How to Apply

The following steps will explainthe necessary process forapplying to admissionto the College of the Canyons and the process to use your VA Education / Vocational Benefits. It is necessary to complete a Veteran Education / VocationalBenefits Orientationand to meet withanAcademic Counselor prior to receiving any VA Education Benefits. To schedule an appointmentplease call our office (661) 362-3469.

Apply to college online or in person

• Complete an Online Application using the CCCApply website.
  
• After 2 business days your application data will be entered into our system and you will receive a student ID number.

Complete Online Orientation

• The online orientation is designed to give you essential information on faculty, courses, study skills, and resources to ensure a successful transition to COC. (Requirement)

Apply for VA benefits online atwww.vets.gov

• You will receive a "Certificate of Eligibility" in the mail which you will need to give to the VRC at COC. We do not receive a copy from the VA and thus have no way to know when you are eligible. As such, it is your responsibility to notify us.
  
• Please note: Response time from the US Department of Veterans Affairs may take up to 2-3 months and until you receive this letter, you must pay for all classes out of pocket.

Complete Assessment Requirements.

• Take our Math & English Assessments and discover the courses at which you would be most successful. Its NOT a test, you wont be graded, and its NOT timed! No appointment is needed and there is no fee. If you already have a U.S. college degree, notify Admissions and Records and you will be exempted from assessment. You may still need assessment if the classes you want to take have a Math or English prerequisite.

Submit all Transcripts

• Send all military and college transcripts for all schools you have attended to the Admissions and Records Office. Your transcripts will determine prerequisite eligibility prior to your registration date.All transcripts must be official copies in sealed envelopes. We also need these to report to the VA. We cannot certify you until we have all transcripts. (OrderMilitaryTranscripts.pdf)
  
• You must submitthe Admissions & Records Request for Inclusion of External Coursework to Admission & Records for transcripts to be evaluated prior to your Counseling appointment.

Apply for Financial Aid

• Even if you have no intention or desire to get student loans, by applying to financial aid, you may qualify for grants (free money that does not have to be paid back) or waivers which may cover the cost of your tuition and some fees.

Meet with a Counselor

• To make a Counseling appointment, please call (661) 362-3287 (Valencia Campus) or (661) 661-362-3811 (Canyon Country Campus) and let the Counseling office know you are a Veteran Student and you need to create a Student Education Plan (SEP). You will need to submit your SEP to COC VRC Office. Please have all your transcriptssubmitted prior to your counseling appointment.

Register for your classes and turn in an VP-20 form to the VRC Office

• All ELIGIBLE veterans will receive priority registration, the first two days of Level 1 registration. In order to be considered as a Veteran a DD214must be submitted to the COCVRC office to determine eligibility. IMPORTANT!!! Enrollment priorities have been redefined due to recent changes in law. The changes will go into effect for Fall 2014 registration. Click here for more information!

• The VP-20 form is due to the Valencia VRC office each semester you want to be certified for. All classes you want to be certified for that semestermust be on that form. We cannot certify you for any classes on VP-20 form that are not on your Student Educational Plan.

• Please notify the COC VRC office of any changes to your class schedule by submitting a VP-20 form. For example, if you drop or add 3 units from your course load, failure to do this will result in an overpayment in which you will owe money back to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  
• Rate of Pursuit and Training Time
  Undergraduate
  Rate of Pursuit (Chapter 33) VA calculates rate of pursuit by dividing the credit hours (or credit hour equivalents) being pursued by the number of credit considered to be full-time by the school. The resulting percentage is the students rate of pursuit. The Chapter 33 housing allowance is paid if rate of pursuit is more than 50%. Training Time (Chapter 30,32,35,1606,1607, and VRAP) VA benefits are paid based on training time. In a standard semester, VA measures training time as follows: 12 credits are full-time 9-11 credits are -time 6-8 credits are time 4-5 credits are less than time 1-3 credits are time or less
  Summer Terms and Non Standard enrollment Periods
  Standard semesters are 15 to 19 weeks in length. Standard semesters adhere to the schools academic calendar. When a session or course doesn't follow this standard format, the actual begin date, end date, and credit for the course will be certified. Courses taken during a defined session- an eight week summer session, for example-should be certified from the beginning date to the ending date of the session if the courses start the first week and end the last week of the session.
  Equivalent credit hours (Non-33 Undergraduate)
  VA converts credit earned during nonstandard quarters or semesters to equivalent credit hours. VA makes the conversion, not the schools. Schools must report actual credit. Refer to credit hour equivalency tables. The formula for converting semesters to credit equivalents is the same, except for the multiplier.
  
  The formulas are:
  Semester: Credit x 18 weeks = credit hour equivalents. Four semester credits earned in 4 weeks is the equivalent of 18 credits earned during a standard semester (4 x 18 4 =18) and will pay for full time for 4 weeks.
  
  VA pays education benefits for nonstandard enrollment periods based on credit equivalents. Remember, schools report actual number of credits; VA makes the conversion. When enrollment periods overlap, credit hour equivalents for the period of overlap are combined.
  
  Rate of Pursuit (Chapter 33 Non- Standard terms)
  
  For non-standard terms, the equivalent credit hours will be determined prior to computing rate of pursuit. For instance, 4 credit hours in a 4-week term would be the equivalent or 12 hours or 100% rate of pursuit.