Wings Over America Scholarship: A Comprehensive Guide

The Wings Over America Scholarship Foundation annually sponsors scholarships to support the postsecondary education of Navy dependents within the aviation community. These scholarships, typically amounting to $5,000, are designed to assist eligible students and spouses in achieving their educational goals. Some of these scholarships are renewable, offering continued financial support throughout the recipient's academic journey.

Permitted Use of Scholarship Funds

Scholarships awarded by the Wings Over America Scholarship Foundation can be utilized for various educational pursuits, including trade school certifications, community college programs, and four-year university/college undergraduate studies. Specifically, the scholarship funds are designated for tuition and mandatory fees only at an accredited institution.

Selection Criteria

Recipients of the Wings Over America Scholarship are selected based on a holistic review process that considers several factors:

Scholastic Merit: Academic performance and potential are key considerations.
Community Service: Involvement and contributions to the community are highly valued.
Extra-Curricular Activities: Participation in activities outside of academics demonstrates well-roundedness.
Character: The applicant's integrity, leadership qualities, and overall character are assessed.

To ensure fairness and impartiality, all applicant's personal information is redacted to ensure a blind selection process.

Eligibility Criteria: Who Can Apply?

The Wings Over America Scholarship Foundation has specific eligibility requirements for both dependent children and dependent spouses.

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Dependent Children Candidates

To be eligible as a dependent child, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be an unmarried, natural-born, adopted, or stepchild of eligible Navy personnel. The applicant must be up to the age of 23 of the application year.
Be a graduate or graduating senior of an accredited high school or homeschool equivalent.
Be a current college or trade school student.
Be enrolled or plan to be enrolled in an accredited institution as a full-time student, taking a minimum of 12 credits per semester.

Dependent Spouse Candidates

To be eligible as a dependent spouse, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be enrolled or plan to be enrolled in an accredited institution.
Be a full-time or part-time student, taking a minimum of 6 credits per semester.

General Eligibility Notes

Applicants may be dependent children and spouses of active duty, retired, honorably discharged, or deceased Enlisted or Officer U. S. Navy personnel who serve or have served in U. S. Navy Aviation. High school senior students may apply. Navy aviation command may qualify regardless of length of service of the deceased sponsor. Navy aviation community.

Restrictions on Eligibility

Certain circumstances may render an applicant ineligible for the Wings Over America Scholarship:

Full Coverage by Other Scholarships: If an applicant's tuition and mandatory fees are fully covered by other scholarships from their institution, ROTC, or Post 9/11 Bill/Yellow Ribbon benefits, they are ineligible to receive a scholarship.
Service Academies: Students attending service academies are also ineligible.

Application Process

The Wings Over America Scholarship Foundation provides clear instructions for the scholarship process. It is crucial to read and understand all instructions before beginning the application.

The pre-qualification opens on October 1, with a deadline for pre-qualification on February 1. The final deadline for application is on March 1. Applications and supporting materials will ONLY be accepted electronically via the Community Force platform.

Additional Scholarship Opportunities

While the Wings Over America Scholarship is a valuable resource, several other scholarship opportunities are available to students seeking financial aid for their education.

"Be Bold" Scholarship

The "Be Bold" Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship that will be awarded to the applicant with the boldest profile. It is open to all residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, age 17 or older at the time of entry. Employees and contractors of LeverEdge Association are ineligible to participate in the Scholarship Program.

Scholarships360 "No Essay" Scholarship

The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education.

Christian Connector Scholarship

The Christian Connector offers various scholarship drawings for Christian/Faith Based colleges and universities.

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StudentScholarships.org Scholarship

Anyone between the ages of 14-25 who will be attending school in the Fall of 2026 may be eligible for a scholarship provided by StudentScholarships.org.

National Black Nurses Association Scholarship

The National Black Nurses Association offers scholarships to students at all levels (LPN to Doctorate).

Maritime Patrol Association Scholarship

Funded by the MPA, this scholarship is available to all dependents of Navy personnel who currently or formerly served in the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance community. Scholarship money may be used for any college expenses. Eligible commands include: Active Units - VP-1, VP-4, VP-5, VP-8, VP-9, VP-10, VP-16, VP-26, VP-30, VP-40, VP-45, VP-46, VP-47, VP-62 (res), VP-69 (res), VX-1, VX-20, VX-30, VXS-1, VQ-1, VPU-2, VUP-11, VUP-19, CPRW-2, CPRW-10, CPRW-11, CPRG, CTF-57, CTF-67 and CTF-72. Disestablished Units - VP-6, VP-11, VP-17, VP-19, VP-22, VP-23, VP-24, VP-31, VP-48, VP-49, VP-50, VP-56, VP-60, VP-64, VP-65, VP-66, VP-67, VP-68, VP-90, VP-91, VP-92, VP-93, VP-94, VQ-2, VPU-1 and CPRW-5. Eligibility: Applicant's sponsor must be a member of the Maritime Patrol Association. All eligibility requirements for WOASF (8 year aviation requirement) must also be met.

Anchor Scholarship Foundation

Anchor scholarships are awarded based upon an equal weighting of academic performance, character, extracurricular activities and financial need. ALL recipients must submit the Anchor Scholarship application to be considered for ANY of these scholarships.

Chief Petty Officer Scholarship Fund (CPOSF)

Approximately 30-40 new scholarships are awarded each year. All scholars are selected on the basis of academic proficiency as well as commitment and excellence in school and community activities. Although not a part of the actual selection process, financial need is considered once all financial aid assistance for an applicant has been determined.

Tailhook Educational Foundation (TEF) scholarship

TEF’s scholarship committee, consisting of about 10 board members and academic professionals, reviews the 500-600 applications for several weeks. The more than 100 scholarship awardees receive notification in May of their selection to receive a TEF grant for the upcoming academic year. Applicants are eligible to receive scholarships each year they are enrolled in an accredited undergraduate program. However, they must apply and compete for a TEF scholarship each year. By June, the awardees are assigned to a specific scholarship, with our highest scoring awardees receiving TEF’s top valued scholarships. TEF issues the grant checks to each student via their school bursar office in August.

Non-Discrimination Policy

The Wings Over America Scholarship Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, gender expression, national or ethnic origin, disability, religion, or sexual orientation in the administration of any of its educational policies, programs, and operations.

Maintaining Eligibility

Should the scholarship recipient fail to maintain the required criteria (ex: dropping out) the scholarship award must be returned or reimbursed to the Foundation.

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