College Scholarships for Military Teens

The Scholarships for Military Children Program was created to recognize military families’ contributions to the readiness of the fighting force and to celebrate the commissary’s role in the military family community. When you think of your local commissary, you might not think about an extra $2,000 for college expenses, but commissaries have awarded more than $27 million in scholarships to more than 15,000 military children.

At least one $2,000 scholarship is awarded at every commissary location that receives qualified applications. Applicants or sponsors do not need to live at an installation with a commissary. Simply select the commissary where you shop or the one nearest to you. Approximately 500 scholarship grants are awarded each school year, and more than one scholarship per commissary may be available based on the response and funding. The scholarship provides for payment of tuition, books, lab fees and other college-related expenses.

The Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship honors those who fell in battle and all who died or became disabled through their active military service since Sept. 11, 2001. Over $1.8 million in scholarships have been awarded in the first five years of the program.

Military families have access to a number of scholarship options to help offset some of the out-of-pocket college expenses. While the Scholarships for Military Children Program and the Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship are available to military-connected teens from any service branch, there are dozens of additional scholarships available through service-specific departments and other military-affiliated organizations such as American Legion, Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Military Youth of the Year, DECA scholarships for emerging leaders, and branch aid organizations like Air Force Aid Society and Army Emergency Relief. You can also:

Use the scholarship search tool available on the Fisher House website to customize your scholarship search by military branch affiliation, education goals and more.

Contact your local school liaison to explore the numerous scholarship opportunities available to assist military children with tuition costs, books, lab fees and other college-related expenses.

School liaisons can help with overall college, career and military readiness — including standardized test preparation, test scheduling, and scholarships and financial aid information. School liaisons also offer parent workshops aimed at providing support and resources to help parents assist their teens in preparing for college and careers.

Learn more about financing your child’s college education. The costs of postsecondary schooling and college tuition will continue to rise, so be sure to take advantage of the financial awards available to military families, such as the transferability of GI Bill benefits.