Fry Scholarship: Eligibility, Payments, and How to Apply

The Fry Scholarship provides up to 36 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to the children and surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001.¹ It pays tuition, a monthly housing allowance, and a book stipend at the same level as the full Post-9/11 GI Bill. For the 2025–2026 academic year, the private school tuition cap is $29,920.95, and recipients at public schools pay nothing out of pocket for in-state tuition and fees.²

Who Qualifies

Eligibility comes from the service member’s death, not their length of service. The member must have died in the line of duty while serving on or after September 11, 2001.³ That covers deaths during active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty training. Members of the Selected Reserve who died while in a qualifying duty status are also covered. The VA confirms line-of-duty status through official military casualty records, and deaths caused by the member’s own willful misconduct do not qualify.

Two categories of dependents can receive benefits:

Children qualify once they turn 18, graduate from high school, or earn a GED, whichever comes first. Marriage does not end a child’s eligibility.¹
Surviving spouses qualify based on the line-of-duty death. Remarriage does not end a spouse’s eligibility for the Fry Scholarship.¹

How Long You Have to Use It

For children, the parent’s date of death sets the deadline. If your parent died before January 1, 2013, eligibility expires on your 33rd birthday, with one exception: if you turned 18, graduated high school, or earned your GED on or after January 1, 2013, the time limit disappears entirely.⁴ If your parent died on or after January 1, 2013, there is no time limit at all.¹

Surviving spouses previously had 15 years to use the benefit. That restriction has since eased. If your Fry Scholarship benefits expired before you could use them, the VA may restore them for use any time after January 2, 2025, even if you have remarried. Reapply using VA Form 22-5490 to get benefits restored.⁵

What the Scholarship Pays For

Tuition and Fees

At public colleges and universities, the VA pays full in-state tuition and mandatory fees regardless of where you actually live, so you may qualify for in-state rates even as an out-of-state student.² At private and foreign schools, the VA covers tuition and fees up to $29,920.95 per academic year for 2025–2026.⁶

If your private school’s tuition exceeds that cap, the Yellow Ribbon Program may cover the difference through matching funds from the school and VA. Fry Scholarship recipients have been eligible for Yellow Ribbon since August 1, 2018.⁷

Monthly Housing Allowance

Recipients enrolled at least half-time receive a Monthly Housing Allowance based on the Department of Defense Basic Allowance for Housing rate for an E-5 with dependents in the zip code where the school is located.² The rate varies widely by location and is adjusted each August. Students enrolled exclusively in online courses receive a reduced allowance of up to $1,169 per month, based on half the national average.⁶ Taking even one class in person can qualify you for the higher location-based rate.

Books, Supplies, and Other Costs

The VA provides up to $1,000 per academic year for books and supplies, paid at the start of each term.² The scholarship also reimburses up to $2,000 for qualifying licensing and certification test fees during the 2025–2026 benefit year. Additional covered costs include tutorial assistance, national exam fees, licensing prep courses, work-study programs, and relocation expenses for students moving from rural areas to attend school.¹

Apprenticeships and On-the-Job Training

The scholarship is not limited to classroom programs. Recipients in apprenticeships or on-the-job training receive a prorated housing allowance based on hours worked each month, plus the same $1,000 annual book stipend.⁸

Choosing Between the Fry Scholarship and DEA

If you qualify for both the Fry Scholarship and the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program (DEA, or Chapter 35), you must choose one. That choice is permanent and cannot be changed.⁹

In most cases the Fry Scholarship is worth significantly more because it pays full tuition plus a housing allowance, while DEA pays a flat monthly rate. The decision involves more than the education benefit itself, though. Under federal law, once a child over 18 begins using Fry Scholarship benefits, subsequent Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments based on the parent’s death are permanently barred.⁹ If you currently receive DIC while attending school, switching to the Fry Scholarship means giving up those monthly DIC payments for good. That trade-off is usually worth it for a student attending a four-year university with significant tuition, but run the numbers before signing the form.

One narrow exception exists. Children whose parent died before August 1, 2011, may be eligible for both programs, though not at the same time, and their combined benefits are capped at 81 months of full-time training.

How to Apply

Applications go through VA Form 22-5490, the Dependents’ Application for VA Education Benefits.¹⁰ Before starting, gather:

The service member’s Social Security number or VA file number
Your Social Security number and contact details
Bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit
Your school’s facility code, program name, and intended start date

The fastest option is the VA.gov online portal, which generates an immediate digital receipt. You can also print and mail the form to the Regional Processing Office for your school’s area; if you mail it, use a method with delivery confirmation. Processing generally takes 30 to 45 days during peak enrollment periods.

After approval, the VA mails a Certificate of Eligibility that shows your total months of entitlement. Bring that certificate to your school’s certifying official so they can activate your payments and submit enrollment certification each semester. If you are eligible for both the Fry Scholarship and DEA, the application form is where you make your irrevocable choice between the two, so be certain before submitting.

Verifying Enrollment Every Month

Approval alone does not keep your housing allowance flowing. Fry Scholarship recipients must verify enrollment every month to continue receiving the MHA.¹¹ Each verification confirms your credit or clock hours and the start and end dates of your enrollment for that month. Miss one and the housing payment stops until you complete it.

You can verify online through the VA.gov tool using a Login.gov or ID.me account, by text message if you opt in when you start your program, by responding to the monthly verification email the VA sends if you have not opted into text, or by calling 888-442-4551 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET. Text verification is the easiest to stay on top of. Late verifications are the single most common reason students see gaps in their housing payments.

Using State Tuition Waivers Alongside the Fry Scholarship

Many states offer their own tuition waivers for dependents of service members killed in action. These programs typically waive 100% of tuition at public in-state colleges but generally do not cover housing, books, or fees beyond tuition. Eligibility, residency rules, and covered institutions vary by state.

You can sometimes use both a state waiver and the Fry Scholarship. The VA pays net tuition, meaning the amount remaining after scholarships and waivers, so a state waiver that zeroes out your tuition bill drops the VA’s tuition payment to zero for that term. You still receive the full housing allowance, book stipend, and other non-tuition benefits. Contact your state veterans affairs office and your school’s certifying official to see how the benefits interact at your institution.

Tax Treatment

Every dollar you receive through the Fry Scholarship is tax-free at the federal level. That includes tuition payments, housing allowance, book stipends, licensing test reimbursements, and work-study earnings.¹² Do not report these payments as income on your tax return.

One wrinkle catches people off guard. If you claim education tax credits like the American Opportunity Credit, you must subtract any VA benefit payments made directly to you from your total education expenses. Payments the VA sends straight to your school do not reduce your eligible expenses for tax credit purposes.

1
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Fry Scholarship
2
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Fry Scholarship Rates
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 3311 – Educational Assistance for Service in the Armed Forces Commencing on or After September 11, 2001
4
eCFR. 38 CFR 21.9530 – Eligibility Time Limit
5
MyArmyBenefits. Fry Scholarship – Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship
6
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) Rates
7
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Yellow Ribbon Program Frequently Asked Questions
8
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Future Rates for Fry Scholarship
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 3322 – Bar to Duplication of Educational Assistance Benefits
10
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Form 22-5490 – Dependents Application for VA Education Benefits
11
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Verify Your School Enrollment
12
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. How VA Education Benefit Payments Affect Your Taxes