Accept Scholarships as Cadet?

[justwonderinga]

I'm sure this could apply to other service academies, but does anyone know if we are allowed to accept outside scholarships? I was in a program in high school that gave us a stipend for books...etc, is that allowed as a cadet? Do I have to notify anyone since I need to send an unofficial transcript as evidence that I am enrolled in a university?

Thank you!

 

[A1Janitor]

Yes, I believe I have seen people say they accepted outside scholarships … the use of the money is limited.

My son didn’t apply for any scholarships- he figured others needed it more than he did.

 

[BigJake2000]

This is from USAFA's website:

 

[MDRDV]

You can accept, and should apply for, scholarships. As long as there are no stipulations USAFA will accept them and apply them to equipment, uniforms and student fees charged to cadets. First year pay is greatly reduced from paying back debts. It's satisfying not having to rely on others to make up cash shortfalls and starting adult life self-dependant. If candidates put in the hard work to be awarded a scholarship, there is no reason to feel guilty applying and accepting scholarships.

Furthermore, approximately 50% of colleges and universities reduce their financial offers to accepted students by the amount of outside scholarships students recieve placing the funds back into their coffers. This essentially shorts the student after they put in the time and effort to apply for scholarships. USAFA doesn't do this, allowing every dollar awarded to cover the cadets costs.

 

[jack42405]

Definitely recommend applying for any scholarships. For the first two years, a significant amount of your cadet pay goes towards paying off an initial advance of pay you take out for uniforms, your laptop, and everything else issued to you. If you can pay some of it off that's directly money in your pocket (which you could possibly use to start investing in a Roth IRA or other savings plan).

Be aware that some organizations will not grant scholarship money to people going to service academies. For me, I was annoyed to find out that national merit specifically excludes service academies.