About
Admission to Teachers College
Active-duty U.S. service members, reservists, and veterans will receive a waiver from both the Teachers College $75 Application Fee when applying for admission and the $300 nonrefundable deposit payment upon accepting an offer of admission. Please reach out to the Office of Admission for more information about this benefit.
How To Apply for Enrollment Certification with Teachers College
Please complete and return a Veterans Benefits Enrollment Certification Form below to the Registrar's Office each term you wish to certify your enrollment with the VA. Any late fees accrued before submission of the Enrollment Certification Form in any term will be the student's responsibility and will not be paid for by the VA.
The electronically signed Adobe form is submitted to the Registrar's Office via email to registrar@tc.columbia.edu.
NOTE: The Office of the Registrar will communicate with all VA Education Benefit recipients each time we process your request for benefits within a term.
Veterans Benefits Enrollment Certification Form
Chapters Covered
- ACTIVE DUTY MONTGOMERY, CHAPTER 30 – At least two years on active duty and contributed $1,200 to your GI Bill® fund and were honorably discharged.
- POST 9/11 GI BILL®, CHAPTER 33 – At least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or be discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill®. The Post-9/11 GI Bill® became effective for training on or after August 1, 2009.
- SURVIVORS’ AND DEPENDENTS, CHAPTER 35 – Survivors’ and dependents are certified for tuition and fees and receive basic monthly rates as established by the VA.
- VETERANS READINESS AND EMPLOYMENT, CHAPTER 31 – Formerly known as the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program. Assists Veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find and keep suitable jobs. Veterans are certified for tuition and fees.
- RESERVISTS/NATIONAL GUARD, CHAPTER 1606 – You must have a six-year obligation to serve in the Reserves or Guard, and be currently in good standing with your unit.
Teachers College - A Yellow Ribbon School
Teachers College has been approved by the US Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in the Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program. In fact, all of the graduate and professional schools of Columbia University as well as the Undergraduate School of General Studies are proud participants in the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The Yellow Ribbon Program’s mission to promote educational access and equity closely parallels the Teachers College founding vision of bringing educational opportunities to all members of society. Supporting the academic goals of veterans by helping them accomplish their educational aspirations throughout the fields of education, psychology, and health is a welcomed and invaluable opportunity for Teachers College.
What is the Yellow Ribbon Program?
The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program is a provision of the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, and is a direct tuition assistance program. Approved by Congress during 2008, the Yellow Ribbon Program was created to provide a significant expansion of available financial aid for post-9/11 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 http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
Under the Yellow Ribbon program, for student Veterans who are at the 100% level, Teachers College and the VA will match funds to cover tuition and fees up to a total $10,000 above the maximum Post-9/11 benefit in an academic year.
In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e), this school adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post 9/11 G.I. Bill® (Ch. 33) or Veterans Readiness and Employment (Ch. 31) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from the VA. This school will not:
- Prevent nor delay the student’s enrollment;
- Assess a late penalty fee to the student;
- Require the student to secure alternative or additional funding;
- Deny the student access to any resources available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution, including but not limited to access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities.
However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:
- Produce the Certificate of Eligibility by the first day of class;
- Provide written request to be certified;
- Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies.
Post-9/11 - Chapter 33 GI Bill® Benefits
The 100% Post-9/11 benefit for academic year 2024-2025 is $28,937.09. With Yellow Ribbon for 100% participants, the total benefits are $38,937.09.
Please Note: the VA will pay as much of the benefit in the first term of the academic year that you certify. Typically, this means a higher VA payment in the fall term and a smaller payment in the spring, until you reach your maximum eligible benefit.
For example, in 2024-2025, if a student receiving 100% of the benefit is charged $20,000 in tuition and fees in both the fall 2024 and spring 2025 terms, the VA will cover the full $20,000 in fall, but only $18,937.09 in the spring. This will leave a balance of $1,062.91 for the student to pay. Please budget for this accordingly.
What is not covered: Students who receive scholarships or grants that are tuition specific will receive a reduced amount from the VA as the scholarship or grant monies will be taken out of the total charges first. This will, however, allow for more VA money to be used throughout the academic year should a student not be covered by scholarship and/or grant funds in those terms.
TC Health Costs: Post 9/11 GI Bill® only covers the mandatory Health Fee. If a student chooses to register for Health Insurance through TC, it will not be paid for by the Post 9/11 GI Bill®. To request to waive Health Insurance, please visit here: https://www.health.columbia.edu/content/request-waiver
In addition, should a student reside in on-campus housing or join a meal plan, these are also not covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill®.
Due to changes in the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, if a service member transfers benefits to their spouse and is on active duty, the spouse may not receive the monthly housing allowance should they attend TC over half-time in any particular semester. Children may continue to do so.
NOTE: Beginning with the Spring 2022 academic term, students using their Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits will be required to verify their enrollment at the end of each month. Failure to verify for two consecutive months will impact their Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) and/or kicker payments. All impacted students with a US mobile phone number on file will receive an opt-in text as their next enrollment period approaches. Note: Students who do not have a US mobile phone number on file with VA will not be able to use text verification. They will be automatically enrolled into email verification.
You can find more information about monthly verification at this link.
US Veterans
- Veterans who served an aggregate period of active duty after September 10, 2001, for at least 36 months.
- Veterans who were honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability, and served 30 continuous days after September 10, 2001.
- Active duty service members are now eligible for Yellow Ribbon as of Autumn term 2022.
Families of US Veterans
Based upon service requirements, veterans may be able to transfer their benefits to their family members (i.e., spouse, children, dependents). Spouses of active duty service members are now eligible for Yellow Ribbon benefits as of Autumn term 2022.
Please see the following link for more information about transferrability: https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_transfer.asp