Getting started
How to apply.
Applying to No Greater Sacrifice starts with a single email. Here's who qualifies, when the window opens, the steps from inquiry to acceptance, and what happens after a Scholar is selected — so your family can take the first step with confidence.
One cycle a year — next opens January 2027.
The 2026 Selection Process is closed. The next Selection Process is expected to open in January 2027.
Each year, the application window typically opens in January. Selection follows a fixed annual cycle rather than a rolling one, so timing matters — reach out early, and we'll make sure you're ready when the window opens.
There is also no wrong age to apply. NGS makes two kinds of awards: immediate-use scholarships for Scholars already attending an undergraduate program, and Future Use scholarships for children from infancy through 12th grade — selected now, with the scholarship held until they reach college. A family does not have to wait until senior year to begin.
From inquiry to acceptance.
The path from your first email to a place in the cohort is short and clear. Here is what each step asks of you.
Confirm you qualify
Start by reviewing the eligibility criteria. NGS supports dependent children, from birth up to age 26, of a Service member who, while serving after 9/11/2001, fell in the line of duty or was wounded, ill, or injured. Meeting the criteria does not guarantee selection, but knowing where your family stands before you begin makes everything that follows simpler.
Check eligibility firstRequest your Eligibility Application
Email info@nogreatersacrifice.org for the full eligibility requirements, more about the scholarship, and to request an Eligibility Application — the form that opens your family's file with NGS. A real person reads every inquiry; you are not filing into a void.
Email to request an applicationSubmit by April 1
Complete and return your Eligibility Application before the deadline. The application window typically opens in January each year. Because selection follows a fixed annual cycle rather than a rolling one, applications received after the window closes wait for the next year's window — so reach out early and give yourself room.
Selection
After the window closes, NGS reviews every applicant and selects the year's Scholars on a fixed annual cycle. Once a Scholar is selected, they never have to reapply: the commitment carries all the way to a debt-free degree.
See everything we provide
Scholarships
Start the conversation
Have a question about applying, or want us to walk you through it? Send a note — there's a real person on the other end.
Selected Scholars get a team.
Selection is the beginning, not the end. Recipients and their families receive education and benefits counseling, personalized mentorship, and university coordination support — and they're connected to a network of relationships for families navigating the aftermath of service.
Through the Mentorship and Coaching Program, Scholars gain one-on-one coaching, academic advising, and financial counseling, plus a College Prep Package that funds campus visits, standardized test registration and test prep, and application fees. The scholarship itself covers what financial aid leaves behind: tuition and fees, room and board, books and special equipment, and other necessary expenses — toward a bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or a trade-school certificate.
Together, you build a plan with one aim: carrying each Scholar to a degree, debt-free, even at a private or out-of-state school. And once a Scholar is selected, they never have to reapply.
The finish line is a debt-free degree.
Every step of this process points to one moment: a Scholar walking across the stage, diploma in hand, with no student debt waiting on the other side. That is the promise NGS makes when a family is selected, and it is the promise that carries through to graduation — even at a private or out-of-state university.
Applying is how that begins. If your family meets the criteria, an email is all it takes to open the door. We will be on the other side of it, ready to help.
Questions & answers
Frequently asked questions
Your Scholar's story starts here.
If your family meets the criteria, an email is all it takes to open the door — and selection runs once a year, so reach out early. Unsure whether you qualify or what to send? We'll walk you through it.