New Student Steps
First time using your VA Education Benefits at Gavilan College? You're in the right place!
Apply for benefits from the VA
Apply to use your GI Bill Benefits through the VA: va.gov/education/how-to-apply. The VA will review your file and determine if you're eligible for the GI Bill. Once they've made a decision, they'll send you a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) in the mail which states which GI Bill you can use and how many months you have available.
Apply to Gavilan College
If you don't have a "G Number" (student number) for Gavilan College, you'll need to obtain one by applying at cccapply.org.
Complete your FAFSA
Apply for FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You may be entitled to financial aid and fee waivers in addition to your GI Bill. If you need assistance filling these out please stop by the VRC for help.
Submit Documentation
Next up, you need to submit a few documents to the Veterans Resource Center:
- DD FORM 214, MEMBER 4: Send a copy of your DD Form 214 (Member 4) to the VRC at vrc@gavilan.edu
- VA CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY (CoE): Send a copy of your VA CoE for Education Benefits to the VRC at vrc@gavilan.edu. The VA will mail this to you after you’ve applied for your GI Bill benefits online. The CoE shows which GI Bill Chapter you are eligible for and at what percentage. If you don't have it yet, that's okay. Just be sure to send it once you receive it.
Order official transcripts from previous colleges
Submit official transcripts to Gavilan College, Attn: Dewitt Stuckey, dstuckey@gavilan.edu. This can be done after you've already started with us. Please do not order physical transcripts to be mailed -- we're still working from home and don't have easy access to the campus mail room.
Meet with Academic Counselor to develop Educational Plan
A condition of using your GI Bill is that you must develop and follow an Educational Plan (EdPlan). Please make an appointment with our academic counselors to create your Education Plan (EdPlan). Any class you want the VA to pay for MUST be specifically listed on your EdPlan. Every semester, you are required to meet with one of our counselors to review/update your EdPlan for the upcoming term.
Apply for EdPlan Approved Classes
After you've created an EdPlan and registration has opened for the semester, go ahead and register for your EdPlan Approved classes via the MyGav Portal.
Submit Certification Request
After you complete the above steps, and AFTER you've signed up for EdPlan Approved classes please complete the CERTIFICATION REQUEST (here). This gives the school certifying official permission to act on your behalf and submit a request to the VA to use your benefits. This will need to be completed every semester AFTER your EdPlan is updated and AFTER you register for EdPlan Approved classes. This process can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks for processing. If you have any questions please email Marisol at mguerrero@gavilan.edu.