Yellow Ribbon Program

Yellow Ribbon & VA Benefits at Public Universities (e.g., UCLA)

Yellow Ribbon funding is mostly unnecessary at public universities but remains relevant for private schools.

Here’s why:

• Public universities do not have an annual cap on VA tuition payments. The VA covers 100% of in-state tuition and fees, unlike private schools, which have a set cap (around $28K per year).
• Yellow Ribbon at public universities like UCLA was only used for non-resident fees, but the VACAA Waiver now eliminates those fees for students with qualifying VA benefits. This makes Yellow Ribbon obsolete at public institutions.
• Even for high-cost programs—such as UCLA MBA programs, UCLA Law, or UCLA Medical degrees—VA benefits still cover tuition and fees in full, as long as they are standard system-wide charges.

What the VA Covers for a 100% Beneficiary Under Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill)

For eligible students, the VA can cover the following fees at public universities:

1. Tuition
2. Student Services Fee
3. Campus-Based Fees
4. UC SHIP Insurance (university health insurance)
5. Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition (required for some graduate programs)

Tuition and student services fees are determined by your assigned cohort or degree program type (undergraduate, graduate, or professional). For more details, see the university’s fees section.

Yellow Ribbon at Private Universities:

• Private universities still have an annual VA benefits cap, so Yellow Ribbon is used to cover costs beyond that annual limit.
• Yellow Ribbon cannot be used once VA benefits are exhausted.
• Even when a university offers Yellow Ribbon, it may not be available to all students or all degree programs—schools set their own limits
• The VACAA Waiver is a federal law that only applies to public universities and does not reduce tuition at private institutions.
• For more details about private university limits, check the VA’s annual cap information for the 2025-2026 academic year.