Is the Fry Scholarship the Same Thing as Chapter 35 DEA?

The mix-up

Families mash several different things:

1. Fry and DEA as one "GI Bill for dependents."
2. Any survivor education path as automatic for every death or every rating. VA lists specific sponsor events. A death or a rating that is not on that program's list is not a grant.
3. A spouse election as something you can freely switch later. VA's DEA page says a spouse cannot use both and, once the choice is made, cannot switch.
4. Child dual-use rules as "pick both at once." VA says only one program at a time. Combined month caps depend on the date of a line-of-duty death.
5. DEA eligibility for a living permanently and totally disabled sponsor as if it were Fry. The Fry page is death-based as VA writes it.

What Fry is (as VA writes it)

From VA's Fry Scholarship page (updated May 12, 2026): you may be eligible if you are the child or surviving spouse of a service member or member of the Selected Reserve who died on or after September 11, 2001, and who fits 1 of the descriptions listed there.

1 of these must be true of the service member or member of the Selected Reserve:

• The service member died in the line of duty while serving on active duty, or
• The member of the Armed Services died from a service-connected disability within 120 days of being discharged from active duty or released from duty, or
• The member of the Selected Reserve died in the line of duty other than active duty, or
• The member of the Selected Reserve died from a service-connected disability

Selected Reserve "other than active duty," as VA writes the note: the parent or spouse was a member of the Reserve serving on active duty for training or inactive duty training. That term does not include Army and Air National Guard members who were on State orders (sometimes called "State Active Duty").

Benefits, as VA writes them: you may be able to get up to 36 months of benefits for tuition and fees; housing; books and supplies; tutorial assistance; national exams (VA will pay you back); licensing and certification tests and prep courses (VA will pay you back); Work Study; and moving from a rural area to go to school. This note does not invent dollar amounts. Check the current payment rates for the Fry Scholarship.

Apply online from that page, or by mail with VA Form 22-5490 (Dependents' Application for VA Education Benefits). After you apply, tell the certifying official at your school and ask them to submit your enrollment information online. Use the GI Bill Comparison Tool to confirm the program at the school you want is approved.

Child and DIC, as VA writes it: if you are receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), you will need to give up those payments when you start to use the Fry Scholarship.

Surviving spouse and DIC, as VA writes it: if you are receiving DIC, you can still get those payments while using the Fry Scholarship.

Remarriage, as VA writes it: if you remarry, you keep eligibility for the Fry Scholarship if you qualified for this education benefit through your previous marriage. If you had unused Fry Scholarship benefits that expired, VA may restore those benefits for you to use anytime after January 2, 2025, even if you have remarried. To get benefits restored, apply again using VA Form 22-5490.

What DEA / Chapter 35 is (as VA writes it)

From VA's DEA page (last updated December 18, 2025): if you are the child or spouse of a Veteran or service member who has died, is captured or missing, or is permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability, you may be eligible for the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) program, also called Chapter 35. The payment style is not the same as Fry's Post-9/11-style tuition, housing, and books package. VA writes DEA as a monthly payment to help cover the cost of school or expenses while you are in on-the-job training or an apprenticeship.

1 of these descriptions must be true for the Veteran or service member:

• The Veteran is permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability, or
• The Veteran died as a result of a service-connected disability, or
• The service member died in the line of duty, or
• The service member is missing in action or was captured in the line of duty by a hostile force for more than 90 days, or
• The service member was forcibly detained (held) or interned in the line of duty by a foreign entity for more than 90 days, or
• The service member is in the hospital or getting outpatient treatment for a service-connected permanent and total disability and is likely to be discharged for that disability

Months, as VA writes them: if school or training started before August 1, 2018, you may be able to get benefits for up to 45 months. If school or training started on or after August 1, 2018, you may be able to get benefits for up to 36 months. This note does not invent dollar amounts. Check the current payment rates for DEA.

VA will send the monthly payment directly to you. You must verify your school enrollment to get DEA benefits. Use VA's enrollment-verification page for that step. Apply online from the DEA page, or by mail with VA Form 22-5490. Then tell the school certifying official and ask them to submit enrollment information. Confirm approved programs with the GI Bill Comparison Tool.

Spouse election (irrevocable)

From the DEA page: can a spouse use both DEA and the Fry Scholarship? VA's answer is no. You will need to pick one or the other. Once you make this choice, you can't switch to the other program.

This note does not tell any family which program to elect. Read the live Fry page and the live DEA page—including each program's rates page—before that choice.

Child dual-use / caps (as VA writes on both pages)

VA prints the same split on the Fry page and the DEA page:

• Death in the line of duty before August 1, 2011: the child may qualify for both. Only one program at a time. Combined DEA and Fry Scholarship benefits are capped at 81 months of full-time training.
• Death in the line of duty on or after August 1, 2011: the child may use both only if DEA qualifies under a different event. Only one program at a time. Combined DEA and Fry Scholarship benefits are capped at 48 months of full-time training.

This note does not invent what counts as a "different event." That is a file-specific question for the live pages and, if needed, accredited help.

Child / spouse time limits (high level)

Personal clocks are on the live pages. This section is only the headlines VA prints. Do not treat it as your end date.

• Fry, child. If the parent died on or after January 1, 2013, VA says there is no time limit. VA also lists no time limit if the parent was a member of the Selected Reserve who died in the line of duty other than active duty or from a service-connected disability. If the parent died before January 1, 2013, VA writes eligibility until age 33—unless the child turned 18, graduated from high school, or got a GED after January 1, 2013, in which case VA says there is no time limit.
• DEA, child. VA says there is no time limit if the child became eligible on or after August 1, 2023, turned 18 on or after that date, or completed high school or received a GED on or after that date. Otherwise, if eligibility, age 18, and high school completion were all before August 1, 2023, VA writes a general rule of up to 8 years before age 26, with listed exceptions (including becoming eligible or a parent's death between 18 and 26, and a military-service exception with an under-31 cap as VA writes it).
• DEA, spouse. If the qualifying event happened before August 1, 2023, VA writes time limits (in most cases 10 years; 20-year rules in the listed active-duty death and certain P&T-effective-date cases). If the qualifying event happened on or after August 1, 2023, VA says there is no time limit.

Confirm your clock on the Fry page and the DEA page. This note does not invent edge cases.

What this note is not

• Not advice on which program to elect.
• Not a rate table. Use the live Fry rates and DEA rates pages.
• Not a rewrite of DIC, CHAMPVA, or the Veteran's own Post-9/11 GI Bill. Those are different programs.
• Not accredited representation; independent of VA; no guaranteed outcome.

Sources

• VA.gov — Fry Scholarship (updated May 12, 2026)
• VA.gov — Fry Scholarship rates
• VA.gov — Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA / Chapter 35) (last updated December 18, 2025)
• VA.gov — Chapter 35 rates for survivors and dependents (page last updated March 25, 2026)
• VA Form 22-5490 (revision January 2025; page last updated May 27, 2026)
• VA — GI Bill Comparison Tool (approved schools and programs)
• VA — Verify your school enrollment
• VA — Get help from an accredited representative
• Site family guide (not the controlling source): /family/chapter-35-education
• Internal: /blog/va-accredited-representative

Quick answers

Educational only. Not a VSO, attorney, or claims agent. Not affiliated with VA. No guaranteed outcome. Confirm the live VA.gov Fry Scholarship page, DEA page, Form 22-5490 page, and current rates pages before you act. This article does not invent ratings, payment amounts, election advice, or eligibility outcomes.