What if you want to apply for financial assistance?

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

If you are having problems making ends meet, financial aid may be the answer. Many student veterans think they are not eligible for financial aid if they are claiming their GI Bill® education benefits. The fact is that over 80% of all veterans are eligible for some form of financial aid. The average single veteran who makes as much as $800 a month in GI Bill education benefits may still be eligible for federal and state grant funds. Low interest loans are also available. We encourage you to apply for financial aid by completing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid online.


Alternatives to Federal Tuition Assistance

Peterson's DoD MWR Library Education Lifelong Learning Resource Center

A one-stop resource to bring expert solutions to all Service members AND their families to help them plan, prepare and achieve their education and career goals. Includes:

  • CLEP & DSST Prep
  • Military Test Prep
  • Academic Test Prep
  • Career & Certification Prep
  • Educational Searches
  • Ebooks

For all this and more, go to http://www.nelnetsolutions.com/dod/


CLEP and DSST examinations

Where Tuition Assistance (TA) is no longer available to you as a military member beginning a two- or four-year degree program, Credit-By-Exam with College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and DSST exams may be an alternative. CLEP and DSST exams can reduce the number of college courses you may need to take for your degree program and can assist with promotion. Talk to your college/university to find out which exam is appropriate and will transfer into your degree. What's more, DANTES funds the first administration of any of these exam test titles for military personnel.


Language and Culture Guide

This guide to Foreign Language Programs was developed by DANTES to provide education center personnel and Service members with an easy-to-use resource. Foreign language and regional expertise are considered critical competencies essential to DoD’s mission.

  • Language and Culture Guide.

Defense Language Institute (DLI)

The DLI offers tests and guides at their Web site http://www.dliflc.edu.

  • The Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) is a battery of foreign language tests produced by the DLI and used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). They are intended to assess the general language proficiency of native English speakers in a specific foreign language, in the skills of reading and listening. The tests are meant to measure how well a person can function in real-life situations in a foreign language according to well-defined linguistic tasks and assessment criteria.
  • Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) measures the aptitude for foreign language learning by the typical native English speaker. See FAQs for more information on taking the DLAB for attendance to DLIFLC.
  • An Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) is a standardized, global assessment of functional speaking ability. Taking the form of a conversation between the tester and test-taker, the test measures how well a person speaks a language by assessing their performance of a range of language tasks against specified criteria. The OPI is a face-to-face or telephonic interview between a certified ACTFL tester and the examinee. The conversation explores the abilities and limits of the individual’s oral target language abilities. During the course of the interview, the examinee is guided to engage in a variety of tasks such as describing, narrating, and hypothesizing.
  • DLPT ACE College Credit
  • Academic Credit for DLPT
  • DLPT Guides

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill