The Scholarships for Military Children program is primarily funded through the generosity of manufacturers and suppliers whose products are sold at military commissaries, worldwide.  The program works to provide a scholarship funded through contributions be awarded annually for each commissary operated by the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) worldwide.

The application period for the 2025-2026 academic year will open on December 11, 2024, and close on February 12, 2025.

Applicants must:

• Be under age 23
• Be a dependent, unmarried Dhild of active-duty personnel, Reserve Component members, National Guard and retired military members, survivors of Service members who died while on active duty or survivors of individuals who died while receiving retired pay from the military
• Ensure that they and their sponsor are currently enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS database)
• Have a current dependent military ID card
• Be enrolled or plan to enroll in a full-time undergraduate degree program at an accredited U.S. college or university in the fall term (Students attending a community or junior college must be enrolled in a program of studies that allows them to transfer directly into a four-year program)
• High school applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale (unweighted)
• College applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above on a 4.0 scale (unweighted)

The scholarship program awards 500 scholarship grants, each for $2,000. A minimum of one scholarship will be awarded at each commissary location that receives qualified applicants. Based on the number of applications received, more than one scholarship may be awarded. The funds may be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and school room and board either on or off campus.

The scholarship awards will be given for a maximum of four years. Exceptions can be considered if the student is enrolled in an undergraduate program of study that normally requires more than four years. All exceptions will be handled on an individual basis.

The Application Process
Applications are submitted online. To start the online application, you will create an account with your email address and a password (eight characters or longer with at least one number and one special character). The Scholarships for Military Children Program expects that the student completes the application, and applicants must attest to this when submitting the application.

An application will include the following that is submitted online:

• All tabs of the form must be completed before final submission. A green checkmark indicates the tab is complete.

• A short, 500-word essay (max 500 words): Essay will be announced when scholarship opens December 2024

• High school applicants: transcript indicating a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale (unweighted)

• College applicants: transcript indicating a cumulative minimum GPA of 2.5 or above on a 4.0 scale (unweighted)

• Reminder: Applicants must validate their eligibility as a military dependent by entering the benefits number found on the reverse of the Uniformed Services Identification (USID) card, and certify that at least one parent serves or has served in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Space Force.

The Notification Process

Letters will be mailed to recipients in early May of each year.

Scholarship Managers will mail a check to the recipient's home address on file in early August of each year. The check is made payable to the college or university selected by the scholarship recipient. It is the recipient's responsibility to forward the check to the appropriate office at the college or university.

It is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that Scholarship Managers has their most current address on file. Checks will be mailed to the recipients' home address in early August of each year.

Only those selected to receive a scholarship are notified. Those not selected do not receive letters.

The names, and commissary locations, of all the recipients will be posted at https://fisherhouse.org/programs/scholarship-programs/ in July of each year.

For more information, please visit the Scholarships for Military Children webpage maintained by The Fisher House Foundation at:
https://fisherhouse.org/programs/scholarship-programs/scholarships-for-military-children/