I feel like every time you google “military scholarships” the first results are always for people looking to join the military, or for military members who want to receive a higher education.  Which is totally fine.

But what about military dependents?

Sure, some of us qualify for the GI Bill (and that helps a TON).  But some of us don’t.

When I was a teenager, one of my least favorite books on the face of the earth was called, “How To Go To College For Almost Free” by Ben Kaplan.  It’s actually a phenomenal book.

But as a teenager, it was the bane to my existence.  I was spending two hours a day (for 3 months) prepping for the SATs, and I had a full high school schedule of classes, activities, and homework.

The last thing I had time for was scholarship applications.

But, the school I wanted to go to was a private liberal arts school with a dousey of a tuition rate.  So, I began applying for scholarships.  All the TIME.  (Thanks, dad, for the encouragement!)

I won’t bother to talk about the many civilian scholarships I wasted my time applying for.  Turns out that I’m not the next big thing and so my applications never stood out in those races.  haha

But the military scholarships were perfect because they were looking for people exactly like me.  Active duty Army brats.

If I have one piece of advice for anyone hunting for scholarships, it’s this:

Apply for what you QUALIFY for.

 It’s great to have hopes and dreams and really put yourself out there (I’m a total dreamer), but you will have a much higher success rate for winning scholarships if you apply for ones that have your name written all over them.  If you apply for long-shots, while you may randomly get one, you will spend a lot of time and resources on something that just doesn’t fit with your situation and credentials.

Anyway, these are the scholarship programs that I applied to.  If I won any of them, I mention it in the description. (Hint– most of them were willing to help me out!)

Scholarships for Military Children

MG James Ursano Scholarship Program (AER)

 This scholarship program is part of the Army Emergency Relief.  ANY Army brat is eligible to apply.  With the four years I applied for this program, every single year they granted me a scholarship.  In total, they paid for about $10,000 of my college education!  Many scholarship programs offer you less money each year, but with the AER, they offered me MORE every year! Visit this link for details.

 

ThanksUSA Scholarship Program

This association was a joy to work with and I was a recipient of their program.  They are also extremely generous (see above) in allowing prior scholarship winners to reapply every year!  They also put on fun events for scholarship winners like galas and golf tournaments. Visit this link for details.

 

Fort Belvoir Officers’ Spouses’ Club Scholarship (BOSC)

This scholarship is for dependents of soldiers in the DC Metro area.  (We PCS’d there when I was in high school).  So while it’s maybe not a scholarship that many can apply for, if you’re in the area– go for it!  And if you’re not in the DC metro area, find out if your base has something similar.  I didn’t win this one, but I still applied a couple times.  Ya win some ya lose some!  Visit this link for details.

 

Military Officers of America Association Scholarship Program (MOAA)

This association offers both scholarship grants and interest free loans to military brats (active duty and retired).  I won two grants through them as well as their interest free loan!  Note: they are the only association I found that would “double” up like that by awarding scholarship grants and loans.  Visit this link for details.

 

Military Family Support Trust Scholarship Program (MFST)

This program has a wider pool of applicants, as it allows for grandchildren of veterans to apply!  I won a “renewable” scholarship from them in my senior year of high school.  Basically, they granted me a $4000 scholarship split into 4 years of education.  Every year I had to send them my grades to “renew” my eligibility and they would send my school the next installment of my $1000.  Pretty great system if you ask me!  Visit this link for details.

 

Association of the United States Army Scholarship Programs (AUSA)

These scholarship programs work in chapters based on location.  I applied to the Fairfax-Lee chapter four years in a row.  Not only did they award me a scholarship every year (yay for reapplications!!) but also they hosted a really nice catered ceremony–with guest speakers– every year for recipients.  Visit this link to find the chapter in your area.  On your chapter’s homepage is a sidebar that will have a link to scholarship information!

 

82nd Airborne Division Scholarship

Another scholarship with a smaller eligibility pool (Army Brats of 82nd Airborne Division Association members).  But like I said at the beginning of this post, you will be most successful in your application if you apply in programs you really, truly qualify for.  The benefit to applying to smaller scholarship programs is that you have a better shot at being the winner!  I actually did win this scholarship one year, and it was cute because the scholarship amount ended in $82.  Don’t you just love the 82nd??  Visit this link for details.

 

Army Officers’ Spouses’ Club of the Greater Washington Area Scholarship (AOSCGWA <- yes they really do that).

Again, this one is for a smaller group of dependents– those in the DC Metro area and whose parent is an active member of the AOSCGWA.  But if you’re eligible– apply!  They awarded me a scholarship two years in a row (a bigger one the second year…which is unusual for most scholarship programs!)  They hosted a nice scholarship award ceremony as well, which is always fun.  Visit this link for more details.

 

Fisher House Foundation Scholarship Programs

There is one for surviving Army brats of a fallen soldier (the Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship Program) as well as one for dependents of active duty, reserve, and retired soldiers (Scholarships for Military Children Program).  The Scholarships for Military Children Program is operated by the Defense Commissary Agency, and since each scholarship is awarded based on commissary location, there are a lot of awards to go around.  I applied for it every year and never won it once!  So did my sister (and she never won it either).  But it just goes to show you that the eligibility pool is huge!  (Or we really aren’t special people haha).  The process for this one really isn’t complicated, so it’s definitely worth a shot!  Visit this link for details.

 

3rd ID Scholarship Foundation

This foundation is really great.  Like, really great.  The recipients of this scholarship are children or grandchildren of soldiers who served in the 3rd Infantry Division.  A smaller eligibility pool yes, but again– small pools generally mean a greater chance of winning.  I only won this twice, but my sisters won it 6 times (combined).  So little pools can really pay off!  Visit this link for details.

 

The Society of the Daughters of the United States Army Scholarship Programs (DUSA)

This scholarship is for daughters and granddaughters of warrant officers and commissioned officers.  In order to apply, you have to request an application via a letter.  So this one has a bit of an application process, but most scholarships do.  I never actually won this scholarship, but if you’re eligible you should definitely try!  Visit this link for details on requesting an application (and the sidebar has a ton of other military scholarship suggestions).

 

* The Bottom Line*

 

You may not be interested in or eligible for every single scholarship you come across.  But you will be eligible for quite a few, and you should target your effort on those!  My list here is definitely not a complete list of scholarships available to you.  But hopefully you can use this as a jumpstart!

• Look for scholarships that YOU qualify for.
• Go for some “big” pool ones like the MG Ursano Scholarship Program and ThanksUSA.
• Also, go for some “little” pool ones like Division chapter scholarships or ones based on your local military area.
• Apply for a multitude of scholarships.  Even applying for 5 will boost your chances of winning rather than just applying for 1.

I’m probably going to write a follow-up post down the road about how to apply most efficiently for scholarships (so you don’t take as long as I did to apply for them).  But hopefully your scholarship journey can at least get started with these!  Like I said, the GI Bill can help a lot when it comes to affording college.  But that’s not always an option for all of us.

But there is ALWAYS a scholarship out there for you.

You don’t have to have to have been homecoming queen/king or receive all A’s to be a scholarship recipient.  (Otherwise I wouldn’t have won a dime!).  Scholarship applications are about finding a scholarship program you qualify for, and submitting an application that really represents what the program is looking for.

Really.  These programs are looking for someone like you.  You are the kind of person they want to sponsor to get a higher education.  So go for it!

This post is not sponsored by any of these scholarship programs.  I just felt the need to share the names of those who helped me a few years ago!  This post is in honor of military children and their journey to higher education.  Happy month of the military child!

 

Read next- An Open Letter to Military Moms: I was an Army Brat too