The deadline to submit applications for this year’s Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation awards is approaching fast.
The privately funded, non-profit organization provides academic scholarships to children of United States Marines and Navy Corpsmen, said Ret. Marine Lt. Col. Ted Probert, president and CEO of the MCSF.
“The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is an organization whose mission is to honor Marines by educating their children,” he said.
To be eligible for a MCSF award, students must be the child of a Marine or Navy Corpsman, demonstrate financial need, and have a GPA of at least 2.0.
MCSF was born in 1962 a World War II Medal of Honor recipient could not afford to send his son to college, Probert continued. That led 10 families to get together and raise $1,500. From those humble beginnings the organization has grown and today it has awarded nearly 60,000 renewable scholarships valued at over $200 million.
“We feel those individuals who have served and sacrificed for this country deserve the opportunity to provide for their dependents in the best possible way,” he said.
Probert said MCSF scholarship recipients are top-tier scholars, have a 91 percent graduation rate, well above the national average of just 54 percent. They also hold an average GPA of 3.43, compared to 3.15 nationally.
Additionally, 48 percent of recipients are first-generation college students, and 7 percent pursue STEM degrees. and 67 percent of MCSF scholarship recipients graduate with little to no debt, compared to the national average of 33 percent. All of the applicants who meet MCSF’s eligibility requirements receive a scholarship to further support their education.
The application deadline for the next academic year closes on March 1. To learn more, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
