MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Time is running out to mail in applications for the Scholarships for Military Children Program, which awards $1,500 scholarships to children of military personnel.
Applications for the scholarship must be received by the nearest commissary no later than close of business Feb. 18.
The program, sponsored by the Defense Commissary Agency and Fisher House Foundation, was created to recognize the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force, and to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family community, according to their Web site at www.commissary.com.
The goal of the program is to award a scholarship at every commissary location where qualified applications are received.
Any unmarried children under 21 (23 if enrolled as full-time student) of active duty, reserve/guard, or retired military personnel or survivors of a deceased member, with a military identification card can apply. Eligibility will be determined using the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System database.
Applicants must be planning to attend a college or university in the 2004 fall term on a full-time basis. No scholarship will be awarded for those pursuing an associate, second undergraduate or graduate school degree.
Students still in high school who wish to apply must submit an official high school transcript, and college applicants must submit their college transcript.
Applications may be filled out by picking up an application at any commissary location, or online using a link on their Web site. Once they are completed, they must be printed and hand-carried or mailed to the nearest commissary. Applications may not be e-mailed.
Individuals may apply at only one commissary, and anyone who submits an application to more than one commissary will be disqualified for consideration of the scholarship.
Six-thousand, five hundred applications were received in 2003. Out of those, more than 550 students were awarded a $1,500 scholarship to help pay for their college tuition. Overall, more than $2.3 million has been awarded since the program's inception in 2001.
Scholarship Managers, an independent, professional scholarship management service, will select the recipients based on academics, extra-curricular activities, letters of recommendation and the quality of essays written by applicants.
This year's scholarship essay question is, "What aspect of military life has had the greatest impact on you?" Essays must be 500 words or less, typed or computer-generated, double spaced and no longer than two pages.
Although many factors go into deciding who will be awarded the scholarships, students are encouraged to do their best when writing the essay.
"In past years, the essay has been a key factor in deciding among the many outstanding applicants," said Edna Hoogewind, program liaison for DeCA.
Recipients of the scholarship will be notified by letter on or about May 1. After March 29, applicants may visit the program's Web site and click on the "Verification of Receipt" section to send an e-mail for verification. Scholarship Managers will respond to "Verification of Receipt" e-mails only until June 15. Checks will be mailed to the recipient's home address on file by July 31.
For more information, or to download an application, visit www.militaryscholar.org.