Can Military Fiancée Apply for Spouse Scholarship?

Written by Sally Rubenstone | June 11, 2013

Question: I'm newly engaged to a U.S. Marine. I went to fastweb.com to apply for any last minute scholarships. It asks military status, so should I go ahead and put spouse or civilian?

Nothing you enter in the FastWeb questionnaire is “binding." This means that you can indicate that you are a military spouse and then see what comes up. However, when it's time to actually apply for a scholarship and to receive one, you will have to be already legally married and able to prove it, if the scholarship is intended for military wives or husbands.

But, for now, go ahead and call yourself a spouse just to see what options could be available and what you would have to do to get them. But, in doing so, you must clearly understand that you cannot apply for these scholarships until you are officially married. Depending on the timeline (when the scholarship winner will be determined and when you expect to be wed), you may—or may not—be able to go ahead and file a scholarship application once you've identified the possibilities.

Happy hunting and best wishes to you on your engagement!

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.

Just one more step to start saving colleges!

Can Military Fiancée Apply for Spouse Scholarship?

Sally Rubenstone

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