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Educational Gratuity for Children of Disabled and Fallen Veterans

Up to $4,000 towards a Pennsylvania education for the child of a wartime veteran who is 100% disabled or died in service — $500 a term, eight terms.

Verified August 18, 2026

What this benefit is

Up to $4,000 towards a Pennsylvania education for the child of a wartime veteran who is 100% disabled or died in service — $500 a term, eight terms.

What it's worth: Up to $4,000 — $500 a term across eight terms

  • Paid directly to the educational institution on proof of matriculation, not to the student.
  • May not run longer than four scholastic years.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are the child of the veteran.
  • You are at least 16.
  • You are 23 or under.
  • You have lived in Pennsylvania for the five years before applying.
  • Your parent has a 100% permanent and total service-connected disability.
  • Your parent died in service during a period of war or armed conflict.
  • You can demonstrate financial need.
  • Your home is in Pennsylvania.

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

  1. 1Apply through the County Director of Veterans Affairs for the county you live in.
  2. 2The school must be in Pennsylvania, and you must have lived in Pennsylvania for five years — both are hard conditions.
  3. 3Apply at 16 if you can. The window closes at 23 and the money is capped at eight terms, so a late start leaves some of it unused.
File with
Your County Director of Veterans Affairs
Documents you will need
dd214 · va benefit summary letter · proof of pa residency · proof of financial need
Each term
Claimed per academic term.
Worth knowing$500 a term is modest against modern tuition, and that is worth saying plainly. It is best understood as a fees-and-books benefit rather than as a tuition waiver — unlike the Illinois or Ohio programmes, it does not scale with what the institution charges.
Worth knowingThe financial need test applies to every applicant, which is unusual for a dependant education benefit and is the condition most likely to end an application that otherwise fits.

Sources

Why only one source type: The administering department publishes the eligibility, the amount and the application route on its own programme page.

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