BVA’s Kathern F. Gruber scholarships are available to spouses, dependent children, and grandchildren of blind and low vision veterans to assist them with their higher education tuition. These military dependent scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit through an application process that is evaluated by a committee. The Gruber scholarships for veterans’ dependents are for one year only but recipients can re-apply and receive the award up to four times. The blind or low vision veteran family member is not required to be a BVA member for the spouse, child, or grandchild to receive a scholarship.
The Kathern F. Gruber Scholarship Program was established to support and assist spouses, children, and grandchildren of blind and low vision veterans. Successful applicants for the scholarships have demonstrated excellence in their past academic work and promising potential for achievement in higher education pursuits. The selection criteria for awarding the scholarships are merit-based with candidates evaluated by a committee.
The Gruber scholarships for veterans’ dependents are for one year only but recipients can re-apply and receive the award up to four times during their academic careers. The recipient’s spouse, parent, or grandparent is not required to be a member of the Blinded Veterans Association to be eligible for the scholarships.
Annual scholarship details are announced in December of each year for the subsequent academic year beginning in the fall. The announcement includes detailed instructions, an application form, and the press release that announces the number of scholarships available for the upcoming year and their corresponding dollar amounts.
The scholarships must be used to defray a student’s cost of expenses for tuition, books, or other academic fees and are payable directly to the institution at the beginning of the fall and spring terms of study. At the time of application, candidates must have already been accepted for admission or be attending an undergraduate or graduate program at an accredited institution of higher education or business, secretarial, or vocational training schools as a full-time student.
All submissions for scholarships must be postmarked on or before Tuesday, April 30, 2024, and directed to:
Blinded Veterans Association
Attn: Scholarship Committee
PO Box 90770
Washington, DC 20090
The Scholarship Committee meets in early June to make scholarship determinations. For additional assistance or information, contact BVA at 202-371-8880 or at scholarship@bva.org.
BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED FOR 2024-25
BVA will award five total higher education scholarships for the 2024-25 academic year under the Kathern F. Gruber program for $2,000 each.
Dependent children, grandchildren, and spouses of blind and low vision veterans, and those of active-duty blind and low vision service members of the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible for the scholarships. The veteran or active-duty service member must be eligible to receive Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Blind Rehabilitation Service (BRS) as defined within Directive 1174, Blind and Visual Impairment Rehabilitation Continuum of Care (including any future updates or revisions). Membership in BVA by the blinded veteran is not required.
Additionally, to be eligible for one of the scholarships, an applicant must have been accepted for admission, or already be enrolled, as a full-time student in an accredited institution of higher education, or business, secretarial, or vocational training school.
The scholarships are intended to be used to defray a student’s educational expenses, including tuition, books, and other academic fees. Scholarship payments will be made by BVA directly to the educational institution.
Scholarships will be awarded on a “most-highly-qualified” basis utilizing the following criteria: answers to questions in the application form; transcripts of high school and/or college records; three letters of reference; and a 300-word-essay on the applicant’s lifetime educational or career goals and aspirations, as well as past awards and achievements.
Each scholarship is awarded for one year only and the number of scholarships recipients may receive under each program is limited to four.
The Scholarship Committee will choose five total recipients and two alternates.
Applications for the scholarships and additional information may be obtained by emailing scholarship@bva.org.
To qualify for the 2024-25 academic year, applicants must send completed applications and supporting materials so that they arrive at BVA National Headquarters (mailing address is included on application form) by Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
Due to time constraints related to processing the applications for the Scholarship Committee’s review, applications arriving after the deadline will not be accepted. Incomplete applications will not be submitted to the Scholarship Committee. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure a complete application.
