Where Military Parents Find College Scholarships for Their Teens
Paying for college is challenging for both students and their parents. Military parents have options to help pay for their teenager’s future college needs, and they can find thousands of dollars (or the equivalent) in college financial aid for high school teenagers. Parents can find these through federal programs, base services, and military charity foundations.
Where Military Parents Find College Scholarships for Their Teens
Military charities, private organizations, and non-appropriated fund activities that support military operations often provide millions of dollars in grants and student aid packages every year. Parents who plan early may find a portion of their children’s tuition money before classes begin.
The Fisher House Foundation partners with the Defense Commissary Agency to run the Scholarships for Military Children Program. The initiative awards scholarships at every commissary location worldwide that receives qualified submissions.
Each award covers tuition, campus bookstore accounts, lab fees, and supplies. The program awards about 500 grants each academic year; busier commissary stations may select multiple recipients when private donations permit. To qualify for the commissary award, applicants must be unmarried dependent children under age 23 whose parent serves on active duty, in the National Guard, in the Reserve components, or is retired military.
High school seniors need a 3.0 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. College students already enrolled full-time can also apply, provided they maintain a 2.5 average. First-year college students must provide records from their opening semester.
>> Find VA-approved schools — try the College Recon School Finder tool.
Heroes’ Legacy Scholarships
Fisher House also directs the Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship program. This program honors service personnel who died on active duty or suffered severe, life-altering injuries since Sept. 11, 2001. The foundation established the fund to ensure surviving children and dependents of wounded troops across all service branches have access to education.
Eligibility requirements for the Heroes’ Legacy award target military children under age 23 whose parent died during active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001. Children also qualify if their sponsor received a 100 percent disability rating from the VA or the Department of Defense.
Families must provide military service records, including a Report of Casualty (DD Form 1300), a Certificate of Release or Discharge (DD Form 214), or paperwork showing eligibility under Traumatic Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance.
Grade requirements match the commissary scholarship rules. High schoolers must present an unweighted 3.0 GPA, while current college undergraduates need a 2.5 GPA.
How to Apply
Families can apply for both Fisher House programs if their teenagers meet the qualifications.
You can apply via the Fisher House Foundation online portal at https://www.fisherhouse.org. Submit all transcripts and other documents through the electronic system before their spring deadlines. Scholarship Managers, an outside professional evaluation agency, reviews every submission to maintain an objective selection process, scoring candidates on academic records, school activities, and even part-time work experience. A written essay is also required.
Fisher House also operates an open-access search tool called Scholarships for Service. Use this portal at https://www.militaryscholar.org to find private aid programs for college students.
Military School Liaison Officers
Military school liaison officers work on DoD installations worldwide to guide families through a variety of education needs. They work with military base family support offices and know how military transfers affect education.
Liaisons may, as part of their duties, organize parent seminars on college planning and have directories of regional grants offered by local civic groups and spouse clubs. Much depends on the need at the individual base or installation. Contact your base education office to learn more.
>> Find VA-approved schools — try the College Recon School Finder tool.
MOAA Student Aid
The Military Officers Association of America offers interest-free student loans and grants to qualifying applicants, and has provided over $4 million in educational grants to children of service members. Learn about award amounts and eligibility tiers at https://www.moaa.org.
American Legion
The American Legion funds college aid programs for military youth, including the American Legion Legacy Scholarship and the Samsung American Legion Scholarship, accessible at https://www.legion.org. You may also find help from military relief societies, including Army Emergency Relief, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, and the Air Force Aid Society. These groups also offer dependent scholarships.
Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, service members can transfer up to 36 months of benefits to their spouses or dependent children through the Department of Defense. The transfer request has several requirements.
The service member must request the transfer while on active duty, and transferring these benefits requires new military service obligations. Transfer procedures and benefit distributions are available on the official VA website.
Military OneSource
Military OneSource provides certified education consultants at no cost to eligible military families. Talk to a Military OneSource counselor by phone at 800-342-9647 or start a live chat at https://www.militaryonesource.mil.
Use these resources to research accredited schools, verify credit transfer policies, understand federal financial aid applications, and identify scholarship opportunities.
> Find VA-approved schools — try the College Recon School Finder tool.
RELATED:
- Navy Tuition Assistance: What You Need to Know
- Navy Education Programs for College
- Navy Scholarships for Military Members and Their Families
- Scholarships for Veterans
About the author
Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
