The campus veterans resource center

What these centers usually offer

Centers differ by school, but most help with VA education benefits, often sharing space with the school certifying official. Many have a lounge, a place to study, printers and a list of faculty and staff who served. Some offer priority registration for veterans, which matters when classes fill and your GI Bill clock is running.

Some colleges also host a VetSuccess on Campus counselor, a VA employee who can explain Veteran Readiness and Employment, help with VA claims and point students toward VA health care. Ask whether your school has one and which days they spend on campus.

Work, peers and family

VA work-study lets students using VA education benefits at three-quarter time or more earn an hourly wage for work in a veterans office, a VA facility or certain other approved places. The resource center often posts these jobs and helps with the application, which goes to the VA.

Many campuses have a Student Veterans of America chapter or a similar club run by students, and some welcome spouses and children of service members too. Peer mentor programs often pair a new student with a veteran who is already a year or two into a degree.

Some offer priority registration for veterans, which matters when classes fill and your GI Bill clock is running.

Health, disability and hard weeks

A service-connected condition, from hearing loss to a brain injury, can be met with academic accommodations through the disability services office, and the veterans center can help you start that request. Vet Centers, run by the VA in communities across the country, offer confidential counseling to veterans, service members and their families, often with evening hours.

In a crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line answers when you dial 988 and press 1, at any hour. The campus counseling center is another place to go, and many keep a counselor who works with student veterans.