FAQ

The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund was the vision of Freedom Alliance founders LtCol Oliver North, USMC (Ret.) and the late LtGen Edward Bronars, USMC. The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund honors Americans in our Armed Forces who have sacrificed life or limb defending our country by providing educational scholarships for their children.

The mission of the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund is two-fold. First, it helps offset the high cost of a college education for the sons and daughters of American heroes. Second, it is a reminder to the recipient that their parent’s sacrifice will never be forgotten by a grateful nation.

The dependent children of U.S. military personnel who have been killed or permanently disabled in an operational mission or training exercise are eligible to apply. Also eligible are students who have a parent classified as a Prisoner of War or Missing in Action.

The generosity of patriotic Americans has made it possible for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund to award more than $33 million in college scholarships to the sons and daughters of American heroes.

The Mission of Freedom Alliance is to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense.

Freedom Alliance, a 501(c) (3) educational and charitable foundation, was founded in 1990 by LtCol Oliver L. North, who now serves as the organization’s honorary chairman. 

Eligibility requirements for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship can be found here. 

Completing your application is a multi-step process.

The first step is the initial application that you complete and submit with the service member’s documentation, your proof of dependency, and your high school or college transcript.  Those items will be reviewed.  If any document is missing or needs further clarification, the scholarship fund administrator will reach out to let you know what is needed. 

Once all initial documentation is received, there is a second part to the application process.

An additional email will be sent once the initial documentation is confirmed.  There is an online Conditions/Details form to be completed by the student.  Additionally, there is a PDF Verification of Student Enrollment, Expenses, and Financial Aid form that the student will download and provide to his or her school for completion.  A need must be shown on this form for consideration of award of a scholarship.

Once all of these items are submitted, the full application will be submitted to the committee for final consideration.  Award of a scholarship is not guaranteed and is at the discretion of the committee during final review.

The VA Benefit Summary Letter provides a summary of the benefits that the service member receives.  It will give the overall/combined rating for the service member.  On the documentation, we are looking to see that the service member has a rating of 100%, as well as language within the letter stating that the service member is considered to be “totally and permanently disabled.”

The VA Decision/Claim Letter or VA Confirmation of Disability Ratings Letter list the individual conditions that have been assessed and the individual ratings assigned to each condition.  As stated in the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund guidelines, applications wherein the service member has one individual combat-related condition rated at 70% or higher will receive priority when awarding scholarships.  Please submit the documentation that includes the highest individual rating received by the service member so as to not delay processing of the application.

Printouts of web pages are not eligible for consideration. 

VA Summary and Decision Letters should be in a letter format on VA letterhead for consideration.  We cannot accept the web page printout in lieu thereof.

You may submit an official or unofficial transcript in PDF format.  However, the transcript must contain all of the following items:

1. Your name.
2. Your school’s name.
3. Your grades from the previous academic year.
4. Your cumulative GPA (this is your total GPA for your time in school, not your semester GPA).

Note:  Screenshots are not permitted for proof of transcript.

The scholarship funds can be used by a student to cover any costs that may be incurred during their pursuit of higher education. These costs can be, but are not limited to: Tuition & Fees, Books & Supplies, Room & Board, Meal Plans, Transportation Expenses, Off-campus Rent and other qualified expenses.  As to off-campus rent, this is at the discretion of the school and policies in place by the school.  Checks will only be sent directly to the school, and it will be up to the school to determine whether to release funds to the student.

Freedom Alliance will mail one check per calendar year to the school you are enrolled in at that time. 

The Freedom Alliance Scholarship is a grant.

The Scholarship is not a full ride.  It covers a portion of a student’s tuition and expenses. The specific amount will depend on each individual student’s need.  We will also take into account other financial aid that a student may be receiving. 

The Freedom Alliance Scholarship is renewable for up to three years, for a total of four scholarships.  Depending on when the scholarship was awarded during the calendar year, a student will receive an email with steps toward renewing either in the spring or the fall.  The award check is an annual award, so a student is only required to complete renewal documentation one time per year.

You may transfer the Freedom Alliance Scholarship, but you must contact the Freedom Alliance office to notify us of where you are transferring to and when it will take effect. You will then be informed of what steps need to take place to finalize the transfer.

A scholarship award check will only be issued to your school.  If your school policies allow for release of funds toward off-campus housing, your scholarship may be used toward that.  Please check with your school financial aid office regarding policies and procedures for releasing funds toward off-campus housing.

The short answer is:  Maybe.  The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund will only send scholarship checks directly to schools.  Some schools located outside of the United States will not accept a check from the U.S.  Please verify with your school whether a U.S. check will be accepted.  Regrettably, if the school will not accept the check, we are unable to provide the scholarship.

In order to assist as many students as possible, a Freedom Alliance Scholarship may only be applied to a student’s first bachelor’s degree program.  

The Freedom Alliance Scholarship is only for use toward undergraduate, trade, and vocational programs.

To apply, you must visit www.fascholarship.com and follow the instructions on how to apply online through our website.