Basic Eligibility for Children of Veterans

Basic Eligibility for Children of Veterans:

Indiana Code 21-14-4-1

1. Veteran parent must have served in the Armed Forces of the United States during a war OR performed equally hazardous duty that was recognized by the award of a Service or Campaign Medal of the United States (i.e., Expeditionary Medal). This includes service in a reserve or National Guard component as long as the veteran was actively attending drill and annual training.

Eligible Wartime dates are:

WWII: December 7, 1941 -  December 31, 1946

Korea: June 27, 1950 - Jan 31, 1955

Vietnam: Aug 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975

Gulf War: August 2, 1990 - present

2. Veteran must have been rated for a service-connected disability by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 0% - 100%

3. Veteran Parent must have either entered the Armed Forces from an Indiana home of record address (noted on DD214) OR resided in Indiana for 5 years. (Applicants Must include this evidence with the Scholar Track Application.)
If the veteran's DD214 does not show an Indiana Home of Record at the time of entry, or the DD214 is not uploaded with the application in Scholar Track, please include evidence that the veteran's parent has resided in Indiana for at least 5 years.  We can consider an unofficial Indiana Driver's record for this purpose, and these can be obtained for free on the BMV web page, CLICK HERE.  We can also consider Property records that show transfer history, rental agreements, W2's with Indiana addresses. 

4. Student must be the biological child of the veteran OR adopted by the veteran before reaching their 18th birthday. Stepchildren are not eligible.

5. Students must first apply and be eligible prior to reaching their 33rd birthday

6.  Approved students must be eligible to pay the Indiana resident tuition rate to use this exemption.  This is determined by the school.

All students must use the education cost exemption within eight (8) academic years of using the exemption for the first time, regardless of the veteran's initial enlistment date. However, to minimize the impact of this, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education is grandfathering students who first used the educational cost exemption before July 1, 2011, until students use the exemption again after June 30, 2017. Once these grandfathered students use the exemption after June 30, 2017, they will have eight academic years to use the remaining exemption.

Beginning July 1, 2020, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the state educational institution.

The list of State Supported Schools for these state aid programs is as follows:
Ball State
Indiana State University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Fort Wayne 
Indiana University East
Indiana University Kokomo
Indiana University South Bend
Indiana University Northwest
Indiana University Southeast
Purdue University West Lafayette
Purdue University Northwest (Hammond)
Purdue University Northwest (Westville)
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Purdue University Indianapolis 
Purdue Global
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (Becoming IU Indianapolis July 2024)
Indiana University Purdue University Columbus (Becoming IU Columbus July 2024)
Ivy Tech Community College (all Campuses)
University of Southern Indiana
Vincennes University
Western Governors University (WGU) INDIANA

NEW INFORMATION for 2023 High School Graduates and future high school graduates
For Students that graduated high school on January 1, 2023, and later:
The Tuition and Fee Exemption for Children of Disabled Veterans or Purple Heart Recipients provides an annual award of up to $5,000 of tuition and regularly assessed fees at Indiana private, non-profit colleges and universities at the undergraduate resident tuition rate. (SEE LIST BELOW) Indiana Code 21-7-13-6

There are four State Aid Programs for Tuition and Fee Exemption that IDVA determines eligibility for through Scholar Track.
Students must be eligible to pay the resident tuition rate for state-supported schools in Indiana to use these state aid programs. 
For children of Veterans that have graduated from high school from January 2023 and forward the award can be used at Indiana private, non-profit colleges and universities at the undergraduate resident tuition rate. The annual award shall not exceed $5000 per academic year toward tuition cost at private, non-profit schools.