VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool is a valuable resource in checking priority enrollment for Veterans and service members

Being first is good. So is being early.

For Veterans and service members, being first and early to sign up for the classes you want is possible thanks to priority enrollment offered at many colleges and universities. So how do you find out if priority enrollment is offered at your school? Use the GI Bill Comparison Tool on VA’s website.

Also called priority registration, priority enrollment allows Veterans and service members to schedule their classes ahead of the general student population. Using priority enrollment can be as simple as sending an email request to the campus Veterans outreach office.

While Veterans and service members can be given priority enrollment, it doesn’t mean they’re allowed to register for classes before all groups of students. For example, seniors may be given top priority, followed by Veterans and service members.

The priority enrollment notification on the GI Bill Comparison Tool will go live in late May thanks to the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, known as the “Forever GI Bill,” passed by Congress last summer.

Getting the classes you want with priority enrollment

Priority enrollment is particularly helpful for undergraduate students. This is especially true for general education classes such as math or foreign languages that have many students vying for a set number of classroom slots.

Situations do occur where priority enrollment doesn’t work, but those should be rare. As one hypothetical example, a student who wants a class to fulfill the requirements for a minor may not get priority registration because other students who are seniors need the class to graduate.

Open your door to priority enrollment

If you haven’t explored your options to use your GI Bill benefits, you can start by visiting the GI Bill Comparison Tool. 

You can see how you can leverage your education benefits for maximum value and look up the college, training school, or even apprenticeship program you’re interested in attending. You can also see how much your GI Bill benefits will pay for and if you’d have any out of pocket expenses.

If you have any questions, please call 1–888-GI-BILL-1 (1–888–442–4551). If you use the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf , the Federal number is 711. You can also visit the Forever GI Bill webpage.

As always, be sure to also follow up on social media on Facebook and Twitter so we can provide other quick and helpful updates.

About the author: This post was submitted to VAntagePoint by VBA’s Education Service, which delivers GI Bill education benefits to Veterans, service members and their families. Since 1944, the GI Bill has helped millions of Veterans pay for college, graduate school, and training programs.