Cal Vet College Fee Waiver

  

NEW STUDENTS & CONTINUING STUDENTS WITH NEW BENEFITS
Watch the video guide -  "Intro to Cal Poly's Center for Military-Connected Students Services"	COMING SOON
Watch the video guide: "Using the Cal Vet College Fee Waiver" (Updated version for 2025-26 coming soon)	Video -CLICK HERE
REQUIRED: Fill out this form if you have accepted your offer of admission or have already started attending Cal Poly	Form - CLICK HERE
Connect with us on Instagram @calpolyveterans to stay updated on important announcements and events	Instagram - CLICK HERE

 

 

 

APPLYING EACH YEAR
Gather these 5 documents	1. Cal Vet College Fee Waiver Application   2. Students birth certificate (If the veteran is a step-parent or adoptive parent, also provide documentation substantiating the relationship)   3. Students tax information for the preceding calendar year: Students tax return or, if the student did not file taxes themselves: Individual Status Letter from the California Franchise Tax Board (preferred) or Statement of Non-Filing from the IRS)   4. Veteran's DD214   5. Veterans VA disability rating letter	Application - CLICK HERE   Individual Status Letter -CLICK HERE   Statement of Non-Filing - CLICK HERE   VA Disability Rating - CLICK HERE
Take the documents to your County Veterans Service Office (VSO)	VSO appointments can be scheduled with our San Luis Obispo County Veterans Service Office. This can take from 1 week to several months to complete depending on the level of impaction at your county VSO. Apply early in the Spring/Summer to avoid issues	Find your county VSO - CLICK HERE   Schedule an appt with SLO County VSO - CLICK HERE
The VSO will process the students application	If approved, VetPro will email the student a 16-digit approval code
Submit the approval code to Cal Poly	Parents/Supporters - Only Cal Poly students should be accessing the submission form. It requires their signature acknowledging understanding	Submit Approval Code to Cal Poly - CLICK HERE
The CMCS will retrieve the students waiver, process it and forward it to Student Accounts for further processing. After students register for classes each term, the Student Accounts office will write off any state tuition costs for that term. This is a manual process and sometimes takes a couple of weeks for the university to complete the 500+ waivers that must be applied each term. Students are able to view their Account Activity in their Money Matters tab to verify that their waiver has been applied. Please allow several days for this credit to be applied to your account each term after registration charges appear. It will show as a credit labeled "UG Tuition Fee Wvr"
Each quarter, Cal Poly will write off only the state tuition fee, not other registration fees	Students will see the waiver applied and must make arrangements to pay the remaining balance for their class costs if they do not have financial aid (grants, scholarships and loans) in place to pay the remainder.	Cost of Attending - CLICK HERE

 

 

*While parents/supporters are encouraged to participate in the benefits process, the student is the responsible party and must complete the above steps. 

  

There is no requirement that a veteran must claim a student on their taxes to apply for the Cal Vet College Fee Waiver. "Dependent" just refers to the student being a legal child, stepchild or spouse of the veteran. 

A student must:

• Be classified as a resident of California. This is usually determined during the application cycle based upon where the student graduated high school. Residency for Tuition Purposes

• (Plan B Waiver) Have an annual income the prior year that falls under the California Poverty Level. Annual income is the adjusted gross income on the students taxes + any financial support their parent provided. The California Poverty Level is equal to 138% Federal Poverty Level (FPL). For 2025 applications = $21,597. 

• Be taking classes that charge state tuition 

• Be the dependent of a service-connected disabled veteran

 

More Eligibility Information

 

 

• Cal Vet College Fee Waivers (CVCFW) are accepted at Cal Poly for all classes that charge state tuition. The CVCFW will waive the state tuition portion of academic costs. It does not cover university campus-based fees. Be prepared, when using the CVCFW, to pay a portion of the academic costs out of pocket. Review the Cost of Attending Cal Poly. 
• This program does not cover the expense of Extended Education or Self-Supported courses at Cal Poly. This includes Quarter Plus, and many Study Abroad programs. Explore qualified Study Abroad opportunities. Graduate Students - Cal Poly's Business Analytics, Fire Protection Engineering, Packaging Value Chain, Quantitative Economics, and Taxation programs are all self-supported.
• The fee waiver approval received from a county veteran service office must be submitted here every academic year.
• Waivers cannot be credited retroactively for previous academic years.
• Waivers should be submitted prior to the tuition due dates and can take several business days to process and be applied. If the waiver is not turned in at least 2 weeks before tuition and fees are due, students may be required to pay those costs and request reimbursement.
• This is not a VA program - it is a State of California benefit wherein Cal Poly writes off the student's state tuition costs each quarter. No money is provided to Cal Poly on the student's behalf. 
• Waivers sent by email or mail will not be applied.
• Each waiver can be accessed and used once. If a student intends on attending multiple colleges, request multiple approval codes from the VSO. 
• Unlike VA programs, students using the CVCFW do not have a minimum course load requirement. The waiver will be applied regardless of the number of units a student is taking. We do not report course load, classes taken or grades.
• Financial Aid: We encourage all students to complete a FAFSA every year.
• The Cal Vet College Fee Waiver will only be affected by other grants meant to cover state tuition (State University Grant, Cal Grant FEES, some athletic awards). There are many grants and scholarships that will not conflict with the Cal Vet College Fee Waiver and pay other parts of the students total cost. Students can use grants, scholarships and loans with the Cal Vet College Fee Waiver to pay the fees that are associated with registering for classes each quarter. If they have been awarded a State University Grant, Cal Grant FEES or other grant only meant to cover state tuition each quarter (2025 - 26 academic year (undergraduate): $2150 = 1 quarter/$6450 = 3 quarters)  they will not need a Cal Vet College Fee Waiver. These are all meant for the state tuition portion of the cost of registering for classes and cannot be shifted towards payment of any other costs. 

2025-26 Academic Year	Post 9/11 GI Bill Fry Scholarship - CH 33 (based on full-time enrollment with at least 1 in-person class at 100% eligibility)	Dependents Educational Assistance - Ch 35 (based on full-time enrollment with at least 1 in-person class)	Cal Vet College Fee Waiver (CVCFW) (based on enrollment of 6+ units)
Quarterly - State Tuition	Paid fully to Cal Poly	---	Cal Poly writes off $2150
Quarterly - Campus-Based Registration Fees	Paid fully to Cal Poly (minus any fees that are not charged to every student at Cal Poly)	---	---
Monthly Stipend	$101 per enrolled day paid directly to the student after attendance each month	$51 per enrolled day paid directly to the student after attendance each month	---
Books & Supplies	$1000 per academic year, paid at $42 per unit until exhausted, paid directly to the student	---	---
Housing/Dorm -No payments are made to Cal Poly for housing/dorm costs from any military education benefit	---	---	---
Dining -  No payments are made to Cal Poly for dining plan costs from any military education benefit	---	---	---
Parking	---	---	---

 

Students who hope to study abroad and use their Cal Vet College Fee Waiver benefits should look for programs that are Cal Poly classes that charge state tuition and are not offering classes under extended education. 

The waiver will only waive the state tuition portion of the costs. It will not cover fees or travel costs. The Cal Vet College Fee Waiver does not have any requirements regarding degree applicability. 

• CEA and CIEE and any other 3rd party vendor programs do not qualify

• Currently, CSU IP meets these guidelines while some Cal Poly Global Programs also meet the requirement. Review the program information carefully for mention of extended education. 

If you are a Cal Vet College Fee Waiver Student interested in Study Abroad, reach out in advance of agreeing to a study abroad program.