Highlights of this Post
RelatedPosts
How to get College Grants Veterans and Scholarships – Veterans who want to further their careers and continue their education have tons of financial aid opportunities in the form of scholarships and college grants. First-generation college students who have served the United States military can apply for grants and scholarships available to first-time enrollees. The federal, state and local governments including community organizations and private companies provide grants and scholarships for veterans.
They can apply for grants and scholarships based on their field of study, future professional goals or degree level. In some cases, spouses and dependents on active duty or retired military personnel can also access grant and scholarship opportunities. This guide will throw light on tons of college grants and scholarships for veterans and how you can avail of them.
What Are The Eligibility Criteria And Documents Required To Qualify For College Grants For Veterans?
College grants and scholarships for veterans are financial assistance programs that are exclusively offered to military members and veterans in financial need including their spouses and children that help them to pay for a college degree.
Veteran grants and scholarship programs exist in every branch of the armed forces that provide the means of financial support to pay for college: Marine Corps, National Guard, Air Force, Navy etc. The eligibility criteria to qualify for these grants and scholarships are as follows
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Has engaged in active duty, National Guard or Reserve in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy Coast Guard or Marine. Any discharge other than honorable will be carefully reviewed and accepted based on the situation and circumstance.
- Should provide a personal letter on how the educational debt has created financial hardship or personal problems.
- Demonstrate a need for financial assistance and must be enrolled or plan to enroll in a VA approved program or school at an accredited educational institution.
- Must complete some form of higher education including technical, bachelor, associate, master or doctorate or have a service-connected disability that inhibits the completion of a degree.
- Must have loans from educational lending institutions that were used for paying educational costs.
- Must agree to spend 100 to 400 hours of community service in your community after receiving the scholarship award.
- Funds from grants and scholarships must be used for events and outreach to assist and support the veterans who have been enrolled in institutions of higher learning.
Other standards of eligibility include the following
- Record of dedication in and out of the military
- Willingness of the participant to support the organization
- Existence of unfavorable or reliable information
- History of criminal activity that creates doubt about the reliability of a judgment and trustworthiness of the applicant
- Whether the veteran has been involved in illegal financial practices like theft, embezzlement, representation, fraud, tax division, intentional financial breach of trust or filing deceptive loan statements.
- Evidence of other assistance or scholarships sought by the participant
- Must fulfill academic history, test scores, GPA criterion and extracurricular activities.
Recommended: Scholarship For Students With Deceased Parents
What Are The Documents Required To Receive College Grants And Scholarships For Veterans?
College grants and scholarship opportunities for veterans require proof of documents in the form of the following
- Personal documentation like photo IDs, school registration, original birth certificates,
- Social Security card number and the most recent tax return
- Proof of academic records, GPA, description of community service or volunteer service
- Proof of income in the form of bank statements, W2 forms, tax returns,
- Documentation of military service, veteran status or training materials completed while in the military
- Proof of citizenship and residency
- School code and pertaining information about the college and university you’re planning to attend or have already enrolled
- Official school or college transcripts from previous coursework
- A written essay or personal statement, letters of recommendation and an updated resume.
Recommended: Scholarships for Students with Disabled Parents
What Are The Federal College Grants And Scholarship Programs For Veterans Available?
-
Montgomery G.I. Bill
The Montgomery G.I. Bill has been a major transforming factor in the U.S. that is related to the School Grants for Veterans. The main purpose is providing financial assistance for the College Grants for veterans.
According to the Montgomery Bill, the army personnel who are ready to pay the $100 from their monthly allowance, are eligible for the assistance for college grants. The bill covers the cost of tuition fees, at accredited colleges, universities as well as vocational schools across the nation.
-
Post-9/11 GI Bill
The Post-9/11 GI Bill is for the servicemen and women who come back on duty after the 11th September 2009 happenings. Under the post 9/11 bill, the eligible students will get financial aid for the next 36 months when they are enrolled in an accredited university, college, or technical school.
From this bill, one can get financial aid that covers the cost of tuition fees that also includes books, housing, and attendant fees. All these costs are offered for those servicemen and women who are enrolled in Public Colleges or Universities.
-
Federal Pell Grant
The Federal Pell Grant is a grant opportunity for undergraduate veteran students who are going to receive their graduate or bachelor’s degree. The program offers educational grants to those who require financial assistance. From this grant program, one can get an annual grant amount worth $6,345.
-
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant is the same as the Federal Pell Grant. Both of these grants offer education grants to Undergraduate students. From this grant program, one can get the award amount of $4,000 each year.
If your parent or guardian has died as a result of a military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after 9/ 11 events then you can be eligible to receive funding through Iraq and Afghanistan Grant. Before receiving grants applicants are required to fill out Free Application For Federal Student Aid.
-
TEACH Grant
For the veterans or the students who want to pursue the education course in the field of teaching those students the Teacher Education for College and Higher Education Grant is initiated. With this grant, they will get help for their teaching course and can fulfill their dream of teaching.
The eligible students have to work as full-time teachers for at least four years in their eight years of the graduation program. They have to work as a high-need field teacher.
Recommended: How to apply for Scholarships for college students
National Scholarships For Veterans
In addition to the aforementioned GI bill and post-911 GI bill there are many other available scholarship opportunities designed for financially supporting and encouraging veterans to pursue a higher college education.
These college grants and scholarships are supported by public as well as private educational institutions to eligible veterans and military members who have been honorably discharged from their service. Let’s take a look at the following scholarship for the veterans.
The Pat Tillman Foundation provides financial support as scholarships to active duty military members and veterans who wish to continue, start or finish their higher education.
The scholarship award may vary however the eligibility criteria are decided by the financial need and merit of the student. The applicants are required to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and submit essays to be eligible for this scholarship opportunity.
Scholarship opportunities are provided to eligible veterans of the United States of America to reduce their education debt. It is one of the most sought-after scholarships for veterans and hundreds of individuals apply for this scholarship program each year.
The support is provided based on time enrolled, the availability of funds and the economic hardship of the veteran to match the student loan amount.
The US Department of Defense administers the Troops to Teachers program and offers financial assistance for eligible veterans who are pursuing a degree in education or teaching. The eligibility criteria are determined by the academic merit and financial need of the veterans.
-
Imagine America Foundation
The IAF is a renowned organization that works for the betterment of the college community. Additionally, this organization offers help with awards, scholarships, and financial assistance information.
They offer School Grants for Veterans. If you want to apply for this scholarship program then you must visit the Imagine America Official page here and apply for the program from here.
-
American Veterans (AMVETS)
The American Veterans or the AMVETS is an inclusive Congressionally-chartered veteran service organization. The AMVETS has been working for the objective and focused on the aim, which is to offer financial assistance, jobs, and services to veterans and their communities.
Additionally, the AMVETS offers Scholarships and Veteran entrepreneur business grants to Veterans and their spouses. This scholarship and financial aid help the students and veterans.
-
Military order of the Purple Heart Scholarship
The Purple Heart Scholarship is a scholarship program that helps the people who are Purple Heart recipients. Along with this, they offer their scholarship program to those who are spouses, children, and grandchildren of their recipients.
If you want to know more about this scholarship program then you can check for Purple Heart’s official page here and get all the information that you want to know.
-
De Anza College Scholarships
The Veterans who are looking for college assistance for the De Anza College Scholarship is the best option. At De Anza College, there is a Veteran Services office. You can apply for the veteran’s grants for college with De Anza College. You have to visit their official website De Anza Veterans Service page, fill up an application form there.
Google awards 8 scholarship opportunities to eligible veterans in partnership with SVA. The scholarship offers assistance up to $10,000 to veterans who are seeking assistance to complete a college degree in computer science or related technical fields.
The objective of the Google SVA Scholarship Program is to honor the commitment of military veterans and provide them assistance to pursue university degrees in the field of computer science.
You can learn more about 25 Cybersecurity Scholarships For Students in our next guide.
The Folds Of Honor Foundation makes sure that families who have sacrificed to serve the country and communities must receive the right opportunities and educational support that they deserve. The foundation offers scholarship awards in range between $100 to $5000 for eligible veterans.
-
AFCEA War Veterans Scholarships
The AFCEA Educational Foundation is dedicated to offering academic support to US military personnel in the form of a Disabled War Veterans Program. The foundation offers merit-based scholarships of up to $2500 to eligible veterans.
Disabled reservists, veterans or National Guard personnel who have been disabled on active duty while serving in Enduring Freedom Afghanistan or Iraqi Freedom Operation can qualify for the disabled war veterans scholarship from the foundation.
Employees of the Veterans Administration who are dedicated to pursuing a career in the healthcare sector can apply for the Veterans Advanced Fellowship and Professional Development In Healthcare Program.
Fellowships are provided for health issues research like advanced geriatrics, women veterans and dental research. You can learn about the advanced fellowship and professional development program at the official website.
Recommended: Get Cyber Security Grants for Educatione Department of Veterans Affairs.
Financial Aid For Active Service Military Members
Members serving in all branches of the U.S. military including the veterans, reservists and their family members can access a wide range of financial assistance programs to make their education affordable and more accessible.
Different branches of the military provide substantial financial assistance programs for military and scholarships including loan repayment programs for current or retired service members and their families.
The Reserve Officers Training Corps is one of the most popular sources to avail military-related grants and scholarships. Almost all high schools and colleges in the United States of America have some level of Reserve Officers Training Corps presence on their campuses. The resource provides students with opportunities to avail financial support to pay for their college while training to become officers in one of the branches of the U.S. military.
ROTC programs are available in major U.S. military branches such as the Navy, the Army, the Marines and the Air Force. Students who are enlisting in this program should agree to take a series of U.S. military science courses and prepare to serve in the related branch of the US armed forces.
-
American Legion Scholarships
The American Legion Legacy Scholarship is a need-based scholarship program. The Scholarship is offered to the U.S. military member’s children.
From this scholarship program, the undergraduates or post-graduate students can get up to $20,000 as assistance. Additionally, the recipients can also get help or they can reapply for the additional annual awards up to six times.
-
Army Women’s Foundation
The Army Women’s Foundation is offering one of the best scholarship programs for the women who are serving the nation as a soldier or are former women soldiers.
This foundation offers the Legacy Scholarship program to help the women soldiers in the country. However, the Scholarships for community colleges and other certificate programs, are up to $1000.
Veterans of the United States of America face a lot of obstacles to pursuing higher education. This is the reason why Veterans Of Foreign Affairs provide scholarships to deserving candidates based on their eligibility criteria.
Veterans of Foreign Affairs provide support to veterans in the form of the Student Veteran Support Grant Program and Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship Program. Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship Program offers assistance up to $5000 while Student Veteran Support Grant may differ between $500 to $1000.
Grants And Scholarships From Every Branch Of Military
Financial aid opportunities in the form of tuition assistance, grants and scholarship programs for active duty service members and veterans are available from each branch of the U.S. military. While these sources are a viable and rewarding way to fund college education students must know that the programs require service commitments.
Following are the examples that provide financial programs to unlisted US servicemen and women including their dependents and spouses.
Recommended: Government Grants and Scholarships
Financial aid opportunities are provided to active duty personnel while being enlisted through the Air Force Tuition Assistance program if they want to complete their higher education. The funding opportunities can be applied to on-base or off-base schools. The awards may vary and range from partial to full tuition assistance.
Recommended: Get Male Nurses Scholarships – Nursing Scholarships for men.
-
Reserve officers training corps
If you are looking for a financial assistance program or a scholarship that offers help to the military members then for you Reserve Officers Training Corps is the best program.
You can get this scholarship for any military service whether it is the air force, marine, navy, or army. For all kinds of military courses, this scholarship is available to the students who want to continue in this field.
-
Navy college fund
Navy College Fund is another funding program that offers financial assistance. This funding program offers help depending on various factors. Those factors may be performance, position in military service, and lots of more factors.
This funding program is available only for the army sailors who are enlisted. But if someone fulfills all their requirements then he or she will get the assistance for sure.
-
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Program is a program that offers various scholarships in the form of financial aids and loans. This assistance program is designed to help the Army Veterans. Along with them, this program helps their spouse, children, and people who are dependent on them.
Disabled Veterans Scholarships
The Paralyzed Veterans Of America provides grants and funding opportunities to members of the organization including their immediate family members and spouses through educational scholarship programs. The scholarship offers assistance up to $2500 for full-time students and $1000 to eligible part-time students.
The eligibility criteria require candidates to be a member of the organization or an unmarried child or spouse of a veteran. There should be a citizen of the United States and must be enrolled as a full-time or part-time student in a recognized US college or university.
Veterans with a documented service in the Gulf War can receive financial support and scholarships for their first degree or certificate at Liberty University.
The requirements include diagnosed and related disorders labeled by the VA and receipt of a Purple Heart. Spouses and children of military personnel killed in the comeback during the Gulf War can also receive assistance from this program.
Recommended: How To Get Free Scholarships For Blue Eyes People
The Yellow Ribbon Program provides funding opportunities to supplement out-of-private, state or graduate school tuition that is not covered by the GI Bill to qualified veterans who have served nearly 36 months of active duty and are a recipient of a Purple Heart or are the dependent child of a veteran.
College grants and scholarships are not only available for veterans and military members but also for spouses and children of veterans so that they can access trade school or college and receive educational assistance. You can learn more about scholarships for grandchildren of veterans by reading our guide.
Recommended: Scholarships for Children of Veterans
Conclusion
College grants and scholarships for veterans are supported by the US federal government including a lot of military associations or private donors and universities. The men and women who have served in the U.S. military respective branches deserve respect and honor for their service. While no single act can thank those brave men and women completely who have served their country, we as a nation can offer them financial assistance and greater opportunities to expand their education and reduce their financial burden.
You can read more about Scholarships for Grandchildren of World War II Veterans at the Get Government Grants’ today. We offer resources about the available programs and grants that are helpful to not only veterans but also low-income families.
