VA Education Benefits

If you are utilizing your veterans or dependent of a veteran education benefits for the first time, you must submit your application for benefits to the VA. For faster service. You will receive a certificate of eligibility in the mail from the VA once your application has been processed (approximately 30 days). 

If you have not yet received your Certificate of Eligibility, but would like to continue with the registration process, please email veterans@cuesta.edu. 

Eligibility for Chapter 31 benefits can be found here; Eligibility

Chapter 31 benefits can be applied for here: VR&E

Please provide the following contact information to the VR&E counselor:

• Certifying Official: Adrienne Smith at veterans@cuesta.edu. 
• Cuesta College Tax ID code: 522018681
• Cuesta College Facility Code: 14948105

Cuesta College Bookstore information:

• Vendor Name: Cuesta College Official Bookstore 
• Vendor Number: BARNOBCO and BARNOBED
• Vendor Tax ID: 46-0599018
• Vendor Address: State Highway 1 B&N 8301 San Luis Obispo, CA 93405; 805-546-3206.

Please contact the Education Center located on your military installation

Active Duty Air Force may access more information here:
AFVEC

Active Duty spouses may access more information here: MySECO

Benefits are determined under various plans.

More information can be found here: CalVet Fee Waiver Information

For dependents: Dependents may use the CalVet Fee Waiver concurrent with Chapter 35 benefits. 

For spouses: Spouses may use the CalVet Fee Waiver or Chapter 35, but not concurrently. 

The CalVet Fee Waiver covers tuition and enrollment fees for the entire academic year, except the Student Health Center Fee, Student Representative Fee, and applicable material fees.  

Once an application is submitted and approved, an authorization letter will be obtained. Please submit the authorization letter in person at the San Luis Obispo Campus, or email veterans@cuesta.edu.

Tuition Assistance (TA) is a Department of Defense benefit paid to current service members of all branches of the Armed Forces to assist with the cost of tuition. TA funds is a source of financial aid for active duty military. 

How to apply for Tuition Assistance
Each military service branch and component has their own criteria for Tuition Assistance (TA). These criteria include eligibility for the benefit, military service obligation, application process and restrictions. It is recommended you speak with your Educational Services Officer (ESO) or chain of command within your service area to obtain information and for further guidance to request your TA benefits. 

Steps to Apply for Tuition Assistance

1. Speak with your ESO or command to ensure you are eligible for Tuition Assistance (TA).
   Gain approval from your chain of command to attend classes.
2. Meet with Academic Counselor, Andrea Devitt to complete an education plan.
   Once your education plan is completed, please email the education plan to veterans@cuesta.edu in a PDF format so that the VRC can upload your classes to the respective military portal.
3. Follow the military service branch and component specific instructions how to request Tuition Assistance for your course(s). Take note of the TA request timeframes (specific to your branch) and Cuesta's academic calendar.
4. Submit your approved TA request (which is signed by you and your military branch) to veterans@cuesta.edu in a PDF format. The Veterans Resource Center will process your approved TA request and work with the Student Accounting office to posts the credit to your student account. Please note that it can take 3-5 business days for a form to be processed to your account from the date it is submitted. We cannot guarantee that late forms will be processed to your account by the fee payment deadline.