Tuition and Fees Exempt for a Purple Heart Recipient
Indiana exempts a Purple Heart recipient from tuition and fees for up to 124 credit hours at Indiana public institutions — and pays up to $5,000 a year at private non-profits for students who graduated high school in 2023 or later. The Purple Heart is the whole gate; no disability rating is involved. Apply through ScholarTrack with a FAFSA every year.
Verified August 27, 2026
What this benefit is
Indiana exempts a Purple Heart recipient from tuition and fees for up to 124 credit hours at Indiana public institutions — and pays up to $5,000 a year at private non-profits for students who graduated high school in 2023 or later. The Purple Heart is the whole gate; no disability rating is involved. Apply through ScholarTrack with a FAFSA every year.
What it's worth: Tuition and fees for up to 124 credit hours, or $5,000 a year at a private non-profit
- The gate is the Purple Heart Medal. No disability rating is involved.
- At Indiana PUBLIC institutions it covers up to 124 credit hours of tuition and fees.
- At private NON-PROFIT institutions it pays up to $5,000 a year, for students who graduated high school in 2023 or later.
- Application is through ScholarTrack, and a FAFSA must be filed EVERY year.
- 124 credit hours is comfortably a bachelor's degree.
Who is entitled to it
- You served in the U.S. armed forces.
- You were awarded the Purple Heart.
- You are in Indiana.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
Deadline: Annually, with the FAFSA- 1Apply through ScholarTrack and file a FAFSA. The FAFSA is annual, not once.
- 2Take the award citation as well as the DD-214. The decoration is the test, not a rating.
- 3If you are at a private non-profit and graduated high school in 2023 or later, ask about the $5,000 route — it is a different provision from the public-institution exemption.
- 4Budget the 124 credit hours across your degree.
- Form
- ScholarTrack application with annual FAFSA
- File with
- Indiana Commission for Higher Education, via ScholarTrack
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
Sources
- authority · published policyIndiana Department of Veterans Affairs — tuition and fee exemption
- operating · published policyIndiana Commission for Higher Education
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.