Financial Aid for Military Dependents

While Veterans are provided education benefits through plans like the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program, what types of military dependent benefits programs are available?

Obtaining an education can be very expensive, but military dependents benefits and the widespread availability of military scholarships for children can help reduce that cost. A wide variety of programs offer military spouse education benefits and military dependents benefits for educational purposes, with assistance coming from Government sponsored programs and even private foundations.

Tuition assistance for military dependents is widely accessible for qualifying service members, but some members of the military might not even be aware that so many different organizations have been established for this very purpose. As with the other parts of the process in determining which benefits you have access to, and which school you should use them at, research is the first logical step.

Types of Military Children Scholarships, Grants & Other Financial Assistance Programs

There are different types of financial aid programs for children of veterans. Options range from government programs (like the ones mentioned at the top of this post) to private scholarships and grants for members of different branches of the military.

If you’re a member of the military interested in receiving tuition assistance for your family’s education, make sure to exhaust all of the possibilities for receiving military dependent benefits by doing your research and finding out what’s available to you. To get more information about military education, please request our Free Military Education Handbook.

Here are just a few examples of financial aid programs available to military dependents:

• Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program (DEA), a popular military dependent scholarship offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Visit their website to see if you qualify.
• Federal Student Aid is available through the Department of Education and can be obtained by filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This financial assistance program offers loans, grants and campus-based aid. FAFSA grants for military dependents are more helpful than ordinary loans because they do not need to be paid back.
• The Scholarships for Military Children Program, one of many privately run military dependent scholarships and grants programs available, is just on example of the many private foundations and organizations offering tuition assistance for military dependents.
• ThanksUSA Scholarship Program is another such private organization offering financial aid programs for military families.

Branch-Specific organizations are another type of institution offering military dependents education benefits. Some examples of branch-specific programs include:

• Army – Army Emergency Relief offers college benefits for military dependents through their Dependent Children Education Program.
• Navy – Navy Marine Corps Relief society offers the VADM E.P. Travers Scholarship and Loan Program, the USS Tennessee Scholarship Fund, Dependents of Deceased Service Members Scholarship Program, the Admiral Mike Boorda Scholarship Program and Bridge Loans for Tuition Assistance Program and GI Bill.
• Air Force – The Air Force Aid Society offers the General Henry H. Arnold Education Grant Program.
• Coast Guard – Coast Guard Mutual Aid offers multiple opportunities for financial assistance through the CGMA Supplemental Education Grant (SEG) Program, the Stafford/PLUS Loan Origination Fee Refund Program and CGMA Supplemental Student Loans.

Please remember that these are just a few of the many financial aid programs available, so as we said before – make sure to do your research and take advantage of any other military dependents benefits programs that you can find!

Using Your Military Dependent Education Benefits

Once you’re ready to start contacting schools to find out what it will cost to earn your degree, make sure you start with our list of the 25 Best Colleges for Military Students. All the schools who made our list are fully accredited, offer a variety of degree programs at different education levels, and provide significant savings to military students, their spouses and other dependents.

Speaking to as many schools as possible could save you thousands of dollars (as each school participates in military education benefits programs in different ways, and to a different extent), so make sure to contact each school that you’re considering to get a price quote. To cut down on the time spent doing this research, we suggest starting with three of our favorite colleges for military students: Robert Morris University, Jones International University and Colorado State University Global Campus.

Good luck out there!