NEWS RELEASE
Defense Commissary Agency
Corporate Communications
1300 E Avenue, Fort Lee, VA 23801-1800
Tel: (804) 734-8000, Ext. 8-6105 DSN: 687-8000, Ext. 8-6105
FAX: (804) 734-8248 DSN: 687-8248
www.commissaries.com
Release Number: 86-18
Date: November 29, 2018
Media Contact: Kevin L. Robinson, public affairs specialist
Tel.: (804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773
E-mail: kevin.robinson@deca.mil
Scholarships for Military Children
Dec. 14 start date for new applications; process all online
By Mike Perron,
DeCA public affairs specialist
Note: To watch a video on DeCA’s YouTube page related to Scholarships for Military Children, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJrphCfYBY.
FORT LEE, Va. – The Scholarships for Military Children Program for school year 2019 – 2020 kicks off Dec. 14, and continues accepting applications through Feb. 15.
This marks the first time the entry process will happen entirely online according to Jim Weiskopf, Fisher House vice president. “It will be simple to create an account, save your work and submit your application when finalized,” he explained. “The online process will make it easier for military children to reach their education goals.”
The program, entering its 19th year, recognizes the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force and celebrates the commissary’s role in enhancing military quality of life. It’s administered by Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps service members and their families. Thus far, the program has awarded more than $18 million to 10,814 students.
Selection qualifications are straightforward. Requirements include completing the application; submission of the student’s official transcript indicating a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale for high school applicants, or college transcript indicating a cumulative minimum GPA of 2.5 or above on a 4.0 scale for students already enrolled in college; and an essay of 500 words or less, no longer than two pages.
Eligibility for the program is determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database. Applicants should ensure that they, as well as their sponsor, are enrolled in the DEERS database and have a current military dependent ID card. The applicant must also be planning to attend or already be attending an accredited college or university, full time, in the fall of 2019 or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.
Applicants who are awarded a full scholarship to attend a college or university or receive an appointment to one of the military academies or affiliated preparatory schools are not eligible to receive funds from this program. A full scholarship is usually defined as one that provides for payment of tuition, books, lab fees and other expenses.
For scholarship year 2019-20, Fisher House Foundation will award 500 scholarship grants of $2,000 each. The selection process will begin immediately following receipt of all applications in February.
“It will be exciting to see the increase in the applications with the new online submission,” said Marye Dobson, the Defense Commissary Agency’s scholarships program liaison. “I believe online submissions will attract more potential recipients as this method is right in line with the way many students attend classes, complete school work, and live their everyday lives.”
All rules and requirements for the program, as well as links to frequently asked questions are available at the Scholarships for Military Children website.
Fisher House also recently added an additional custom scholarship search engine to the site, tailored to military families, called “Scholarships for Service.” It’s free, easy to use, and available on mobile devices or computers at militaryscholar.org.
-DeCA-
