Military & Service FamiliesLong shot

Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans

Offered by Florida Department of Education with the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs · Free to apply

Award

Full tuition and registration fees at Florida public institutions; a matching fixed amount at eligible private institutions

renewable in later years

Deadline

April 1, 2027

deadlines recur around April each year

Selection data

Not published

the provider publishes no counts

Application effort

~2 hrs

the time this application takes

Florida pays full tuition and registration fees at its public colleges and universities for children and spouses of veterans who died of service-connected causes, are rated one hundred percent permanently and totally disabled from service-connected causes, or are classified prisoner of war or missing in action. At private Florida institutions it pays a fixed amount matching the average public tuition. This is an entitlement written into chapter 295 of Florida law, not a competition: qualify and file on time, and the state pays. The veteran's Florida connection is what qualifies the family, through Florida as the military home of record or through Florida residency, certified by the state veterans' affairs department. Children apply between sixteen and twenty-two, and a student who starts on time can finish a four-year course even after turning twenty-three.

How hard is the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans to win?

A large applicant pool chases this award. Apply if the student is a genuinely strong fit, but build the plan around better-odds awards first. The provider does not publish applicant or winner counts, so Solyo shows no odds figure for this award.

Odds: not published by the provider
Paperwork: ~2 hrs to file

What drives the odds here

Odds on a scholarship are mostly a question of how many students can enter. Each rule below changes the size of that field.

Fewer rivalsOpen only to Florida residents
More rivalsA large award draws far more applicants

How Solyo estimates this: We model the applicant field from how narrow the eligibility rules are, then divide the awards available by that field. Requirements such as essays and recommendation letters improve a serious applicant’s odds, because most browsers never complete them. These are estimates derived from each award's published structure, not reported acceptance rates, which almost no scholarship provider discloses. Treat them as a way to rank where the hours go, not as a guarantee.

Who can apply for the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans?

These are the eligibility rules Solyo verified against the official award page, translated into plain English. Your student must meet each one.

Must be a resident of Florida
Open to high school seniors and current college students
Open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents (green card)

Confirm these before applying

The qualifying veteran died of service-connected causes on active duty, OR holds a 100% permanent and total service-connected disability rating, OR is classified POW or MIA. The disability route qualifies just as fully as the death route; do not assume this is only for Gold Star families.
The veteran's Florida nexus: Florida as the official military home of record immediately before the qualifying event, or Florida residency. The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs certifies this from the application.
Children: initial eligibility between ages 16 and 22 (apply before the 23rd birthday; a four-year course can be finished after 22). Spouses: an unremarried surviving spouse within five years of the death, or a spouse married at least one year to a qualifying disabled veteran. Student must be a Florida resident with no prior bachelor's degree.
File the Florida Financial Aid Application, which opens October 1, error-free by the April 1 priority date, answering the veteran questions with the veteran's information so certification can happen.

What the application takes

No essay, recommendation letters, or transcript are required. This is one of the lighter applications in the directory.

Deadline and application cycle

The current deadline is April 1, 2027. This award runs on an annual cycle, with deadlines around April 1 each year. Applications open October 1. April 1 is a priority date, not a hard cutoff: applications after it are funded first come as money allows, so filing inside the window is what guarantees the entitlement behaves like one.

Applications open: October 1, 2026
Applications close: April 1, 2027

Apply on the official site →Free to apply. Legitimate scholarships never charge a fee.

Does your student actually qualify?

See if your student qualifies in 30 seconds. Solyo checks 20+ criteria against their real profile: GPA, state, grade level, intended major, and more, across every award in this directory at once.

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Common questions about the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans

How much is the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans worth?

The Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans awards full tuition and registration fees at Florida public institutions; a matching fixed amount at eligible private institutions and is renewable in later years.

When is the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans deadline?

When do Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans applications open?

Applications open October 1, and close April 1, 2027. April 1 is a priority date, not a hard cutoff: applications after it are funded first come as money allows, so filing inside the window is what guarantees the entitlement behaves like one.

Who is eligible for the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans?

Key requirements: Must be a resident of Florida; Open to high school seniors and current college students; Open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents (green card).

Does the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans require an essay?

No essay is required. The application is light on requirements. Expect to spend about 2 hours on it.

How hard is it to win the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans?

Is the Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans free to apply?

Yes. The Florida Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans is free to apply. Legitimate scholarships never charge an application fee, and Solyo verifies every listed award against its official page.

More military & service families

Lists this award appears on

Award details are curated by Solyo and verified against the official scholarship page. Deadlines and requirements can change between cycles, so always confirm on the provider's site before applying.