Any military wives pursuing an education?

Question

Did you recieve any financial aid or did you just take out loans? Do the colleges consider you in-state if you show them your husband's orders? (that's what I heard at least). And advice?

Answer 1

Yes, you are considered in state for the college as long as you are a military spouse. I am currently attending college and I am a military spouse. Depending on the college, they might ask to see your husbands orders bringing him to that state. But those are not hard to get. You should always have a copy anyways.

Always fill out the federal federal application for federal student aid here:
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ .

You will need a copy of your current W-2 and tax form 1040 or 1040EZ.
FAFSA Deadlines:
Submit 2006-2007 FAFSA on the Web Applications by midnight Central Daylight time, July 2, 2007.

Also check out this site: http://www.aerhq.org/ .
Click on scholarship programs on the left hand side. Then click on Stateside Spouse Scholarship Assistance Program. They just started offering a grant to spouse stationed stateside. In the past it was only to those overseas stationed with their spouse. This money you don't have to pay back. Worth it. I used this grant while stationed in Germany and will be getting it for the upcoming Fall Semester.

Also on this site is this: http://www.aerhq.org/education_collegelinks.asp They list additional websites to go and apply for grants and scholarships.

Other sites:
http://www.fastweb.com/
http://www.freeeducationguide.com/?Campaign_ID=5282&PID=6744
http://www.thanksusa.org/main/index.html
http://education.military.com/money-for-school/finding-military-family-education-benefits
http://www.finaid.org/military/

Free Career Coaching, As a military spouse, you may be eligible to receive free expert assistance with your job search. Contact the Spouse Employment Assessment, Coaching and Assistance Program (SEACA) at 1-800-768-3480 to get started. http://www.military.com/spouse?ESRC=ov_mem_spouse.kw

Check out this website also: http://www.mscn.org/college.html

And this one: http://www.ed.gov/finaid/landing.jhtml?src=ln

These are just a few websites out there. You can search financial aid for military spouses. And don't forget we can use the education centers on any military base. And ask them about CLEP exams and Dantes Exams. You will have to pay for these but they cost about 2/3 less than a class and all you do is test out and you get the class credit for that class. But make sure you check with whatever college you will be attending to see which CLEP and dantes Exams they take. Again any questions see a counselor at the Ed Center or at the college you plan on attending.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

As a military wife, you are eligible for financial aid (I don't know what kind, I didn't use it). Contact your Education Services department on post (base) for more information.

If you can show proof of address, I wouldn't think there would be any reason to have to show orders, unless you are taking classes at a college that is in the state your husband listed as his permanent address and you have been moved elsewhere. But you can talk to them about that in Education Services.

My advice is to ABSOLUTELY take advantage of the financial aid and get your degree. MANY wives are doing it. Speaking from experience, make sure you get a degree in something that you can do anywhere in the United States or the world. You have to take into consideration the fact that you are going to have to uproot and move every few years. Some jobs are just not available all over the US. Many want you to move when they say so (which your husband can't do).

Answer 3

To be consider in-state depends on which state you are in. Most states allow dependents in-state tuition for the first year. That gives you a year to acquire legal residency. If you are overseas depending on your finical status you can receive aid. Also you are available for military dependent scholarships. Each branch offers scholarships here is a link to the Navy/Marine Corps web site for scholarships:
http://www.nmcrs.org/stap.html
The best thing to do is to ask the local college you plan to attend. Don't put off college because of an unanswered question. Get the answers from the horse's mouth.

Answer 4

I recieved financial aid, but I still had to take out a loan because even with the discount ot was still too expensive to pay out of pocket. I'm attending the University of Phoenix Online, since I'm a stay at home mom and all I had to show was my military ID and birth certificate, marriage license, and social security card.

Answer 5

Most colleges do indeed waive the residency requirements for families of military personnel stationed there.

Fill out the FAFSA. also check out the bases' education office, they can often times give you leads on scholarship opportunities for family members.

Answer 6

the education benefits for the wives of the service people of the military is excellent all you have to do to get the benefits is to go to educations services dept. of the armed forces and they have a lot of nice, helpful people who will assist you in anyway they can.