College Scholarship Available To a Lucky Family At MacDIll

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Howard Altman

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 01:30 PM

MacDill Air Force Base families, if you have a student in college, or headed that way, there is a $1,500 scholarship available at the base commissary.

But the clock is ticking.

As a father of two kids in college, trust me, you want to check this out.

Eligible students who want to apply for the 2012 Scholarships for Military Children program still have time, but applications must be completed and delivered – not postmarked, but delivered – to a commissary by close of business Feb. 24.

Scholarship applications are available in commissaries and online at www.commissaries.com – choose the “News & Info” tab and then the “Scholarship Info” tab. Applications are also available here. At least one $1,500 scholarship will be awarded at every commissary with qualified applicants.

The following are key reminders for scholarship applications, which are also available in greater detail on www.militaryscholar.org:

• Current military ID. Applicants and their sponsors must be enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System DEERS database and have a current military ID card.

• Military family member. Applicants must be a dependent, unmarried child – no older than 21, or 23 if enrolled as a full-time student at a college or university – of a service member on active duty, a reservist, guardsman or retiree, or survivor of a service member who died while on active duty or survivor of a retiree.

• College bound. The student must be planning to attend, or already be attending, an accredited college or university, full time in the fall of 2012 or be enrolled in a program of studies designed to transfer directly into a four-year program.

• Essay. The essay must be 500 words or less, stapled to the application and written in the following format: typed, double spaced, no more than two pages, applicant’s name in upper right-hand corner of each page. The essay topic: “Whose four faces would you place on a 21st century Mount Rushmore-type monument, and why?” The person must be nonfictional, U.S. citizen, male or female – the time frame for the selection is 1850 to 2011.

• Correct address. Applicants must provide their permanent home address on the front page of the application – not their college address.

• Complete package. The submission package must include the following: 1) transcript or copy of applicant’s grades; 2) essay with applicant’s name on each page; 3) parent or guardian’s signature as well as the applicant’s signature on application; and 4) applicant’s high school College Board Code number (if available).

• Keep a copy. Applicants should also maintain their own copy of their application and essay.

• Submit to one commissary. Applicants can only submit their application to one commissary; submitting to more than one store will disqualify the applicant from consideration.

• No faxes or emails. Faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted.

For more information, call Scholarship Managers at 856-616-9311 or email them.