National Guard Service Scholarship — Never Less Than Half the Regents Tuition Rate
A serving member of the Iowa army or air national guard reading for a first bachelor’s degree has tuition paid by the state: never more than the resident tuition rate at a board of regents university, and never less than half of it. The adjutant general decides eligibility, and that decision is final.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
A serving member of the Iowa army or air national guard reading for a first bachelor’s degree has tuition paid by the state: never more than the resident tuition rate at a board of regents university, and never less than half of it. The adjutant general decides eligibility, and that decision is final.
What it's worth: Tuition paid, floored at half the regents resident rate and capped at the full one
- The statute sets a floor as well as a ceiling, which is unusual. The award is at least fifty percent of the regents resident tuition rate or fifty percent of the tuition actually charged by the institution attended, whichever is lower — and at most the full regents resident rate.
- The award is further capped at the tuition charged less any federal tuition assistance received under 10 U.S.C. §2007, so a member drawing federal assistance sees a smaller state award, not a doubled one.
- No dollar figure is claimed because the regents rate changes annually and the statute names no number.
Who is entitled to it
- The scholarship runs to the guard member personally, not to a family member.
- You are in this state.
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: Set by the adjutant general, term by term- 1Two applications are required and they go to different places: the one to the adjutant general on the forms that office prescribes, and the commission’s own forms including the FAFSA.
- 2You must also apply for every non-repayable state and federal aid you are eligible for. This is a last-dollar design, not a first-dollar one.
- 3Attendance is a condition, not a formality: at least ninety percent of scheduled drill dates plus annual training, and satisfactory performance of duty after initial active duty training.
- 4Tell the institution you are in the guard at the time you register for the term. Notice given late in the term is not what the section asks for.
- 5The cap is 120 semester credit hours of undergraduate study, or 130 for a programme that meets the federal Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship requirements. A member who has already met the requirements for a baccalaureate degree is out.
- 6If you were on federal active duty when a deadline passed, the adjutant general is required to accept your application anyway. That override is in the statute and is worth naming if an office turns you away on timing.
- 7Expect rationing in a tight year: if the appropriation cannot cover every eligible applicant, the adjutant general and the commission decide the distribution between them.
- Form
- Application to the adjutant general of Iowa, plus the FAFSA
- File with
- The adjutant general of Iowa, who certifies eligibility to Iowa College Student Aid
- Each term
- Claimed per academic term.
Sources
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.