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The Tuition Gap Program — Final Year of a First Bachelor's Degree

A state supplemental grant for a veteran in the FINAL YEAR of a first bachelor's degree whose federal education benefits are exhausted or unavailable — the rare programme aimed precisely at the veteran the GI Bill has stopped helping. It covers tuition, fees, books, education-related supplies and a housing allowance, at six public universities and four private nonprofits, subject to funding.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

A state supplemental grant for a veteran in the FINAL YEAR of a first bachelor's degree whose federal education benefits are exhausted or unavailable — the rare programme aimed precisely at the veteran the GI Bill has stopped helping. It covers tuition, fees, books, education-related supplies and a housing allowance, at six public universities and four private nonprofits, subject to funding.

What it's worth: Tuition, fees, books, supplies and a housing allowance in the final year of a first bachelor's degree

  • A supplemental grant, sized case by case through the institution.
  • The veteran must be in the final year of a first bachelor's degree. This is the condition most likely to disqualify someone who would otherwise fit.
  • Eligible institutions are six listed public universities plus four private nonprofits.
  • The veteran must be a Utah resident or qualify for resident tuition.
  • Federal veteran education benefits must have been exhausted.
  • Satisfactory academic progress must be maintained, and the FAFSA completed, under Board policy R623.
  • Covered costs include education-related supplies and a housing allowance as well as tuition, fees and books.
  • Awards depend on available funding, so eligibility is not the same as an award.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are a veteran.
  • You are a resident of this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Ask the admissions office about the Veterans Tuition Gap Program when your federal education benefits have been exhausted — or were never available to you.
  2. 2The grant reaches tuition, fees AND books, the three costs the GI Bill would have carried.
  3. 3Because it is need-shaped and supplemental, document what federal benefit you used or why none applied.
Form
Grant application through the institution
File with
The admissions office of the institution you attend
Documents you will need
dd214
Annual
Claimed once a year.
Worth knowingMost state education benefits duplicate what the GI Bill already covers. This one is a complement, not a duplicate — it exists for the semester after the thirty-sixth month.

Sources

Why only one source type: The department's own education page states the grant, its scope and the exhausted-or-unavailable condition.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.