What we provide
More than a scholarship.
An NGS scholarship is more than tuition. It's a full financial commitment paired with mentorship, coaching, and a community that walks with you to graduation and beyond — because NGS is a relational organization, not a transactional one.
The full cost of getting there.
NGS funding covers tuition and fees at public in-state rates, room and board, books, and special equipment — plus other necessary expenses, financial counseling, and academic advising. It is needs-based: built around the true cost of your education after every other source of support is applied.
It can fund a bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or a trade-school certificate from an approved institution, and it can extend to study abroad and internships. Many Scholars earn their undergraduate degree debt-free even at a private or out-of-state school.
Patterned on the GI Bill. Built around you.
The scholarship is modeled on the Post-9/11 GI Bill — the education benefit earned through military service — and shaped to your family's exact situation. The goal is simple: minimize or eliminate student debt, and help you graduate from the school that's right for you.
We calculate your need
Each award is individualized. We start by adding up government benefits, financial aid, and any other scholarships you've earned — then we measure the gap that's left between that and the true cost of your degree.
We close the gap
NGS funds the unmet cost — up to the full price of a public, in-state degree — so the bill that would otherwise fall on your family is covered. Many Scholars graduate debt-free even at a private or out-of-state school.
We stay with you to the finish
The scholarship is patterned on the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33, the education benefit earned through military service) and covers up to four years — 36 months — of approved education, paired with mentorship and coaching the whole way.
We advocate for your dream school
NGS is relationship-driven, not transactional. We advocate to help you attend the institution that's right for you — and we keep the goal simple: graduate debt-free from your dream school, whether that's a university, a community college, or a trade program.
Support that comes in layers.
What sets NGS apart is the relationship. Every Scholar is supported through connected layers — the educational scholarship itself, personalized mentorship and coaching, and integrated resourcing — and through it all, a team that knows your name.
Mentorship and coaching build confidence, independence, and resilience. One-on-one coaching uses structured methods to help Scholars discover their own academic and career insights, develop self-advocacy, and learn to manage their finances — the skills that carry a young person well past graduation day.
Layer one — mentorship & coaching
A mentor and a coach.
One-on-one coaching that surfaces your own academic and career insights, community-building events, advocacy, College Prep resources, and our annual BootCamp. Coaching builds the skills that outlast any single semester: self-advocacy, financial management, confidence, and resilience.
Layer two — integrated resourcing
A plan, and a network.
Tutoring as you need it, career-readiness resources, networking, LinkedIn profile help, and referrals to partner support organizations — the practical scaffolding that turns a degree into a career, and connects your family to help beyond the classroom.
Where the plan takes shape.
Every incoming freshman cohort gathers in Washington, D.C. for BootCamp — a multi-day, college-prep experience. Working one-on-one with NGS staff, each Scholar builds a personalized Roadmap: a guide to the academic and financial year ahead.
From there, BootCamp layers on individualized coaching, intensive workshops, and industry-leading career-planning seminars. Scholars sharpen resumes and bios, gain self-awareness through CliftonStrengths coaching, and hear practical college-and-career guidance straight from NGS alumni who have walked the same road.
And families come too. BootCamp hosts events for Gold Star families, Veterans, and caregivers — so the community that forms there reaches the whole family, not just the Scholar.
Ready before you arrive.
For Scholars accepted before senior year, the College Prep Package funds the runway to college: campus visits, standardized-test registration and prep, application fees, and coaching and financial advising.
It's part of how NGS works to break the cycle of generational hardship that war can leave behind — lifting the burden of paying for higher education off families who have already given so much. By the time you step on campus, you already have a plan — and people who know your name.
We embrace the whole family.
NGS is built on trust and relationships — with and among Scholars and their families. We collaborate on a tailored academic and financial roadmap, combining federal and state benefits, financial aid, and other scholarships with NGS support so Scholars graduate debt-free, and we foster community through events like BootCamp.
When we can, we embrace the entire family: we listen for needs that have nothing to do with tuition, and we draw on relationships with other veteran-service organizations to connect families to the right help. When we support a Scholar, we work to support the family standing behind them.
A full undergraduate degree now costs roughly $96,000 before other aid. For NGS Scholars, that gap is closed — and the path is shared from the first campus visit to the day they graduate.
Questions & answers
Frequently asked questions
See if you're eligible.
Eligibility begins with the children — from birth to age 26 — of a Service member who fell or was severely wounded in the post-9/11 conflicts. If that's your family, your education shouldn't add to the burden. Start by confirming you're eligible.