Educational Benefits for Veterans

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

The University of San Francisco is fully dedicated to making education more accessible for our nation's veterans and their dependents. We are proud to announce our participation in federal programs that provide tuition and fee benefits to qualified veterans who are accepted and enrolled at the University. The Law School Financial Aid Office acts as a liaison between the Law School, its students, and all the agencies involved with VA benefits. The Law School Financial Aid Administrator certifies enrollment for students in a degree-seeking program.

To determine eligibility for benefits, the VA requires that you complete the form VA22-1990. Students can also apply online on the VA web site at www.gibill.va.gov. You must be accepted and registered for classes before the Law School can certify your enrollment to the VA Processing Center.

After you have completed and submitted the form online, the Department of Veteran Affairs will send you a Certificate of Eligibility for Educational Benefits. Upon receipt of this notice, new law students should send a copy the Certificate of Eligibility as well as DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge) to the Law School Financial Aid Administrator. Law students must provide these specific documents to the Law Financial Office to insure timely receipt of their benefits each semester. Newly admitted applicants should immediately identify themselves to the Law School Financial Aid Administrator to begin the process of receiving VA benefits beginning their first year of study at USF. Receipt of VA benefits requires completion of your VA file with the Law School Financial Aid Office as well as certification of enrollment by the Law School Financial Aid Administrator. The earliest certification of enrollment for all law students is typically done in early July for the fall semester and early November for the spring semester.

Maintaining VA Status at USF

Once you start receiving benefits, you must maintain satisfactory attendance and progress. If you do not meet the standards set by the school, the certifying official will notify the VA. The VA in return will stop your benefits.

Anytime you change your unit load, whether it is an increase or decrease in status, it is your responsibility to let the Law School’s certifying VA official know. Failure to do so will result in overpayment or underpayment for your benefits. If you promptly notify the school and the VA of these changes, you can prevent or reduce over-payments.

Yellow Ribbon Program

The School of Law determines participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program on an annual basis. A decision to participate is made in spring for the upcoming academic year. For example, final approval for the Fall 2022/Spring 2023 academic year will be made in late March 2022. Award amount as well as the number of recipients is also determined at this time. Only new first year students will be considered for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

The Yellow Ribbon award is renewable for two additional years (three additional years for part-time evening students) depending on the length of eligibility as determined by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs as well as any other requirements set by the VA Office related to Yellow Ribbon recipients. In addition, the law student must also maintain good academic standing at the end of each academic year to renew the grant (please note that determination of good academic standing is made at the conclusion of the spring semester). The Yellow Ribbon award is for the fall and spring semester only and is not applicable towards any summer session enrollment. Awardees are selected based on admission to the School of Law and the completion date of their application file at USF. Eligible applicants to the law school are encouraged to apply early. For the current Fall 2021/Spring 2022 academic year, the Law School selected two Yellow Ribbon recipients and the grant award was $5,000 each.

Students can find further information about the Yellow Ribbon Program at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/yellow_ribbon.asp.

Law School Certifying Official:
Alan Guerrero
(415) 422-2975
lawfinaid@usfca.edu