Scholarships for Military Children, Spouses and Survivors

Most private military scholarships are 1-time awards of a few thousand dollars or less. VA's family programs pay for up to 36 months of school. So find your VA program first, then use scholarships for what VA does not cover. Which VA program applies depends on 3 facts: is the member still serving, is the veteran rated permanently and totally disabled (P&T) from a service-connected disability, and did the member die in the line of duty or from a service-connected condition.

Source: https://www.va.gov/education/survivor-dependent-benefits/fry-scholarship/, https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/chapter-35-rates/ and https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/, effective October 1, 2025 (Chapter 35) and August 1, 2026 (Post-9/11 and Fry rates).

The education benefits for spouses and dependents guide compares all 5 federal sources in detail.

The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship is for the child or surviving spouse of a service member who died in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001, or who died from a service-connected disability within 120 days of discharge. Certain Selected Reserve deaths count. It pays like the Post-9/11 GI Bill for up to 36 months: for the year starting August 1, 2026, net in-state tuition and fees at a public school, up to $30,908.34 a year at a private or foreign school, a housing allowance based on the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents, and up to $1,000 a year for books.

A child whose parent died on or after January 1, 2013 has no time limit; for earlier deaths, generally until age 33. A surviving spouse keeps Fry after remarriage, and the Senator Elizabeth Dole Act removed the spouse time limit. The same law temporarily widens Fry eligibility for terms beginning August 1, 2025 through October 1, 2027, so a family told no before 2025 should ask again.

Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA, Chapter 35) covers a wider group. You may be eligible if you are the child or spouse of a veteran or service member and at least 1 of these is true. The veteran:

• is permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability,
• died from a service-connected disability,
• died in the line of duty,
• is missing in action, or was captured or forcibly detained for more than 90 days, or
• is in the hospital or getting outpatient care for a service-connected P&T disability and is likely to be discharged for it.

DEA pays the student, not the school: $1,574.00 a month full-time, $1,244.00 at 3/4 time and $912.00 at half time from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, for up to 36 months. A child who became eligible on or after August 1, 2023 has no time limit; earlier cases generally get 8 years before age 26.

A child can qualify for both Fry and DEA but can use only 1 at a time, with a 48-month combined cap for deaths on or after August 1, 2011. Fry usually wins at an expensive school; DEA can pay more at a cheap one because the monthly check is yours to keep. Both use VA Form 22-5490. The Fry Scholarship guide and the Chapter 35 DEA guide walk through the choice.

Watch out: VA's Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship adds up to 9 months or $30,000, whichever comes first, for STEM students with 6 months or less of Post-9/11 or Fry benefits left. Fry students can apply; dependents using transferred benefits cannot.

A serving member with at least 6 years of service who agrees to serve 4 more can ask the Department of Defense to transfer unused Post-9/11 GI Bill months to a spouse or children, up to 36 months. DoD decides, not VA, and only while the member is still serving.

A spouse can start right away but gets no housing allowance while the member is on active duty, and has 15 years to use the months if the member separated before January 1, 2013 (no limit on or after). Children can start only after the member's 10th year of service and must use the months before 26. The transfer of benefits guide covers the milConnect request.

The SpouseWorks Scholarship, formerly MyCAA, is a DoD program run through Military OneSource. It pays up to $4,000 toward a license, certification or associate degree, or continuing education to keep a credential, for spouses of active-duty, National Guard and reserve members serving under qualifying Title 10 orders in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Space Force, across all ranks and pay grades. No essay, no competition, and it uses no GI Bill months.

Amounts and dates are what each program published on its own site in September 2026; they change every cycle, so check before you plan around them. This is not a ranking.

Source: each program's own site, as published in September 2026. Amounts are set by the programs, not VA, and can change.

Three more groups are easy to miss:

• Service relief societies. Army Emergency Relief runs the Mrs. Patty Shinseki Spouse Scholarship (year-round) and the Maj. Gen. James Ursano Scholarship for dependent children under 24 (the 2026–27 cycle ran January 1 to April 1). The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society offers scholarships of $500 to $3,000 a year and interest-free loans up to $4,000 for children under 23 and spouses of Sailors and Marines. The Air Force Aid Society runs the General Henry H. Arnold Education Grant and a spouse tuition program for dependents of Airmen and Guardians.
• Veterans service organizations. The American Legion Legacy Scholarship is for children of post-9/11 fallen service members or post-9/11 veterans rated 50% or higher. AMVETS awards scholarships to veterans, spouses, and children and grandchildren of veterans, meant to fill the gap after federal and state aid. VFW posts run essay contests open to all students.
• Professional associations. The AFCEA Educational Foundation iWORKS Scholarship gives $2,500 to 1 spouse or child of a service member studying STEM.

Two names on older lists do not belong here: the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) works on school transitions, not scholarships, and Operation Homefront's site describes financial assistance and housing, not a scholarship program.

If the veteran in your family is rated 100% P&T or died from a service-connected condition, you have the most options, and VA comes first.

1. Apply for DEA (Chapter 35) on VA Form 22-5490. It pays the student directly, so it stacks with everything else.
2. Check whether the Fry Scholarship also applies (line-of-duty death on or after September 11, 2001) and compare which covers more at your school.
3. Check your state's tuition program. Many waive tuition at public colleges for these children, and because DEA pays you rather than the school, the two usually stack.
4. Then apply to the private programs built for this group: Folds of Honor, the Heroes' Legacy Scholarship, the American Legion Legacy Scholarship, and the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation if the parent was a Marine.

Children whose parent is rated below 100% have fewer VA options, since DEA requires P&T. That is where Scholarships for Military Children, the relief societies and the American Legion Legacy Scholarship (50% or higher) matter most.

Spouses have 2 government routes: transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill months (if the member designated you while serving) and the SpouseWorks Scholarship for a credential. A surviving spouse may qualify for Fry, which now has no spouse time limit, or DEA, whose spouse time limits depend on the date of the qualifying event.

Private programs that name spouses: Folds of Honor (spouses of service members who died or were disabled), Tillman Scholars, the Army Emergency Relief spouse scholarship, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society education assistance, the Air Force Aid Society spouse tuition program, AMVETS and the AFCEA iWORKS Scholarship. Several size the award from the FAFSA Student Aid Index, so file it first.

VA does not reduce Fry, DEA or transferred GI Bill payments because you won a private scholarship. The interaction happens at the school:

• Tuition-paying VA benefits (Fry and transferred Post-9/11) pay the school the net tuition and fees after aid restricted to tuition. A tuition-only scholarship can lower what VA bills; it does not put cash in your pocket.
• DEA pays you a monthly amount regardless of tuition, so every scholarship stacks on top of it.
• Pell Grants are federal need-based aid, separate from VA, and the FAFSA is the only way to get one. How a VA payment is treated on the FAFSA depends on the program and the year's rules; ask the financial aid office.
• Institutional aid is the school's own money, and some schools reduce it when outside scholarships arrive. Ask in writing before you accept an offer.
• Yellow Ribbon is a school-VA match for tuition above the private-school cap. Fry students and dependents using transferred benefits at the 100% level can qualify.

Practical order: FAFSA, VA program, the school's own aid, then private scholarships. The GI Bill guide explains how months are charged.

Many states waive tuition at public colleges for children (and sometimes spouses) of veterans who are P&T, who died from a service-connected cause, or who were POW/MIA. These are usually worth more than any private scholarship, and they stack with DEA.

Two examples. North Carolina's Scholarship for Children of Wartime Veterans covers 8 semesters for children under 25 of deceased, disabled, combat or POW/MIA wartime veterans with North Carolina ties; most categories close February 14. Florida's Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans (Florida Statutes 295.01) covers dependents of veterans who died from a service-connected disability or are 100% P&T. Texas has the Hazlewood Act with a Legacy provision for children; Illinois has programs for children of POW/MIA and disabled veterans. Residency, age limits and rating thresholds differ, so read your state's page.

1. Get the documents once, in 1 folder: the veteran's DD Form 214, the rating decision or death certificate, the student's dependent ID, transcripts and the FAFSA Student Aid Index.
2. File the FAFSA as soon as it opens for the next school year. Private programs and Pell Grants both key off it.
3. Apply for your VA program before scholarship season. A Certificate of Eligibility in hand lets you tell committees exactly what VA covers.
4. Work backward from the deadlines. Folds of Honor closes March 31 and the Fisher House programs open in December. Put the dates on 1 calendar.
5. Reuse the essay. Most military-family programs ask a version of the same prompt about the sponsor's service and your goals.
6. Check the local level. VFW and American Legion posts and county veterans service offices often have small awards with few applicants.