Military Spouse Education: 5 Education Benefits For Military Spouses
Are you a spouse in the military and considering going to school for higher education? If you are and youre wondering about the benefits for military spouse education then youve come to the right page.
We are going to take a look at some of the education benefits you can take advantage of to achieve your education goals!
Vadm Ep Travers Scholarship And Loan Program
To apply, you must be the spouse of an active duty member, or the dependent child of an active or retired member of the Navy or Marine Corps. You must be a full time undergraduate student at an accredited college or university.
- 1000 grants are awarded each academic year at $2000 each.
- Applicants are also evaluated for an interest-free student loan of up to $3000.
- The loan repayment begins within 30 days of award and must be repaid by allotment within 24 months.
- Application deadline is 1 March of each year.
- Late applications will not be considered for the scholarship however they will be evaluated for a loan.
Visit the official VADM E.P. Travers Scholarship and Loans website for more details.
Post 9/11 Gi Bill Chapter 33
The Post 9/11 GI Bill provides you with up to 36 months of education benefits for degree and certificate programs. Generally, benefits are payable for up to 15 years following release from active duty. Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits include tuition and fees , a monthly stipend, and book stipend not to exceed $1,000 per academic year. All benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill are prorated based on the eligible tier percentage and the number of credit hours.
An additional requirements for the Post 9/11 GI Bill is that you must take at least one full-semester 3-credit on-campus class to be eligible for the full amount of their monthly stipend.
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How Long Do I Have To Be In The Military To Get Free College
The Montgomery GI Bill extends educational benefits to any active duty member of the military who served for at least 2 years of active duty. This also extends to veterans of any branch of the military. You receive up to $1,857 each month for educational expenses, as long as youre enrolled full-time.
Mycaa Military Spouse Tuition Assistance
The My Career Advancement Account Scholarship Program is a workforce development program that provides up to $4,000 of financial assistance to eligible military spouses who are pursuing a license, certification or Associates degree in a portable career field and occupation.
MyCAA Eligible Curriculum Training: UNCP Teacher Licensure
The only curriculum program at UNCP that meets the requirements for the MyCAA Scholarship program is the Teacher Licensure or certification program. None of the other curriculum degree options are eligible.
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Spouse Education & Career Opportunities Scholarship Finder
The SECO Scholarship Finder makes searching for education funding and career development opportunities fast and easy. Use this resource to search for financial assistance resources and professional development opportunities offered specifically to military spouses and family members.
To learn more, visit
Keep An Eye On Budget Cuts
As you start to look into military education benefits, you may find that more financial options existed during the surge.
Since the GI Bill is a benefit, not an entitlement, transferability may hit the chopping block due to sequestration and other budget cuts.
For example, over 4,000 soldiers lost their GI Bill transferability in January 2013. If it makes sense for your family to look into GI Bill transferability, don’t wait another day. Start your application now.
While the options are fewer, these benefits are still yours. Take advantage of those that apply to you while you still can.
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The Navy Maine Corps Relief Society
Spouse Tuition Aid Program
The Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society offers STAP to your spouse if you are on active duty and stationed in an overseas location. Your spouse may be a full or part-time student studying toward a vocational certificate, or an undergraduate or graduate degree.Amounts granted:
To request an application form and information about deadlines, contact one of the following NMCRS offices: Guam, Guantanamo Bay, London, Naples, Okinawa, Roosevelt Roads, Rota, Sigonella, or Yokosuk.
Visit the official Spouse Tuition Aid Program website for more information.
VADM E.P. Travers Scholarship and Loan Program
To apply, you must be the spouse of an active duty member or the dependent child of an active or retired member of the Navy or Marine Corps. You must also be a full time undergraduate student at an accredited college or university.
- 1000 grants are awarded each academic year at $2000 each.
- Applicants are also evaluated for an interest-free student loan of up to $3000.
- The loan repayment begins within 30 days of award and must be repaid by allotment within 24 months.
- Application deadline is 1 March of each year.
- Late applications will not be considered for the scholarship however they will be evaluated for a loan.
Visit the official VADM E.P. Travers Scholarship and Loan Program website for more details.
The American Military Partner Association
One of the largest support systems for military members and their spouses, AMPA can help you obtain a higher education. This scholarship is designed for not just military spouses but also their families and LGBTQ service members. AMPA supports all education goals and can help you gain a higher education. The award generally offers $1,000 to $2,500 for your education assistance.
Another great thing about this scholarship is they dont require you to answer personal questions. When you apply for the scholarship you dont have to identify as LGBTQ or any sexual orientation.
There are many other scholarships out there for military spouses to apply for, so make sure you search for them all and apply for the ones you are eligible for! Lets talk about a few other options for military spouse education assistance.
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Pierce College Military Affiliated Scholarships
Pierce College offers several scholarships for military members and their families. For more information, visit the Scholarships web page.
Horst and Carol Marschall Scholarship
This scholarship is for active duty members and family members enrolled in a class at Pierce College during the quarter applying.
Jennifer Jamison Textbook Scholarship
The Jennifer Jamison Textbook Scholarship provides $204 for textbooks for military-affiliated students at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Application is open to veterans, active duty military personnel and their family members, with preference going to those who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Qualified applicants must be enrolled in at least 10 credits at Pierce College and have a minimum 3.3 GPA at the time of application. Funds will be made available to winners for winter quarter and spring quarter.
Spouse Tuition Assistance Program
Joining the United States military earns you important benefits including the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the enhancements to it via the Forever GI Bill act that was passed to further enhance education benefits for both veterans and family members.
Those who bring families with them into military life soon learn that military spouse tuition assistance programs are available to help spouses pay for education both at home and when stationed with the service member overseas.
At one time, military spouse tuition assistance was known as exactly that each branch of the military has at one time or another offered a program that either embodied Spouse Tuition Assistance guidelines or were created to offer something similar.
Military spouses looking for financial aid should definitely explore the options open to them based on the branch of service they are affiliated with thanks to the service member.
In some cases you may or may not have to be directly associated with the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard if you are married to a military member from one branch of service who is assigned to a based operated by a different branch. Dont assume that your options are restricted in such cases, it always pays to ask.
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Using Tuition Assistance With The Gi Bill
While Tuition Assistance and GI Bill benefits are generous, they stretch farther and make a bigger impact if used in conjunction with each other. The Tuition Top-Up Program allows GI Bill-eligible service members to supplement Tuition Assistance benefits with GI Bill funding: costs that arent fully covered by TA can be paid out of GI Bill benefits instead.
How can you decide if youll benefit from Top-Up? Heres some good advice from Military.com:
Using Top-up is a good deal if you plan to use TA to complete a degree program while on active duty, and dont plan to continue your education after service. Top-up can also be helpful for just taking a few courses with TA while on active duty. Then you can save most of your to use after service to complete your education program.
Your best course of action depends on your age, your education goals and your post-service plansbut between Tuition Assistance, Top-Up and the GI Bill, you can make the most out of military education benefits.
Air Force Aid Society
The Air Force Aid Society offers merit-based scholarships, grants, and other assistance including a no-interest loan program offered as a companion award to the main AFAS Hap Arnold grant.
The Arnold grant is a competitive, need-based program offering grants as high as $4,000 at the time of this writing. The funds are awarded based on the specific needs of the student. This is done by reviewing the grantees income, education costs, etc.
The competition for this grant includes a requirement to complete an application process open ONLY to those with qualifying grade point averages .
The application review must include GPAs, transcripts, and a review of the applicants submitted written essay. Applicants may be asked to defend their essay as part of the competition.
Another form of spouse education assistance, the General George S. Brown Spouse Tuition Assistance Program, offers funds for qualifying military spouses for as much as half of any unpaid tuition expenses after other forms of financial aid have been applied.
This program has a cap of $1500 per academic year. This program is specifically aimed at spouses at overseas locations.
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Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Supplemental Education Grant
The CGMA program is designed for coast guard spouses that are seeking a college degree, technical training certificate, or a vocational degree. The assistance programs offer financial assistance by reimbursing spouses rather than paying upfront for their education.
Lets move on and go over some scholarship programs that are designed specifically for helping military spouse education.
Scholarships From Other Organizations
The community scholarships below are not affiliated with Pierce College and are posted here as a resource for students seeking additional funding. If you have any questions about these scholarships, please follow the links to visit the corresponding websites. Pierce College and Pierce College Financial Aid staff do not have any additional information regarding these scholarships.
For Servicemembers
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Tutorcom For Us Military Families Program
Tutor.com for U.S. Military Families, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance , is a program that allows eligible students in grades kindergarten through college to connect to a live tutor online at any time for one-to-one help with homework, studying, test prep and more, at no cost.
Active Duty Military, ROTC, Wounded Warrior, Reserve, DoD and Coast Guard military service members, civilian personnel, and ALL dependent family members are eligible to use Tutor.com/military when the service member is in either active/full-time or part-time/traditional drilling status, wherever they are located.
To learn more, visit .
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
- Supplemental Education Grant – The SEG program reimburses documented educational costs specifically required by a course of study. Multiple grants may be awarded up to the authorized amount throughout the calendar year.
- CGMA Stafford/PLUS Loan Fee Reimbursement – Assistance for those who finance post-secondary education through the Federal Stafford Loan or Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students . CGMA reimburses clients for the loan fee typically charged borrowers at the time funds are disbursed.
- CGMA Education Loan – An interest-free loan to help with post-secondary education expenses.
Visit the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance website to learn more.
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Spouse And Dependents Education Assistance Program
The Dependents’ Educational Assistance program provides education and training opportunities to eligible dependents of certain veterans. The program offers up to 45 months of education benefits. These benefits may be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, and on-the-job training. If you are a spouse, you may take a correspondence course. Remedial, deficiency, and refresher courses may be approved under certain circumstances.Click here to learn more about the Dependents Education Assistance Program.
Spouse Education And Career Opportunities Program
Establish an account with MySECO which is the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program. SECO provides career counseling services six days a week through specialty consultations with masters level subject matter experts. They also ensure military spouses have 24-7 access to online education and career information, resources, tools, and assessments. Using the tools and assessments, spouses can begin to explore their interests, skills, passions and personality types to determine the best fit for education and career choices.
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Continuing Student Enrollment Checklist
Each semester, you must inform the MVEO that you are enrolled in classes and you want to use your VA Educational Benefit.
VMSDEP recipients should bring a copy of their approval letter to the Financial Services Office prior to each term.
Chapters 30, 1606, and 1607 only, MUST verify your enrollment monthly at W.A.V.E. or 877-838-2278.
VocRehab – Chapter 31 Veterans must provide a VA FORM 28-1905 from your Vocational Rehabilitation Case Manager for current term as per guidance from your Case Manager.
Students having attended and used their VA Benefits at another school, must submit a Change of Program/Place of Training Form OR .
Remember, you must inform your MVEO Counselor if you:
- Change your enrollment in any manner
- Change your major
Failure to do this may result in under payment or over payment of benefits, which will cause a debt to Tyler and/or the VA.
Office Of Veteran Affairs
Valencia College physical campus locations are currently closed to students, staff, and faculty. The VA office staff is working remotely during this time and will reply to your as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience.
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Thanks For Signing Up
If the eligible service member has not used any benefits, or only a small portion of them, the rest of the benefits are transferable. For example, if 12 months of the GI Bill have been used, then the remaining 24 months are available to immediate family.
In addition, you cant just transfer over benefits freely. Service members must have served in the military for at least six years, and if benefits are transferred and used, they are obligated to serve a term of at least four more years.
For more information, visit the official Post-9/11 GI Bill website.
2. Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts
The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program, also called MyCAA, awards up to $4,000 for military spouses who are pursuing an associate degree, license, certification or credential for employment.
There are a few limitations for the program, as well. The active duty service member of the spouse must meet rank requirements E1 to E5, W1 to W2 or O1 to O2 and the program of study must be completed within three years of the start date.
Still, this is an exceptional program for anyone with a spouse in the military wishing to pursue a portable career.
For information on the program you can call the hotline at 800-342-9647 or visit the official MyCAA website.
3. Dependents Education Assistance Program
4. Branch-Related Assistance
Keep in mind that each branch will have its own sets of rules, requirements and limitations.
5. Private Scholarships and Grants
Post 9/11 And Forever Gi Bill
For military members that have served and choose not to use their eligible Post 9/11 or Forever GI Bill, they may transfer it. Military members can choose to transfer all of or just part of their VA financial aid to their spouse.
For military personnel, the assistance they receive from these bills will be determined by the amount of time they have served. With a minimum of 10 years total of service, you can transfers up to 36 months worth of education benefits to their eligible spouse or dependant.
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Post 9/11 Gi Bill Transferability
There is a special provision of the program that allows military members to share their remaining GI Bill benefits with immediate family members. The key factor is whether or not the member has used any of their GI Bill in the past only unused benefits can be transferred. This means that if they used 12 months of their GI Bill, then they can only transfer the remaining 24 months of benefits.
Service members must meet specific criteria to be eligible to transfer their GI Bill benefits. This includes having at least six years of service and an obligation to serve at least four more.
Learn more about the rules for transferring GI Bill benefits.