This program is for individuals who served on active duty after 09/10/2001. Individuals must have served for an aggregated period of at least 90 days or served at least 30 continuous days and received a disability discharge.

VA's Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (Chapter 35) program provides education and training opportunities to eligible dependents and survivors of certain veterans.

Basic Eligibility:

Eligible individuals are Veterans’ and Service members’ dependents, spouses and surviving spouses who have been found eligible by the Regional Processing Office (RPO) because of one of the following:

• The veteran’s death was caused by the service-connected disability.
• The Veteran is rated for total and permanent service-connected disability.
• The service member is Missing in Action (MIA).
• The service member is captured in the line of duty.
• The service member is forcibly detained for longer than 90 days.
• The service member who the VA determines has a service-connected permanent and total disability that will result in a discharge from military service.
• Participants include a dependent child between the ages of 14 to 31 and a spouse, or surviving spouse, who qualifies for the benefit.

Services Include: 

• Education and career counseling.
• Special assistance.
• Special Restorative Training (SRT).
• Specialized Vocational Training (SVT).

View more information about Chapter 35: VA's Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance.

Learn more information about applying for the FAFSA. For scholarship information, please contact the VMSS office. 

(A) A child of a wartime veteran, upon application to and approval by the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs, may be admitted to any state‐supported college, university, or post high school technical education institution free of tuition so long as his work and conduct is satisfactory to the governing body of the institution, if the veteran was a resident of this State at the time of entry into service, during service and still resides in this State or has been a resident of this State for at least one year and still resides in this State or, if the veteran is deceased, resided in this State for one year before his death, and provided the veteran served honorably in a branch of the military service of the United States during a war period, as those periods are defined by Section 101 of Title 38 of the United States Code and:

(1) was killed in action;

(2) died from other causes while in the service;

(3) died of disease or disability resulting from service;

(4) was a prisoner of war as defined by Congress or Presidential proclamation during such war period;

(5) is permanently and totally disabled, as determined by the Veterans Administration from any cause;

(6) has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor;

(7) is missing in action;

(8) the applicant is the child of a deceased veteran who qualified under items (4) and (5); or

(9) has been awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat."

(B) The provisions of this section apply to a child of a veteran who meets the residency requirements of Chapter 112 of this title, is twenty‐six years of age or younger, and is pursuing any type of undergraduate degree.

View application for tuition assistance. 

As part of the application process, your previous training, education, and experience will be evaluated for credit towards your degree. Credits will be evaluated on a case by case by basis. Linguists, with documentation, will have their language requirement waived.

Request transcripts from Go Army Ed.

The Veteran and Military Student Success Center is an asset to veteran, active duty, and military family member students. It offers a meeting space where students can study for exams, learn from current students, and find a sense of community during their transition back into civilian life. You can rely on and connect at the VMSS and may become an important part of your journey in higher education, and for veteran and military students coming to USC Aiken, making your way into the VMSS and using the resources can set you apart and lead you to success.

Another huge advantage to coming into the Veteran and Military Student Success Center are the Veteran Transition Success Advocates. Made up of a dynamic duo of psychology graduate students, the VTSAs work to help veteran students transition into civilian and college life. Whether it be from the stress of the work load, concerns with career planning, or if you just need someone to talk to, they’re here for you.

View more information about the VTSAs.