Who is a Veteran?
A veteran is a former member of the Armed Forces of the United States (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard) who served on active duty and was discharged under conditions that were other than dishonorable. There is no minimum number of days a student must have served on active duty to be considered a veteran. Periods of active duty for training, pursuant to an enlistment in the National Guard or Reserves, do not qualify a student as a veteran.
Former or current members of the National Guard or Reserves are not considered to be veterans unless they had prior or subsequent service with an active component of the Armed Forces.
Certification of Benefits
Veterans who will be using VA Educational Benefits should contact:
Robyn Pettiford
Office of Student Aid
105 Main Building
610-892-1261
In-State Tuition
Effective summer 2015, all eligible veterans and dependents receiving Chapter 33, Chapter 35, or Fry Scholarship benefits will be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of residency. If you are a veteran and you are not using GI Bill® benefits, please contact Robyn Pettiford to determine requirements to establish eligibility for the in-state rate.
Priority Registration
Penn State's Faculty Senate has approved priority registration for honorably discharged student veterans of the United States Armed Forces, Reserve, and Guard. This benefit must be requested by submitting a completed Veterans Priority Registration Form.
Services for Veterans
In addition to all available student resources, services, and activities, Penn State Brandywine is proud to offer the following services to its current veteran students:
VetConnect
Established in 2015, Brandywine VetConnect is a network of students, staff, and faculty who have something in common: veteran status. All students receiving VA educational benefits are automatically enrolled in this group. Other students who are veterans (or reservists/guardsmen) can request addition to the network on the VetConnect webpage.
Veteran NewsStand
Located within the Office of Student Aid (Financial Aid) is our Veteran NewsStand. The NewsStand contains a variety of print publications of interest to veterans. Here we also display fliers and information about local happenings of interest to veterans, such as job fairs and other workshops held in the local area.
Mental Health Services for Veterans
Penn State Brandywine Counseling Services works with our students by providing individual counseling, health and wellness outreach and prevention programming, consultation to the campus community, and referral resources for longer-term support services. We also assist with crisis intervention in collaboration with the Office of Police and Public Safety. Counseling Services has put together a collection of resources for veterans.
Career Services
Brandywine Career Services offers various resources, events, services, and one-on-one career coaching for students and alumni of all populations, including veterans. Career coaches have specialized training in the federal employment resume/application process and are trained counselors with a master’s degree. A webpage is under construction specifically for career resources for veterans, including job search sites and information about local and virtual job fairs for veterans. Call or visit for an appointment: 610-892-1390, 104 Main Building. Visit Career Services’ web page to learn more.