College grants for veterans help active duty service members, military veterans, and their qualified family members, such as spouses and children. Many providers offer college grants for veterans who have served in U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard. These function like scholarships and provide funds you do not need to repay if you abide by the terms.
Grants help veterans on two
fronts. One is to make college and career education more affordable. Another is
to support their transition from military to civilian life.
To get a college grant as a veteran, you need to qualify. This may mean being an eligible active duty, reservist, honorably discharged or retired veteran.
There are also grants where you need to have a certain
amount of service time. A specific GPA range, record of community service and financial need are other common criteria.
You may find college grants for veterans within your branch of the military. You can also find ones if you are a member of a veteran group. One example is the Military Order of the Purple Heart scholarship. It is for Purple Heart members and their eligible spouses and dependents. Eligible applicants must be high school seniors who are fully enrolled in an accredited college.
The Pat Tillman Military Scholars program awards veterans or spouses of active and deceased veterans. Eligible applicants must submit two 400 word essays, recommendation letter, FAFSA, and other documents. The awards range from $1,500 to $23,000.
Why Veterans Should Apply For Grants?
According to the NCES, about 43% of all undergraduate veterans in the U.S. receive benefits in 2015-2016. Grants for college may help offset the cost of college when you go back to school. The average amount of education benefits for veterans is about $15,100.
Many student veterans are adults between the ages of 24 and 40. At these ages, almost half are also parents with the expenses that go along with having a family.
Receiving a college grant may be a motivator to return to school for many veterans. In 2015, the average time between high school graduation and college enrollment for veterans was 5 years.
Also, it may be possible to use college grants together with GI Bill funding. But in the case of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, any outside funds may reduce the amount the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pays toward tuition.
List of College Grants for Veterans
To help narrow your search, here is a list of college grants for veterans you might apply to. There are grants for veterans worth .
This program, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), is open to students in grades 6 through 8. Students must submit an essay addressing this year’s topic, ‘Why I Appreciate America’s Veterans.
The Troops to Teachers Grant is available for Former and retired members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Reserve components and National Guard may be eligible. Recipients may receive a stipend or if they meet specific military service and application requirements.
The CDGA Foundation Scholarship, awarded to disabled veterans or dependents of deceased or disabled veterans living or hospitalized in the Chicago District. Awards are given on the basis of financial need, scholastic achievement, community service and personal goals. Applicants must be a disabled veteran or a dependent of a disabled or deceased veteran with intent to enroll in an accredited college or career training school for up to a maximum of four paid awards/years.
The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation are committed to educating more people in the skilled trades and helping them find careers in the home improvement industry. With hundreds of thousands of open roles in the trades nationally, we can’t tackle this work alone. Industry leaders like Home Builders Institute (HBI), Construction Education Foundation of Georgia (CEFGA) and Atlanta Technical College (ATC) are helping us prepare skilled people for these opportunities.
This award is for U.S. students who are currently enrolled at an accredited postsecondary institution in the U.S. The student must a dependent of a member of the Armed Forces who died as a result of performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, and who is not receiving a Pell Grant.
