Home  »  Paying For School   »   Hip Pocket Scholarships: 2-Year, 3-Year, and 4-Year

Hip Pocket Scholarships: 2-Year, 3-Year, and 4-Year

Hip Pocket Scholarships

Army’s Green to Gold ROTC Hip Pocket Program

If you serve as an enlisted member in the Army, you may be looking for a way to move forward in your career. The Army’s Hip Pocket Scholarships are one way to do so.

The Army official site states, “If you join as an enlisted Soldier and later want to commission as an Army Officer, the Green to Gold program can help you get there. As a commissioned Officer, you’ll serve as a leader, problem-solver, mission planner, and mentor to junior Soldiers, while making an impact across the globe.”

The Green To Gold ROTC program is described as being “separate from our standard education benefits.” If you enlisted as an Army recruit with a high school diploma, “you’ll need a four-year bachelor’s degree to make the switch to Officership” according to the Army, and that’s where Army ROTC scholarship programs like Hip Pocket come in.

What Are Hip Pocket Scholarships?

Hip Pocket Scholarships provide selected soldiers the opportunity to complete their baccalaureate degree requirements and obtain a commission through participation in the Army ROTC Scholarship Program

Their mission statement is, “The Green to Gold Scholarship Program is a program that provides eligible, Regular Army (RA) Enlisted Soldiers an opportunity to complete their first Baccalaureate degree or their first Master’s degree. Upon the successful completion of their degree program, the Soldier is commissioned as an Officer in the US Army in either the Active or Reserve component.”

Each year division commanders may nominate deserving soldiers for two, three, or four-year Green to Gold scholarships. 

What Is the Process?

After a soldier applies, there is a two-part process, the Selection phase and the Qualification phase. Within the Selection phase, they would need to be verified by a board. The board is made up of eight Professors of Military Science (PMS) and two Senior Enlisted Advisors. They review completed applications. Selections are based on the Scholar, Athlete, Leader (SAL) concept.

In the Qualification phase, the soldier must be administratively and medically qualified. The soldier needs to upload all of their required documents in order to be qualified administratively.  In order to be medically qualified, the soldier would need to be cleared by the Department of Defense Medical Evaluations Review Board.

Who Can Qualify for the Hip Pocket Scholarship?

Students must be full-time, taking a minimum of 4 (3 for a master’s degree) and a maximum of 6 classes per semester. 75% of scheduled classes need to be taken in a classroom environment.

Some of the qualifications include being a US citizen, being eligible for appointment as a commissioned officer in the US Army, being under 31 years of age as of December 31st of the year of graduation and completing all requirements for commission, and having completed less than 10 years of Active Federal Service. You can find the full list of eligibility requirements here.

Who Doesn’t Qualify?

Not everyone who wants this scholarship will qualify. For example, if a soldier will not be a member of the regular Army on June 1st of the year in which the scholarship starts and/or are not eligible to reenlist, they won’t qualify. A soldier who isn’t married and has one or more dependents under the age of 18 also won’t qualify, but they might be able to get a waiver. You can find the full list of what makes you ineligible here.

What Does the Scholarship Cover?

  • Provides financial assistance toward college tuition and educational fees or room and board. The student is able to choose which.
  • There is a flat rate for textbooks, classroom supplies, and equipment.
  • There is a tax-free subsistence allowance of an annually published amount per month for up to 10 months a school year.
  • Students are paid while attending the Cadet Summer Training (CST).
  • Keep in mind it does not cover the expense of moving.

What Will I Be Expected to Do if I Get the Scholarship?

There is an eight-year service obligation upon commissioning if you get this scholarship.

How Do I Apply for an Army Hip Pocket Scholarship?

The application window opens in June. Applications are due in November, and those moving to phase two will be notified in late January. To apply, scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the button that says, “TAKE THE NEXT STEP: CREATE AN ACCOUNT,” to get started.