Veteran Applicants

Financial Aid for Veterans

Our goal is to ensure that a Wesleyan education is affordable and well within veterans’ reach. Aid packages for veteran students meet 100% of their demonstrated financial need without loans and with a minimum expected student contribution of $1,200 each year. Should a student use and exhaust their VA benefits, Wesleyan will continue to meet 100% of their demonstrated financial need through graduation.  

Please know that Wesleyan is committed to addressing the specific needs and circumstances of our veteran students on a case-by-case basis, which may include adjustments to financial aid awards based on documented family and/or dependent care expenses. Please contact Matt Akre, Wesleyan’s Office of Financial Aid Veterans Liaison with any questions related to financial aid and the application of veterans benefits at Wesleyan. 

Beginning with new students entering Wesleyan in Fall semester of 2024, US military veterans who have earned education support from the federal government (including Post 9/11-GI Bill® benefits, Chapter 31 benefits, Yellow Ribbon scholarship) may elect not to use these benefits toward their Wesleyan education. However, there are considerations to be made of which applicants should be aware: veterans not using the GI Bill® are not eligible to receive the Monthly Housing Allowance. This benefit can provide a substantial amount of money in pocket to students each month, and thus the decision should be made carefully. Applicants and students are strongly encouraged to proactively reach out to the Financial Aid Office Veterans Liaison, Matt Akre, who is the appointed contact for financial aid for both incoming and current student veterans, to discuss your circumstances and what would be best for you. 

Additional Financial Aid Programs for Veterans

Yellow Ribbon Scholarships for Dependents: Veterans can transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits to their dependent children through a process called “Transfer of Entitlement.” If the transferred benefits show the 100% benefit level on the dependent’s Certificate of Eligibility, the student is eligible to receive a Yellow Ribbon scholarship, which covers the full cost of their tuition and fees. If the dependent has less than 100% eligibility, they are not eligible for Yellow Ribbon. 

VA Book Allowance: Any student using Post-9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33) benefits or Vocational Readiness & Employment (Chapter 31) benefits is eligible for funding to specifically help cover the cost of books and supplies. These amounts vary depending on a student’s benefit chapter (31/33) and their eligibility percentage (under Chapter 33). 

Monthly Payment Plan Enrollment Waiver: Because veteran students have different needs than the rest of our traditional student population, the Student Accounts office waives the $45/semester enrollment fee for the Monthly Payment Plan (MPP). As most veteran students will have a balance on their Student Accounts as they wait for their BAH payments to come in, the MPP helps manage any balance on their Student Account month-to-month. 

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH): Wesleyan caps the amount of BAH funds in veteran students’ financial aid packages. Instead of assessing the full amount of BAH that veteran students receive from the VA, we only consider 60% of the student’s RCF fee—factored as the BAH in their aid package—as part of their award. Depending on the student’s calculated family contribution, this approach can make room for additional scholarship funding from Wesleyan and other sources.

Pell Grants/Direct Loans: Federal Title IV Aid—including Pell Grants and Direct Loans—are available to students who qualify. Pell Grants are based on the student’s federal expected family contribution and are treated as incremental grants in our awarding process if the student is using VA benefits. While most veteran students don’t utilize Direct Loans, they are available to US citizens and eligible noncitizens. 

Veteran Campus Visit Travel Assistance 

The Office of Admission assists prospective military veteran students to best understand how Wesleyan may serve their educational goal, and the resources offered in support of that goal. To that end, we offer travel assistance grants for travel to campus from within the United States in advance of your application to Wesleyan. These grants will provide for air travel, ground shuttle, one-night campus-adjacent hotel accommodations, and on-campus food services.

For admitted military veterans who have not visited campus via our travel assistance program, we offer the same travel support as you seek to make your final enrollment decision. For questions and instructions on how to receive a travel grant, email Noble Jones in the Office of Admission. 

FAQs 

Q: Who should write my letters of recommendation? 

We encourage you to submit two academic recommendations if you are currently enrolled in college coursework, from faculty members who taught you within the past year or two. It’s preferred that these courses were comparable to those offered at Wesleyan, but you may decide who may best advocate and attest to your academic preparation.

If you haven’t completed recent college coursework or aren’t currently enrolled, we welcome recommendations from faculty members who can speak to your participation and engagement in other academic programs, such as Warrior-Scholar Project.

If you’re unable to identify persons to write current/recent academic recommendations for your application, you are welcome to submit non-academic references from persons who can speak to your performance, intellectual engagement, and promise, such as supervising officers in the military.

Q: What extracurricular activities should I pursue to make myself stand out? What if I have limited time for traditional activities between school and other responsibilities?

If you’re not already engaged with things that bring you joy and/or help those around you, find something of interest to you and carve out a bit of time to engage. Of course, we recognize that work and home responsibilities might prevent you from participating in such activities, and that’s fine. But remember to share these obligations with us as well. They represent devotion, trust, and responsibility, among other qualities, and illustrate your participation in school, at home, at work, and other environments. Don’t discredit the things that keep you busy on a day-to-day basis.

If you haven’t yet had the chance to pursue specific activities but are genuinely interested in something offered at Wesleyan, or perhaps in establishing a new club or organization, be certain to share that with us in your application. We’re excited to understand how new members of the Wesleyan student body envision enhancing and contributing to our community.

Q: What housing options are available to veterans?

Wesleyan offers a variety of housing options, including traditional residence halls, thirty different program houses, and variously sized apartments and wood frame houses. Realizing veterans may prefer more independent housing than is offered to traditional-aged incoming students, veterans are offered all these options, including apartments or wood frame houses, as space permits. Veterans also have the option of requesting an exception to the university requirement that all undergraduates live on campus.

Housing for veteran students is available year-round, as they typically have relocated to Middletown for their studies and do not have another residence to return to during breaks. The residential comprehensive fee includes meals, room, and utilities, and is the same regardless of class year or location. All units are furnished. 

A small number of family housing units are available for veterans whose partner and/or children will be living with them on campus. These units are not furnished, and rent is paid monthly to the university, rather than being charged the residential comprehensive fee. Rent typically increases July 1 of each year. Purchasing a meal plan is optional.

If you have, or think you may have, a disability for which you would like to request a housing accommodation, please contact Accessibility Services. This includes requesting an emotional support animal or notification of a service dog; please review Wesleyan’s Pet Policy for more information. You can contact the office by submitting a Disability Notification Accommodation Request Form via WesPortal or by emailing accessibility@wesleyan.edu.

Q: What on-campus resources are available to veterans?

The following resources, which are available to all Wesleyan students, may be of particular interest to military veterans:

• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
• Academic Advising
• Writing Center
• Resource Center
• Gordon Career Center