FORT LEE, Va. -- The Feb. 17 deadline to apply to the Scholarships for Military Children program, administered by the nonprofit Fisher House Foundation, is quickly approaching.
A total of 500 scholarship grants, each for $2,000, will be awarded for the 2021-22 school year with at least one recipient selected at every commissary location where qualified applications are received.
Additional recipients will be selected based on a prorated basis, so more applicants will be selected from those commissaries with larger numbers of applicants.
The program was created in 2001 to recognize the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force, and to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family community.
It is open to sons and daughters of active duty, reserve/guard, or retired military commissary customers.
How to apply
All rules and requirements for the program, as well as links to frequently asked questions and the application, are available at MilitaryScholar.org.
Eligibility for the program is determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) database.
Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current military dependent ID card.
The applicant must also be planning to attend or already be attending an accredited college or university full time, or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.
Applicants who are awarded a full scholarship to attend a college or university or receive an appointment to one of the service academies or affiliated preparatory schools are not eligible to receive funds from this program.
A full scholarship is usually defined as one that provides for payment of tuition, books, lab fees and other expenses.
Among the requirements of the application process is providing a short essay.
This year’s essay question is designed to provoke a thoughtful response: “COVID-19 has limited opportunities for social interaction and normal school activities. What steps have you taken during the pandemic to enrich yourself or make positive contributions to others?”
Search for other scholarships
Fisher House also recently added a custom scholarship search engine to the site, tailored to military families, called “Scholarships for Service.”
It’s free, easy to use, and formatted for both mobile devices and computers at MilitaryScholar.org.
Students enter brief background information and educational goals and the search tool will identify military-affiliated scholarships they may be eligible for based on their input.
Once the search is complete, students receive a list of scholarships with a summary of eligibility requirements, points of contact and links to the scholarship provider's website.
Get more information
The Scholarships for Military Children program is managed by Scholarship Managers, a national, nonprofit organization.
If students have questions about the scholarship program application, they should call Scholarship Managers at 856-616-9311 or email them at militaryscholar@scholarshipmanagers.com.
No government funds are used to support the Scholarships for Military Children Program. Commissary vendors, manufacturers, brokers, suppliers and the general public donate money to fund the program.