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Children of Deceased Veterans — Free Tuition Plus Not More Than $300 a Year

Free tuition at state educational institutions for a child aged 16 to 26 of a servicemember who died in a named conflict or was killed on active duty with the New Mexico National Guard or State Police, plus not more than $300 a year for board, room and books.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

Free tuition at state educational institutions for a child aged 16 to 26 of a servicemember who died in a named conflict or was killed on active duty with the New Mexico National Guard or State Police, plus not more than $300 a year for board, room and books.

What it's worth: Free tuition, plus not more than $300 a year toward board, room and books

  • The department describes admission to state educational institutions free of tuition, and states that not more than $300 shall be paid in addition to the free tuition for any child for one year.
  • The covered costs alongside tuition are described as matricular fees, board and room rent, and books and supplies.
  • The $300 is the published ceiling on the cash element; the tuition waiver itself is worth far more and is not quantified here.

Who is entitled to it

  • The scholarship is for the child; a surviving parent is usually the one who applies.
  • Your home is in New Mexico.

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 department
  1. 1Check the age window first: the scholarship is described for children aged 16 to 26. A child who waits past 26 loses it.
  2. 2Check the route in. Alongside deaths in the named conflicts, the department names a parent killed on active duty with the New Mexico National Guard or the State Police — a route most survivor scholarships do not have.
  3. 3Take the death certificate and the record of the parent’s service; the relationship and the circumstances both have to be shown.
  4. 4Do not budget on the $300. It is a ceiling on the cash supplement for a year, not a monthly allowance.
  5. 5Apply to the department, then take the award to the institution’s bursar so the tuition side is applied correctly.
Form
The department’s scholarship application
File with
New Mexico Department of Veterans Services
Each term
Claimed per academic term.
CorrectionThe $300 is easily mistaken for the whole benefit. The tuition waiver is the substantial part; the $300 is a capped annual supplement toward board, room and books.
Known gapWhether the conflicts named are exhaustive, and how a death from a service-connected cause after discharge is treated, was not established this session.

Sources

Why only one source type: Read from the administering department’s own benefits page. No NMSA section is cited there, and none has been read this session.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.