EDUCATIONVA program
Veterans Upward Bound (VUB)
Federally funded program helping veterans refresh academic skills and prepare for post-secondary education through assessment, counseling, mentoring, tutoring, academic instruction in core subjects, and cultural enrichment activities.
Available to veterans who meet the program's military service rule and are low-income or would be first-generation college students; at least two-thirds of each project must be both
Step-by-step guide
What you get
A Department of Education program, run by local projects at colleges and other organizations, that helps veterans build the academic skills to get into and finish college: instruction in math, science, English, and other subjects, tutoring, mentoring, counseling, and help with college and financial aid applications.
Who VUB projects serve
- Military service the law listsMore than 180 days of active duty with a discharge or release other than dishonorable; a discharge or release for a service-connected disability; a reserve member called to active duty for more than 30 days; or a reserve member who served on active duty in support of a contingency operation on or after September 11, 2001. The Secretary of Education may waive the first three where they would defeat the purpose of the program.
- Low income, first generation, or high academic riskAt least two thirds of a project are both low income and first generation college students. The rest can be low income, first generation, or at high risk for academic failure. Low income means family taxable income for the year before at or below 150 percent of the poverty level. First generation means neither parent finished a bachelor degree, or, if you lived with and were supported by only one parent, that parent did not.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab); TRIO statute, 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11 and 1070a-13 (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: TRIO low-income levels (opens in new tab)
Where are you starting from?
- Getting ready for college
Veterans Upward Bound helps veterans develop the academic skills needed to get into and succeed in college. Projects assess and build basic skills through counseling, mentoring, tutoring, and instruction in core subjects, and can offer short refresher courses for high school graduates who put off college. Each project serves veterans who need academic support.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab)
- Finishing high school or a GED first
VUB projects also guide and help veterans returning to high school, entering alternative programs that lead to a regular high school diploma, or starting a GED program, and they build the basic skills needed for a high school equivalency and for college.
- The same service and income rulesThe military service rule and the low income, first generation, or academic risk rule apply on this path too.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab)
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| DD214 or other discharge papers Proof of your service, such as a DD214 or orders that show your active duty. | Your active duty time and character of discharge | Ask the project what proof of service it takes. If you do not have a copy of your DD214, VA.gov explains how to request it from the National Archives. | Yes |
| Proof of income The law accepts a signed statement (your own if you are an independent student, otherwise a parent or guardian), verification from another government source, a signed financial aid application, or a signed U.S. or Puerto Rico income tax return. | Family taxable income for the year before | Give one of these to the project. A signed tax return or financial aid application is one way. | Yes |
| Your parents and college Whether either parent, or the one parent you lived with and were supported by, finished a bachelor degree. | First generation college student status | You tell the project. Ask the project what it needs from you. |
Records go to the VUB project you join, not to BeneVets. Ask the project what it needs.
Steps, in order
- Find a project near you
The most recent Department of Education list of VUB projects, for 2025-26, shows each project by state. Contact the project nearest you and ask whether it is enrolling now.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: VUB projects funded for 2025-26 (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab)
- Gather your papers
Have your discharge papers and one proof of income ready, and know whether your parents finished a bachelor degree.
Source: TRIO statute, 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11 and 1070a-13 (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab)
- Work out a plan with the project
Projects assess your needs and can develop an individual education plan with you, then teach, tutor, and counsel toward college entry, or toward a diploma or GED first.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab)
- Apply for college and financial aid
The project helps with college entrance exams, admission applications, and financial aid applications, and gives information on federal student aid and how to find scholarships.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab); TRIO statute, 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11 and 1070a-13 (opens in new tab)
- Free help with VA education benefits
VUB is a Department of Education program, not a VA claim. For a claim for the VA education benefits you may use in college, an accredited VSO helps at no cost. Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab)
Good to know
The Department of Education funds VUB projects at colleges, universities, and other organizations, and each project decides who joins and keeps the record of why. The most recent list ed.gov posts, for 2025-26, shows 62 projects. Ask a project whether it is enrolling now.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: VUB projects funded for 2025-26 (opens in new tab)
A project funded for at least two years teaches math through pre-calculus, laboratory science, a foreign language, composition, and literature. Projects also help with college entrance exams, admission and financial aid applications, and information on federal student aid, including Pell Grants.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab)
Projects are expected to help veterans get support from other local sources, such as VA, state veterans agencies, and veterans associations.
Source: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab); U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab)
The law says a veteran who meets the service rule is not turned away from a TRIO program because of age.
Source: TRIO statute, 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11 and 1070a-13 (opens in new tab)
BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you
Sources checked October 16, 2026: U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound (opens in new tab), U.S. Department of Education: Veterans Upward Bound questions (opens in new tab), U.S. Department of Education: TRIO low-income levels (opens in new tab), TRIO statute, 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11 and 1070a-13 (opens in new tab), U.S. Department of Education: VUB projects funded for 2025-26 (opens in new tab), VA.gov: request your military service records (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab)