Government-Based Education Assistance

There are a variety of GI Bill® programs that can be used by veterans as well as active-duty, guard and reserve service members, spouses and dependents. This is an irrevocable decision, meaning you can’t change your mind, so you can compare benefits easily by using the GI Bill Comparison Tool and viewing current payment rates.

Forever GI Bill®

The Forever GI Bill® brings significant changes to the Post-9/11 GI Bill® that expand veterans’ eligibility for, and amount of, education benefits and the length of time they have to use them. See Full Details

Post-9/11 GI Bill®

If you’ve served on active duty after September 10, 2001, you may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33).

If you’re a member of the reserves who lost education benefits when the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) ended in November 2015, you may qualify to receive restored benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

This GI Bill® could help you with tuition and fees, money for housing, books and supplies. See Full Details

Montgomery GI Bill® — Active Duty

The Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD) can help you pay for up to 36 months of education benefits. You need to have served at least two years on active duty and must meet eligibility requirements in one of four categories. See Full Details

Montgomery GI Bill — Selected Reserve

The Montgomery GI Bill® Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) program offers up to 36 months of education and training benefits. If you’re a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard or Air National Guard, and your obligation started after June 30, 1985, or for some types of training, after September 30, 1990, you may be eligible for this benefit. See Full Details

Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program (VEAP)

If you entered the service for the first time between January 1, 1977, and June 30, 1985 and put money into your VEAP account before April 1, 1987, you may be able to continue your education by using part of your military pay to help cover the cost of school. Find out if you can get benefits through VEAP — a $2-to-$1 government-match program for educational assistance. See Full Details

Designed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, this program aims for the VA and degree-granting institutions to pay the difference between what is covered by GI Bill® benefits and the total cost of the program. The Yellow Ribbon Scholarship is automatically applied if your tuition costs exceed the maximum state cap for tuition reimbursement and if you are qualified for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® at the 100 percent rate. It does not apply for active duty personnel, their spouses or veterans receiving less than 100 percent of the benefit.

Eastern Oregon University contributes the difference in cost between in-state and out-of-state tuition. See Full Details

DoD Tuition Assistance

Active military students may be eligible to utilize Department of Defense (DoD) Tuition Assistance (TA) to fund their education. DoD TA covers tuition expenses equal to $165 per quarter credit (up to $250 per semester credit hour) for eligible students. 

For more information regarding tuition assistance, visit your service branch:

• Air Force
• Army 
• Navy
• Marine Corps
• Coast Guard 

Oregon National Guard State Tuition Assistance

Eligible to current Oregon National Guard Members who are seeking an undergraduate degree, a maximum of $208 per credit hour can be awarded to attend a community college, public or private university. See Details and Application

Active Duty Military Award

Once Tuition Assistance benefits have been applied, this award from EOU will cover the remaining tuition fees. You must be an active-duty military service member taking 100 percent online undergraduate coursework and submit paperwork for TA benefits through your branch of the military.

This award is applied automatically based on the submission of TA paperwork through the third-party billing desk of the student accounts office.

Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship

Under this scholarship, beginning with the 2018-2019 award year, a Pell-eligible student whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty is eligible to receive a maximum Pell Grant for the year their eligibility is determined. See Details and Application

Fry Scholarship

If you’re the child or surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001, or a member of the Selected Reserve who died from a service-connected disability on or after the same date, you may qualify for the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Fry Scholarship) which grants you up to 36 months of benefits including money for tuition, housing, books and supplies. Learn more about the Fry Scholarship

Post-9/11 GI Bill® Benefits

If you’re a qualified service member, you can transfer all 36 months or a portion of your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a spouse or child. The DoD approves a transfer of benefits. Learn about transferring Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits

Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA)

If you’re the child or spouse of a veteran or service member who has died, is captured or missing or has disabilities, you may be able to receive between 36 and 455 months of benefits to pay for school or job training through the DEA program — also called Chapter 35. See Full Details

Veterans’ Dependent Tuition Waiver

Designed for children of a Purple Heart recipient or the child, spouse or un-remarried surviving spouse of a U.S. military service member who died or is 100 percent disabled from service, the waiver is a last-dollar award after all other money has been accounted for and applies towards tuition. See Details and Application

Veterans United Foundation Scholarships

If you are a surviving spouse or child of a deceased service member from a service-related death or of a veteran with a 100 percent service-connected disability, you could be eligible for a $2,000 scholarship from the Veterans United Foundation. See Details and Application

Once admitted to EOU, you will receive college credit for training completed during your U.S. military service. Credit will be awarded based on recommendations by the American Council on Education or Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning and ASL. You may also transfer credits from prior college courses, or through CLEP or DANTES testing.

• Bachelor’s programs may accept up to 135 credit hours.
• Master’s programs may accept up to 15 credit hours.

You can order your transcripts using the appropriate military branch link below. Please note that you will likely be prompted to manually accept the DoD’s security certificates.

• Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines
• Air Force

Scholarship and Grant Opportunities

We’ve curated a list of scholarships and scholarship search sites that apply to active military, veterans and their family members. The list is not meant to be all-encompassing and you should seek additional sources as you’re able.

Once Tuition Assistance benefits have been applied, this award from EOU will cover the remaining tuition fees. You must be an active-duty military service member taking 100 percent online undergraduate coursework and submit paperwork for TA benefits through your branch of the military.

This award is applied automatically based on the submission of TA paperwork through the third-party billing desk of the student accounts office.

If you are serving or have served in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) as part of the Oregon National Guard or in a military reserve component after 9/11, you could be eligible for this needs-based scholarship that awards up to $3,000 per academic year. See Details and Application

Fry Scholarship

If you’re the child or surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001, or a member of the Selected Reserve who died from a service-connected disability on or after the same date, you may qualify for the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Fry Scholarship) which grants you up to 36 months of benefits including money for tuition, housing, books and supplies. Learn more about the Fry Scholarship

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

If you are a child of a U.S. military service member who died due to military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after 9/11, you may be eligible for this federal grant which awards between $5,983.34 and $6,495 depending upon your eligibility. See Full Details

Veterans United Foundation Scholarships

If you are a surviving spouse or child of a deceased service member from a service-related death or of a veteran with a 100 percent service-connected disability, you could be eligible for a $2,000 scholarship from the Veterans United Foundation. See Details and Application

Eastern Oregon University endeavors to reduce your out-of-pocket education expense as much as possible. You can review the links below to determine what additional scholarships you may want to pursue.

• Review EOU scholarship opportunities here.
• Review military-based scholarship opportunities here.
• Find external scholarship search sites here.

Also, be sure tovisit the Federal Trade Commission’s Scholarship Scams page to educate and protect yourself and your loved ones from criminals working to gain access to your personal data.