Guest Post by Connie Wright
Are you an Army service member that is curious about what benefits are available for your spouse or child’s education? Perhaps you have served your country and after an honorable discharge or retiring with the Army you are now ready to utilize all the educational assistance that is available to you and your family members for the current day career training skills. One’s service provides some Army dependent scholarships that can provide financial assistance to your families’ career educational goals. Take a look at the following Army dependent scholarships.
1. The first scholarship degree program that Army dependents can utilize for themselves and or their immediate family members is the Service-members Opportunity College degree, which is named SOCAD. This Army dependent scholarship is offered to members of the Army, their spouses and children. One additional advantage of this scholarship for Army members is the ability to acquire an Associates or Bachelors degree from an accredited traditional campus or online college while traveling or being stationed in multiple locations. There are many online colleges to choose from for this type of long distance learning program. Great flexibilities for these programs are offered to active members of the Army in order to facilitate the educational process without loss of the credit when work efforts require a mandatory focus.
2. The next choice for an Army dependent scholarship is the Stateside Spouse Education Assistance Program, otherwise known as SEAP. SEAP is based on one’s educational needs for acquiring an occupation. This type of assistance provides the spouse or widow of an active Army member to the monies needed for obtaining career opportunity training. A maximum amount for assistance under SEAP is limited to twenty-five hundred dollars per year.
3. If you and your spouse are stationed overseas, a grant or Army dependent scholarship of three-hundred and fifty dollars per academic quarter may be available through the Army Emergency Relief (AER) program for spouses’ educational needs. Specific overseas locations will determine accessibility. Research the AER programs accessible online for further information about this type of educational funding.
4. Military Spouse Career Advancement Account programs are available to Army spouses for educational funding assistance needs. This type of account program works like a grant or scholarship for spouses’ college degrees, or occupational license training needs, for current or future employment. The program offers higher funding amounts of assistance than some of the other Army spouse educational programs so one can contact “Military Source One,” at 1-(800) 342-9647, for more information.
5. Some State provided educational benefits are available for families of disabled, deceased, and missing in action veterans. Find these educational benefits available for your specific veteran situations and needs online at: http://www. Military.com
Final Thoughts
It is important to research and apply for all of the educational funding resources that are available to you as a Veterans dependent. Millions of dollars go unused for lack of knowledge or fear of great efforts that may be involved in obtaining the educational funding that one is rightfully owed. One should not allow their advanced education opportunities to fall by the waste side. Our service members fight hard to provide these benefits for their families and their country. Use them to advance your opportunities and that of your current or future families.
About the Author: Connie works from home as a freelance writer and editor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration management, with expertise in multiple business to business service industries. An avid book reader, she utilizes a library of books in her home and online for article writing and research purposes. Connie’s son, uncles, father and grandfathers, all served in the U.S. military.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
Suggested Resources
Our Books & Training Courses
Recommended Reading List
Earn Extra Money
Lose Weight Today!
This was a great post about information for scholarship opportunities for dependents of military veterans. I believe there are many more that offer assistance also. It is always a great idea to speak with people that run admissions in the college of your choice. By telling them you are the family member of a vet or active military, they can search their data base for all the financial assistance available.
Thank you for this information. There are some I think can use this, and I will pass it on to them.
The cost of education is getting ridiculous. It’s skyrocketing. If you’re in the service you need to be aware of these Army dependent scholarship programs. Taking advantage of them can literally save you thousands of dollars. Luckily, there are tons of scholarships out there and your Armed service will help you qualify. You have to seek out these scholarships though, they won’t come to you. Thanks for listing these Connie, hopefully people will take note a research further.
Good point Chris.
If you want something you have to go get it! If you are willing to invest some time and energy, you can find tons of Army dependent scholarships. It’s really just a matter of doing the work and applying for each scholarship. The more time you invest, the more opportunities you will find.
These are such excellent opportunities not only just for those who serve, but for their spouses. It’s really commendable that the Armed Services takes care of it’s soldiers and their educations so well. I am surprised that more people don’t take advantage. Perhaps they don’t know and needed people like you to show off what they can gain in forms of educational advancement. I know my state has quite a few scholarships for veterans, veterans children, children with parents active in the military and so many more. Thanks for sharing some of those with us today.
I’ve found that anyone who was motivated and willing to do the leg work could find a scholarship if they really wanted one. However, it won’t just fall into your lap. You have to write letters, do your research, network with others, and invest some time and energy to find and apply for Army Dependent Scholarships. There’s plenty of them out there though.
My father was in the Navy, and if it were not for the no charge college scholarships for dependents I received, I fear it would have taken me several more years to finish my degrees … which have led to my writing, teaching, and entrepreneurial careers. My mother also received spouse scholarships. Whether Navy, Army, National Guard or other, the benefit is good for the family, our country, and the economy. Today, each year we participate in fundraising for the Jingle Bell Jog 5K/10K 34th Annual Special Forces Association, Chapter 7 of which some of the funds are applied to dependents’ college scholarships. It is extremely to all of us involved.
Some colleges have on staff counselors whose sole job is to provide financial guidance to military personnel and their families. With the amount of small scholarships floating around, these counselors could help a soldier find enough funds to make sure expenses are kept at a minimum. My mother served in this type of capacity, and it is a position I think every college and university should have. A college’s financial aid office should be able to direct service members to such counselors if the college has any.
Any Soldier or dependent can get a scholarship or grant if they take the time, do the research, write the letters and stay proactive. So many people give up so easily when looking for scholarships that for anyone who is willing to stick it out, there are lots of Army Dependent Scholarships out there.
The Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States also has a number of scholarships available for EANGUS members and their family members. These range from relatively small grants of $500 or $700 to a full four-year scholarship to Grantham University. Details are on the EANGUS website. This is another great reason to be a member of EANGUS!
Daniel,
Up until you wrote about it, I had never even heard of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States. I will definitely have to do some research about it so I can write a post and educate my readers about it. Thanks for sharing.
Chuck Holmes