VA Benefits and Yellow Ribbon

Yellow Ribbon and other VA benefits provide financial support for eligible student-veterans or dependents of veterans to attend law school.  

First, apply for educational benefits through the Veterans Administration to work in conjuncture with the College of Law Financial Aid Office and Syracuse University’s Office of Veteran Success (OVS) to process the award. 

Students in the 100% tier of the Yellow Ribbon Program have all of their tuition and educational expenses covered, and receive the military’s monthly housing allowance (BAH). Eligible student-veterans in this program can attend the College of Law for little to no additional cost. We are happy to assist candidates with the steps needed to use VA benefits to attend Syracuse.

Contact the Financial Aid Office at 315.443.1962 or send an email to LawFinAid@syr.edu if you have questions about your benefits or how to apply.

Read a printer-friendly PDF of these steps.

Step One: You must apply for your benefits with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA has an online application (VONAPP) on which you may complete the application, or, a paper application called Form 22-1990 may be submitted to the VA’s Eastern Regional Processing Office (P.O. Box 4616, Buffalo, NY 14240-4616). If you have trouble with the application process, call a VA Education Case Manager at 1-888-GIBill1 (1-888-442-4551).

Step Two: After you apply for federal benefits, the VA will issue a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Please send a copy of your COE to the College of Law Financial Aid Office via e-mail (LawFinAid@syr.edu), via fax (315.443.9568), or mail to Syracuse University College of Law, Dineen Hall, Cole Suite 100, 950 Irving Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244-6070.

Step Three:  Complete the Syracuse University VA Benefits Request Form. If this form doesn’t appear on your Financial Aid To Do List on MySlice, please request it it from the SU Office of Veteran Success. This form must be completed for each term you wish to receive benefits at Syracuse University. Benefits will be processed on a first-come/first-served basis, so it is important to complete this step in a timely manner.

Step Four: Syracuse University will award estimated veterans benefits awards as part of your financial aid award, based upon your GI Bill Benefit Tier. Depending on the estimated value of your VA benefits, College of Law scholarships or grants may be reduced or canceled. If you have questions about your financial aid eligibility, contact the College of Law Office of Financial Aid at 315.443.1962 or by e-mail.

Step Five: In addition to applying for federal veterans educational benefits, you may be eligible to apply for student loans through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. To begin the loan application process, you must complete the annual FAFSA form and also log onto MySlice and complete items listed on the Financial Aid To Do List.