In the meantime...

Rantolini said:
I am a little confused about what all of these scholarships are for, are they for general expenses or am I missing something? Thank you
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"Midshipmen are not charged an entrance fee to attend the Naval Academy. Each Midshipman will receive a mandatory pay advance known as the Advance for Clothing and Equipment (ACE) loan to aid in the funding of issued uniforms and supplies. This loan is $8,500 for the class of 2017. The ACE loan is an interest-free government loan that is repaid through monthly deductions from Midshipmen pay accounts. Midshipmen will not be permitted to graduate indebted to any government or non-appropriated organization."

You use the scholarships to offset this loan as well as all the other expenses they will incur up to $17K, if you so desire (or the scholarship permits)

The link below is the budget book ( a few years old but still accurate) that describes it all. Enjoy the read.

http://www.usna.edu/2CParentsWeekend/documents/2013-2014-Budget-Book.pdf
 
dakine said:
A good place to start looking for scholarships is at your local high school. HS counselors usually know where the scholarships can be found. Find out where last years scholarships came from.
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That's where he got most of his scholarship information. Granted, most require need, or attending welding classes, or becoming a left-handed nurse, or and this one is actually true, an ACT score between 18-23 for a $20k check...so yeah there are scholarships for anything and everyone. But out of the list, he has found about 20 to apply for.
 
Dad2020 said:
While waiting to hear or waiting for I-Day, fill out every scholarship application that you come across. My DS has been working feverishly, requiring even more letters of rec to get money. The scholarships can be applied to the ACE loan. One bit of advice I see repeated, or should I say regret, is the kids or parents wish they had applied for more scholarships
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My Youngster earned a total of $7500 in outside scholarships. He will receive $950 in pay this July. He is so excited. He earned every scholarship he applied for and wishes he would have applied for more!
 
Fastweb.com has a list of all types of scholarships - it is a nice place to register to get insight into 100's of scholarship opportunities.

Scholarships may or may not be used at the SAs - it is dependent on the scholarship, so be careful in saying they can be used - research is required. It is not appropriate to make a blanket statement that 'these scholarships' can be used. (If you haven't found out in life already - all these good deals rarely apply to you)

The $17,500 is the current limit that the SAs can accept from 529 Plans.

Lots of $ available, but there are restrictions on how many of these scholarships can be applied.
 
ddsmac said:
My Youngster earned a total of $7500 in outside scholarships. He will receive $950 in pay this July. He is so excited. He earned every scholarship he applied for and wishes he would have applied for more!
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And it is my understanding that Plebe net pay will remain at $50/month for July and August and $100/month the remainder with an additional $200 payout in the Spring for summer items. My interpretation of what I have read is there is a point where the additional $s are released to the Mid, but it is not during the Plebe year. My understanding is they want all Plebes to be equally poor based on what USNA will net to their accounts.

He will at some point get reimbursed for his travel to USNA.
 
ddsmac said "My Youngster earned ..." so sounds like he is no longer a Plebe. My DD, also a new Youngster, said she will be getting $950 in held pay this July as well. We used some 529 savings, as Cerberi mentioned is allowable up to $17,500.00, to go against her ACE loan.

Definitely follow Cerberi's advice to check restrictions before assuming you can apply scholarship money.
 
Went to USNA as an E-3 (including NAPS)...I believe I needed a check for $1500 on I-Day to cover expenses...maybe I'm missing something in the 21st Century? Can't recall a classmate saying they were attending Canoe U AND receiving a scholarship.

Did just fine over the next 4 years living on Midshipman pay and no debt other than the career starter loan that paid for my USMC uniforms and a used pick-up truck.
 
GrilledCheese94 said:
Went to USNA as an E-3 (including NAPS)...I believe I needed a check for $1500 on I-Day to cover expenses...maybe I'm missing something in the 21st Century? Can't recall a classmate saying they were attending Canoe U AND receiving a scholarship.

Did just fine over the next 4 years living on Midshipman pay and no debt other than the career starter loan that paid for my USMC uniforms and a used pick-up truck.
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USNA does something called an ACE loan, out of which all the start-up stuff is taken, and payments deducted from mid pay.

USNA.edu site has an amazing amount of info on all the pull downs and links.

This link will also help:
https://www.usna.edu/_files/documents/2015-2016 Budget Book.pdf

I am sure you are still struggling with the fact the mids have had AC for some years now...
 
Contrary to legend, the Service Academies are not free. There is no tuition, room, or meal plan that needs paid, but books, uniforms, computers, printers etc are all paid for by the Mids/Cadets. These costs are taken out of the mids/cadets pay over time which is why a Plebe at USNA is guaranteed to net $100/month when they gross close to $1100.

Scholarship money and 529 Plans are often limited to what they can be used to fund (Check with each individual scholarship to determine how it can be used). The SA's have made the determination with the IRS (don't ask me how it was determined), that a 529 Plan could be used to defray up to $17,500 of the costs of attending the US Service Academies.

So even though our DD will net $100/month as a Plebe as she pays back her ACE loan, if we apply $17,500 of the funds set aside in her 529 College fund, her net her last 3 years at USNA will be significantly higher than the majority of her peers.

There is a post somewhere that said starting their sophomore summer, if the $17,500 is applied, the Mid will net close to $700/month vs I think the 'guarantee' is $200 or $250.

I am not a financial adviser, but by using the 529 Plans in this manner vs cashing it out and giving her the $, we avoid any tax penalties and she gets the benefit over her last three years at USNA.

You can PM me for more specifics.

I have no baseline for your understanding of how 529 Plans work or if you understand how Mid pay is determined so I made some pretty broad statements. This was not intended to be a seminar in USNA finances.
 
Thank you @Cerberi for that detailed explanations. I am somewhat familiar with the costs at uniforms, books, etc. not covered by the SAs and the reduction in monthly stipends to cover for these expenses. I am hopeful that the 529 set aside will lessen the burden on our DS, if he's lucky enough to get an appointment. Again, thanks.
 
Held pay is disbursed twice a year at the beginning of each semester. Up to $750 of a midshipman's saved held pay will be disbursed. 3/C will thus get $950 and 2/C will get $1050 for August/September (I don't remember exactly which month) and again in January. All remaining held pay is released Fall of 1/C year, and pay is no longer held.

A midshipman may apply to the disbursing office to have their pay released in full each month. I don't know what the process is; I just know it exists. However, the purpose of held pay itself is to lessen cost burdens on individual midshipmen.

For example, in September, a 2/C mechanical engineer may find himself with $1000 worth of textbooks to buy. This will exceed the monthly pay of any midshipman, but his saved held pay should cover the additional cost for that month if he charges the books to his held pay account. The additional cost is subtracted from his held pay so he still has $300 left to get at the end of the month. There's also additional costs that will be incoming, including uniforms not issued over plebe summer (dinner dress) and fleet uniform changes (NWU Type III, coveralls). The held pay system is there to absorb those costs so the 2/C can care about other things and still collect $300 every month.

If that 2/C had released all of his held pay and spent all of it over a crazy and wild PROTRAMID in San Diego, and found himself with 0 credit forwarded (no held pay) and a $700 paycheck for $1000 worth of textbooks, he's going to have to dig into his savings.

In summary: You can release your monthly held pay as 3/C and above through disbursing. You must apply for it. You better have your finances in order if you do so. The held pay system is there to ensure that every midshipman has money left over each month, without it, you could very well end up getting nothing for an entire month.
 
As a textbook example - $371 for Modern Chemistry textbook. DD validated Chem I so her reward is Modern Chemistry - 1 semester for $371 book. If she is lucky - can probably re-sell it at end of the year for $10 - assuming it is in good condition.
 
Good grief. An academy appointment is estimated at a value of + - $400,000. Your kid may incur some small expenses, but he/she also gets about $1000 a month to offset those. Every scholarship your kid gets (especially local) leaves another student without it. Did your kid deserve it? Yes. Did he/she need it? No. "My kid worked hard... he deserves that money... he earned it." Come on guys. If your child wins those before gaining an appointment, that's a different matter. Afterward, sounds a bit greedy to me. It's just my opinion.
 
For parents of future Mids... If you can't afford to pay for the ACE loan upon entry it's not that big of deal. If you have other kids that you have college bills for and are worried about how to cover their costs, move the 529 to them. Your kid will be fine as long as they don't spend crazy amounts every day. Very few of us paid this upon entry back in the day and we made less than half what Mids make today and we all did fine. Sure I called mom and dad for an extra $20 now and then, but that was about it. The only thing my parents paid for in my 4 years was a little extra pocket money (maybe $20-40 every other month) and my plane tickets. Now if your kid wants to do NOLS (summer training) or go to Europe for spring break that is a different discussion to have!
 
Thanks Hoops, reading this thread was worrying me. DS did not apply for scholarships even though he was encouraged to do so. He has been frugal along the way though - bought used uniform pieces, used textbooks, and I think was given a few textbooks from upperclassmen for this AC year. I'm amazed at his resourcefulness and no doubt because of his choices, he'll have to manage.
 
Thank you for the clarification NavyHoops. Starting to panic for a minute about scholarship $. Our Plebe is being frugal and says she can live on $50 per month carefully. She received a $500 scholarship she did not apply for-felt blessed to receive that much. Her 529-not sure if we will apply it to her or transfer it to siblings. Did not realize we actually could send it to USNA. Learn so much from these threads!!
 
elnavy said:
Thank you for the clarification NavyHoops. Starting to panic for a minute about scholarship $. Our Plebe is being frugal and says she can live on $50 per month carefully. She received a $500 scholarship she did not apply for-felt blessed to receive that much. Her 529-not sure if we will apply it to her or transfer it to siblings. Did not realize we actually could send it to USNA. Learn so much from these threads!!
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If you haven't already, take a look at the budget link I posted a few posts up.
 
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