly meaning you will need to self-pay during registration. Fry Scholarship students should select the Post 9/11 GI Bill® payment option corresponding with their VA Percentage of Eligibility.
   
9. If prompted during the registration process, give your consent for the university to submit your course registrations to the VA.
   
10. Your VR&E counselor will need to submit a Purchase Order authorization for educational benefits to American Public University using the Tungsten Network portal.  
    • This Purchase Order authorization will allow us to grant course access for upcoming registrations
    
11. We will submit verification of your enrollment (VA Form 22-1999) electronically to the VA after the drop period for  your course(s).
    
12.  Any stipends you are entitled to will be reviewed against the 22-1999 enrollment certifications
    
13. Visit the Finance Center in the student ecampus to view the VA Enrollment Status (Rate of Pursuit) table for course load requirements.