So many young boys and girls dreams of joining the military when he or she grows up, and today being a part of the US Military is not only a huge honor, but also a great job that has numerous benefits.
There are many benefits for veterans themselves, as well as for their dependents; often these benefits are given to the closest relatives including children and wives of a veteran. These are some of the opportunities related to education.
What education benefits for military spouses exist?
The schools, government, and numerous private associations offer military spouse education benefits, which include money-related help, guidance, academic tools, and much more.
There are many options for different groups of dependents. However, not everything is as bright as it seems.
First of all, the competition for some grants can just be terrible, which greatly reduces your chances of receiving a scholarship.
Secondly, grants usually won’t always cover the total program cost.
Third, you may have to work twice as hard in college if you want to keep the scholarship.
However, there are other options! Below you will find some of the most common ones.
1) MyCAA
Or Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, MyCAA is a type of financial support in the form of scholarship that provides $4,000 (or less) funding for spouses of veterans who are eligible for this assistance. (read more for stipulations)
2) Post 9/11 GI Bill
This opportunity is initially aimed to be provided to servicemembers. However, if the military member did not use any (or part) of the benefits offered by Post 9/11 GI Bill, those can be passed on and used by a spouse or other relative of a veteran.
This option is not suitable for everyone. The main requirement you have to meet in order to transfer your advantages to another person is at the lowest six years of service, and after this action was done you agree to four extra years of service. This exemption can apply to one or several family members.
3) DEA
This is another educational support opportunity for eligible survivors and their dependents; it offers up to 4 years of training and educational exemptions that can be used for different types of training, certificate, and degree programs, apprenticeship, on-the-job training and correspondence courses.
4) Special offers and discounts
There are numerous schools, colleges, and universities all across the USA that not only welcome military members, their kids and spouses, but are also ready to provide additional help and support to them.
By “support” it is usually meant that such colleges offer different bonuses and discounts to people associated with the military, such offers usually vary from minor help up to over 50% off the total cost of education.
In any case, it is a great chance to save some money on studies. To get the most out of it, you will need to do research. These offers may depend not only on the chosen degree level, but also on the selected school; if you really want this help to be valuable – you would need to search for your options and choose the best one.
5) Private grants and scholarships for military kids
Finally, there are tons of military college scholarships that can be claimed regardless of what college you are going to enroll and what subjects you want to study, as these grants are provided mostly by private organizations.
Normally, candidates for such grants have to research options themselves and pass certain exams to get a scholarship (usually, candidates have to either write an essay or provide proof of their high academic performance). Getting such grants may be not easy. But it does not mean that it is not possible!
As you can see, there are numerous options depending on your status, preferences, and needs; some of these benefits are quite difficult to get, but, in any case, you should give it a shot and let it be the first step to your future success!