WASHINGTON -- Children of Marine parents are eligible to receive college money from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, which recently added to its fund a $1.5 million donation specifically for children of war veterans.
All active-duty, reserve, retired, deceased or honorably discharged Marine parents afford general eligibility to their children, and Marines and Navy corpsmen who have served or are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are now eligible for more. The needs-based scholarships require the annual family income be less than $77,000.
The foundation also awards the Heroes Tribute scholarship, a $20,000 endowment to the child of a parent killed in action during the Long War. Last month the foundation granted the Heroes Tribute to 335 Marine children and 19 Navy corpsmen children.
“Since the kids (whose parents have died) are young, we want to make sure they have scholarship money when they’re ready for college,” said Christopher F. Randolph, president and CEO of Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Inc.
Graduating high-school seniors must submit by March 3, 2008, and all other students have an April 15 deadline. Applications are available at www.mcsf.org.
This fall, the foundation awarded approximately $3.5 million to 1,042 recipients this school year – its highest annual total – and averaged $3,100 per scholarship, double the average two years ago, said Randolph. The foundation has awarded $31.2 million in more than 200,000 scholarships since 1962.
“This is the best scholarship in the world,” said William Toledo, father of two sons who received the scholarship. “A lot of Marines couldn’t send their kids to college because it’s so expensive.”
Toledo, who medically retired in 1995, said his oldest son received a degree from the University of Notre Dame, and his youngest son recently received a third award letter from the foundation while attending the University of Tampa.
The $1.5 million donation, given by The California Community Foundation, will be divided over the next three years.