Tag: disabled veteran scholarships

Disabled Veteran Scholarships

Disabled veteran scholarships for those students who served in the US military are worth looking into because the biggest critera has already been met – DAV.

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Disabled Veteran Scholarships

There are specific disabled veteran scholarships for those students who served in the US military and are worth looking into because the biggest critera has already been met – served, disabled and now a former Vet. Being a soldier and coming back from a conflict can be stressful for many people as they work at reintegrating into the private sector. Many veterans decide to head off to school pursuing a degree in higher education. While this can be a difficult adjustment for these soldiers it is often more difficult for those who have been discharged honorably from the military because of disabilities received during the course of their military service.

Scholarships for disabled veterans exist for those students in just such a circumstance, having been hurt while performing duties and now looking to attend school so that they may make a smoother transition from military service to non-military work. There are many resources available which offer disabled veteran scholarships and interested students should be able to find much of the financial aid they may need.

Apart from looking towards the Federal Veterans Administration for financial assistance and other non-profit national organizations, many disabled veterans will be able to look towards local veteran’s lodges for additional funding. While not all veteran’s lodges offer such Vet scholarships, many do or, if they do not, will be able to direct their members towards other sources which will be able to assist them. Of course it is always a good idea for disabled veterans to check in with their local office of financial aid as it is very common for universities to either offer themselves or have listed a number of disabled veterans scholarships which will be available to interested students.

There are many national organizations which offer scholarships for disabled veterans, and one such group is the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). The AFCEA has recently begun providing the Disabled War Veterans Scholarship which provides multiple $2,500 scholarships to selected individuals. In order to be eligible for this Vet scholarship interested students must currently be enrolled an accredited institution at the freshman to senior levels of schooling. Students will need to be studying in a particular field including but not limited to electrical systems, aerospace, computer engineering, networking, and physics. All applicants will need to provide two letters of recommendation one being from a teacher and another from a current employer or public agency. Transcripts of an applicant’s academic history will need to be provided. This veteran scholarship is only available to those students who are currently active duty military personnel, honorably discharged United States veterans, reservists and those soldiers who have been disabled because of sustaining an injury from active-duty combat in either Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom. The deadline for this scholarship is April 1, 2011.

Members of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) group, a nationally recognized non-profit organization, will be eligible to apply for the Auxiliary National Education Scholarship Fund which provides several $1,500 disabled veteran scholarships every year. Being a DAV member is a prerequisite to gaining access to this Vet scholarship and, while renewals are not guaranteed, members can reapply for this scholarship up to five times in subsequent semesters. Interested students must be attending school at least part time and have a 2.5 grade point average in order to qualify for the full $1,500. Those students attending school for at least six credit hours are eligible for the same scholarship but the amount is reduced to $750. All applicants must be attending a university in the United States. Leadership and commitment to education will be used to help determine who will receive awards each year and the application has a space dedicated to clubs, extracurricular activities and volunteer opportunities applicants have been involved in. These spaces would wisely be used to indicate both a capacity for leadership and a sincere interest in pursuing a student’s current academic goals. A financial assessment will also be carried out on the application making financial need a measure by which the selection committee may assign this disabled veterans scholarship’s awards.

The deadline for the DAV Auxiliary Scholarship is March 15, 2011. While this disabled Vet scholarship is certainly a good source of funds, disabled veteran scholarships exist on multiple levels and students who are not members of DAV but are still in need of financial assistance would be wise to investigate many options especially at the local or college level.

Blinded Veterans Association BVA Scholarship for Disabled

Each and every year for the last twenty-six years, the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has awarded a total of six essay scholarships for disabled veterans out to spouses or children of blind veterans. These visually impaired scholarships are distributed through the Kathern F. Gruber Scholarship Program. Each of these six scholarships for blind are in the amount of $2,000. The BVA Scholarship Committee has the grueling task of choosing the six recipients. Applications for these disability scholarships must be received by April 13, 2009. These are not full essay scholarships. They are designed to be used to help students with their tuition, books and other academic fees.

The Blinded Veterans Association held its first meeting back in 1945. One hundred soldiers who were blinded during the war got together and formed an organization dedicated to assisting all veterans afflicted with blindness. In 1958 the BVA was charted by the United States Congress to lend their voice in support of blinded American Veterans. The BVA has worked tirelessly ever since in support of veterans with visual disabilities.

Kathern “Kay” Gruber was serving in the mid 1940’s as the American Foundation for the Blinds Director of Services for the War Blind when she first became interested in the BVA. Over several decades Kay would attend many of the BVA conventions. She was always there to offer her advice and counsel. In 1948 she was also a member of a very important advisory group that provided recommendations to the Veterans Administration in reference to the care of the war blinded. In San Diego in 1985 the BVA Scholarship Program became the Kathern Gruber Scholarship Program in honor of her many years of dedicated service to the association.

To be eligible for these visually impaired scholarships the applicant must be a dependent child or spouse of a blinded veteran of the United States Armed Forces. It is not required that the veteran be a member of the Blinded Veterans Association. However, the veteran must be legally blind. The blindness may have taken place during the service years or after the service years. In addition, for an applicant to be considered they must either have been accepted for admission, or already enrolled in post high school education. This can be in college, a university, a secretarial school, business school or any vocational training school.

The Kathern Gruber Scholarships are good for only one year. However, a student may reapply each year and receive the award up to four times. Applicants for these essay scholarships for the disabled do have to present educational transcripts, three letters of reference; and a 300-word essay on their goals and desires for the future. The six winners of these BVA blind scholarships are notified in July. Awards are paid directly to the educational facility of the applicant’s choice. For almost 65 years the Blinded Veterans Association has been offering assistance to the visually impaired veteran and their families. Applications for these Blinded Veterans Association BVA essay scholarships for disabled must be received by April 13 of each year.

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