The General Henry H. Arnold Education Grant Program provides grants based on need to full-time college undergraduates who are dependent children of active duty, Title 10 Reserve and Guard on extended active duty; Title 32 Guard performing full-time active duty through December 1 of the academic year; retired due to length of active duty service or disability; Retired AGR/Reserve with 20+ satisfactory service years creditable for retired pay and placed on the Air Force or Space Force Reserve Retired List (no other retired classifications are considered eligible); deceased member who died while on active duty or in retired status. Spouses of active duty; Title 10 Reserve and Guard on extended active duty; Title 32 Guard performing full-time active duty through December 1 of the academic year; and surviving spouses of Air Force and Space Force members who died while on active duty or in retired status are also eligible to compete for these grants.

Costs covered under this grant include: Tuition, books, fees, supplies and curriculum-required materials. Room and board are not covered as they are subject to taxation.

Air Force Aid Society (AFAS) education support and tuition assistance is available to dependent children of Title 10 Reserve on extended active duty; deceased member who died while on active duty; spouses of Title 10 Reserve on extended active duty; and surviving spouses of Air Force and Space Force members who died while on active duty are also eligible to compete for these grants.

The General Henry H. Arnold Education Grant program, also known as the Hap Arnold Grant, is the centerpiece of AFAS education support. The application process for the Arnold Education Grant serves as the platform for other key education support opportunities at AFAS.

Grants based on need are awarded to eligible Air Force dependents each year. The specific amount awarded correlates to a student’s particular level of financial need.

A unique feature to this program – each grant awarded carries the name of an individual or organization exemplifying service to the USAF, and that biographical information is sent to each grant recipient.

Submitting an Application

Please Note: This is a general overview. Please refer to the Application Process and Instructions Document for detailed instructions.

Registration: New applicants (no previous applications) must register as a user before completing an application. New registration involves three phases: registering for an account, creating a profile, and confirming eligibility.

Returning applicants (previously applied) If an application was submitted in the past two academic year cycles, applicants will use ‘Sign in’ to log back into their account, update their profile, and reconfirm eligibility. If you forgot your password since the last login, use the ‘Forgot your Password?’ option.

Confirming Eligibility: Student answers eligibility questions and registers as a user on the Air Force Aid Society’s Education Grant Portal.

Completing an Application: rom the dropdown, confirm if you are applying as the Student or Sponsor or Other Parent on Behalf of Student and complete the following prompts.

Student Information: The Student Information section contains contact information for the student such as mailing address, phone numbers, and email addresses. Mailing address should be student’s home address, not a temporary school address.

Sponsor Information: The Sponsor Information section contains information about the sponsoring U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force service member and, if applicable, other parent. Entering the sponsoring member’s mailing address and contact information may be bypassed only if (1) student has no contact with member and the information is not known, AND (2) other parent contact information has been provided.

School Information: The School Information section contains information about the school the student will MOST LIKELY ATTEND, grade, enrollment status, degree, major, grade level and most recent GPA.

Academic Information: The Academic Information section contains information about the level of degree, program of study/major, college grade level, grade point averages (GPA) and Student Aid Index (SAI), which is used to determine financial need.

Document Requirements: Based on student and sponsoring member category, a list of the required documents that must be provided to prove eligibility will be displayed. Applicants must submit 4 (possibly 5) documents to submit a complete application. Scan and save each document as a separate file, to attach/upload to the application.

• Front and back copies of the student’s military ID card
• Copy of sponsoring member’s qualifying documentation, with all but the last four of SSN blacked out, as follows:
  • Active Duty – attach copy of assignment orders to present duty station. Title 10 Guard/Reserve attach copy of extended active duty orders showing active status through December 1 of the academic year. (All Active Duty members sponsoring spouses for grants must be on active duty status through December 1 of the academic year)
  • Title 32 Guard Performing Full-time Active Duty - attach orders showing performance of full-tune active duty through December 1 of the academic year
  • Retired - attach DD214 or for Guard and Reserve members show notice of eligibility for retired pay at the age of 60
  • Deceased – attach a copy of DAF Form 1613, Statement of Service; or Death Certificate.
• Copy of the most recent transcript (unofficial acceptable). Must include any completed coursework, student’s name, school name, grades, credit hours for each course, and reflect the most recent cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale. If student never attended college, submit high school transcript. Students who are homeschooled are required to provide standardized test results (SAT, ACT, GED) or state-issued documentation of high school completion as proof of meeting 2.0 GPA requirement.
• Copy of full FAFSA Submission Summary and Student Aid Index (SAI) from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Note: Confirmation or acknowledgement pages for submitting the FAFSA are not acceptable.
  • Note: Please use Chrome when downloading the FAFSA Submission Summary and Student Aid Index (SAI). AFAS is unable to open documents downloaded from Safari.
• Students applying as a 5th year undergraduate must provide verification of enrollment in a 5-year degree program (5th year required for all students in degree program/major).

Submitting the Application: On the last page of the application, applicants will need to check the box to certify and submit their application. If applicants use save and exit, it does not submit the application.

Confirmation: When an application is submitted to AFAS, the applicant is notified via an email from education@afas-hq.org.

Application Status: Once the application is submitted, no edits can be made. Applicants will be able to view the status of their application by logging back into the application. AFAS will notify the applicant if corrections need to be made to the application via email and at that time they will be able to log back in to make those updates. If the applicant does not make corrections, reminder emails will be sent to the applicant. Be sure to add education@afas-hq.org to your contacts and check your email regularly, as well as junk/spam folders.

For additional information or questions see the Application Process and Instructions Document or contact AFAS Education Department by email at Education@afas-hq.org, or call 703-972-2647.

For more information, please visit the Air Force Aid Society website:
https://afas.org/haparnoldgrant/

Application Process and Instructions
https://afas.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/HapArnoldApplication-Procedures-and-Instructions-2025-2026.pdf