FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Oct. 16, 2014) -- The price for a college education can be very expensive.
Barbara Martin, Army Community Services Employment Readiness Program manager, said the more college scholarships military dependents can receive the less money they will have coming out of their pockets.
Since 2001, college tuition rates increased more than 40 percent for public institutions and 28 percent for private institutions, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Military dependents, who are eligible, can receive unused education benefits transferred to them from their Service member. Each Service member can only be awarded up to 36 months of education assistance benefits.
Along with these education benefits, college scholarships are available to help with the high cost of college tuition and fees.
"Traditionally, college scholarships start around late winter and run through early spring," Martin said. "After the deadline has passed, decisions are normally made in the summer, and the money is awarded for the following academic year."
Martin said the first goal for military dependents should be to get organized and to apply.
"Start applying for just a few scholarships. As you become seasoned in the application process, you should then apply for more scholarships," Martin said.
Martin said she and Antoinette Houston-Walker, TRIO program manager with the Education Center, host a series of education and employment workshops together that will start in January and run through March.
"I call it my scholarship campaign, and it's where I educate military families on the resources available for financing college education," Martin said. "I provide different scholarship finders and information that will keep them up to date on what scholarships are still available, which ones have gone away and what scholarships are best for them." Martin said.
Martin said there are a number of scholarships that many military spouses and dependents are unaware of, like the Army Emergency Relief Scholarship. Many of the Army's families are more familiar with the AER loan program, however the AER program also awards college scholarships.
More than 130 South Carolina residents received the Army Emergency Relief scholarship for college assistance this year.
"A total award amount of $353,800 went to South Carolina residents. Armywide, we awarded 3,639 scholarships for a total of $8.8 million," said Tammy LaCroix, scholarship program manager for the Headquarters Army Emergency Relief.
"The best time to get started on filling out college scholarship applications is now," Martin said.
Houston-Walker said the best place to begin is to first fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form. There may be money available through the applicant's school that is not advertised, but will be divvied out based on FAFSA calculations.
"Many scholarships will require you to fill out a FAFSA form, some will require an essay, some will require a GPA," Martin said. "All scholarship applications are different, but in the workshop we use a spreadsheet to help (applicants) prioritize the scholarships by deadline and requirements, so that they do not get overwhelmed with trying to fill out a bunch of applications."
Martin said a list of scholarships available for military family members and books that help spouses and children find suitable scholarships are also available.
One scholarship Martin highlighted is the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account Scholarship.
The Military Spouse Career Advancement Account Scholarship is a career-development program that provides up to $4,000 in tuition assistance for military spouses, whose Service member is on active duty in in the ranks of private to sergeant, warrant officer, chief warrant officer 2, second lieutenant and first lieutenant.
Martin said taking out a loan should be a military dependent's last resource.
"There is too much money out there that people are giving away for (students) to get a loan," Martin said. "The goal is to go to school, gain a good education and not have to pay so much back in student loans. If you start out with debt when you get out of school and are still looking for a job, it's kind of like your taking three steps back."
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