Army ROTC & Air Force ROTC Scholarships
U.S. Army Cadet Command (Army ROTC) / U.S. Air Force ROTC (Department of the Air Force)
Tuition and fees (or a room-and-board option) plus monthly stipends and book money, in exchange for serving as an officer after college
- How much
- Army: tuition & fees or room & board + $420/month + $1,200/yr books. Air Force: capped or uncapped tuition (or up to $10,000/yr housing) + $900/yr books + $300-$500/month
- Who qualifies
- ARMY: age 17 to under 31 in the year of commissioning; HS diploma or equivalent; unweighted HS GPA 2.50+ if applying in high school; SAT or ACT taken; pass the fitness assessment; meet waist-to-height standards. AIR FORCE: SAT 1310 / ACT 28 / CLT 93 (no superscores; ACT science section required); unweighted GPA 3.3+; DoDMERB medical exam; fitness assessment; must keep a 2.5 GPA once selected. min_gpa shows the lower (Army) floor.
- For high school seniors, students starting college, undergrads
- For any (AFROTC lists 'highly desired' majors) students
- U.S. citizen (AFROTC: citizenship can be obtained by the end of the first term of freshman year)
- When to apply
- Open now · due January 18, 2027 Army high school scholarship: opens mid-June; national board rounds due Oct 12, 2026, Jan 18, 2027, and Mar 8, 2027 (must start by Mar 4, 2027). AFROTC high school scholarship: window July 1-Dec 11, 2026 for 2027-28 entry
- How to apply
- Army: create an account in the Army ROTC scholarship application and contact the Recruiting Operations Officer at your chosen school
- Air Force: create a WINGS account and complete the application (counselor certification, transcript, fitness assessment, SAT/ACT/CLT scores)
- What you'll need
- transcript + test scores + interview
- Last checked
- October 20, 2026, against the official page (goarmy.com), page 2, page 3, page 4 and page 5
The details
ARMY ROTC: merit-based scholarships at 1,000+ participating schools covering either tuition and fees or room and board, plus $420 a month during the school year and $1,200 a year for books. Service obligation: eight years (active duty and/or Army Reserve/National Guard, depending on the scholarship); you can leave after freshman year without obligation. AIR FORCE ROTC: capped and uncapped tuition scholarships (type and amount set at award); you can convert to a room scholarship paying up to $10,000 a year for on-campus or university-billed housing; $900 a year for books; monthly stipend $300 (freshman), $350 (sophomore), $450 (junior), $500 (senior). Commission in the Air Force or Space Force and serve at least four years on active duty. In-college options: AFROTC In-College Scholarship Program for freshmen and sophomores; Army ROTC scholarships for college students.
More federal and national aid
- QuestBridge National College Matchfull four-year scholarship to a partner college (worth $360,000+; tuition, room/board, no loans)
- Jack Kent Cooke College Scholarship Programup to $55,000/yr for up to 4 years (last-dollar after institutional aid)
- Davidson Fellows Scholarship$100,000, $50,000, or $25,000 (one-time)
- Burger King Scholars Program$1,000 to $60,000 (most general-track awards $1,000 or $5,000; up to three $60,000 James W. McLamore WHOPPER Scholarships)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)$37,000/yr stipend + $16,000/yr cost-of-education allowance to the school, for 3 years
Keep looking
We list programs; we don't decide who gets them. Always check the official page before you apply. Spot something wrong? Tell us.