College Scholarships for Military Teens

Preparing for your child’s college education can be both exciting and financially challenging. Military families have access to a number of scholarships to help offset the cost. Two in particular are designed specifically for military teens: The Military Children Program and the Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship, both administered by the Fisher House Foundation.

The Scholarships for Military Children Program and the Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship assist with tuition costs, books, lab fees and other college-related expenses.

The Scholarships for Military Children Program

The Scholarships for Military Children Program was created to recognize military families’ contributions to the readiness of the fighting force and to celebrate the commissary’s role in the military family community. When you think of your local commissary, you might not think about an extra $2,000 for college expenses, but commissaries have awarded more than $27 million in scholarships to more than 15,000 military children.

At least one $2,000 scholarship is awarded at every commissary location that receives qualified applications. Applicants or sponsors do not need to live at an installation with a commissary. Simply select the commissary where you shop or the one nearest to you.

Approximately 500 scholarship grants are awarded each school year, and more than one scholarship per commissary may be available based on the response and funding. The scholarship provides for payment of tuition, books, lab fees and other college-related expenses.

• Students can complete their scholarship applications online.
• Applications become available in mid-December for the following year.
• Detailed information and due dates can be found in FAQs on the Fisher House website.

Scholarship Managers, an independent, professional scholarship service, selects the recipients based on the following criteria:

• Academic achievement
• Participation in school, community and volunteer activities
• Work experience
• A submitted essay

Students may apply to both the Scholarships for Military Children Program and Heroes’ Legacy Scholarships as long as they meet the criteria for both.

While the Scholarships for Military Children Program and the Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship are available to military-connected teens from any service branch, there are dozens of other scholarships available. These include service-specific departments and other military-affiliated organizations such as American Legion, Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Military Youth of the Year, DECA scholarships for emerging leaders, and branch aid organizations like Air Force Aid Society and Army Emergency Relief. You can also: