Enlisted Association of the National Guard of Kentucky
Scholarships
Membership pays for school. EANGUS awards more than $200,000 a year across direct scholarships, university partners, and state awards. Kentucky members took home none of the national money in 2026. That is not about who applies best. It is about who applies at all.
Open right now
Two full scholarships are accepting applications. Both close 30 September 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.
One full academic scholarship each year, usable for an undergraduate or graduate program at your choice. Open to EANGUS members, spouses, and dependent children. Spouses are eligible, which most families miss.
One full-tuition scholarship awarded on a per course basis. Open to EANGUS members, dependents, and Auxiliary members.
National scholarships, reopening in 2027
The 2026 window closed on 15 April. These reopen early in 2027. Read them now so you are ready when the window opens, because it is short.
One application enters you for all three EANGUS-direct awards below. There is no separate CSMAC form.
Awarded to EANGUS members or dependents. The number awarded each year depends on contributions. Undergraduate degrees only. Previous winners may not reapply. Paid directly to your school. Sponsored by USAA and AFBA.
Funded entirely by individual contributions rather than corporate donations. The number awarded depends on what members give. Undergraduate degrees only. Previous winners may not reapply. Paid directly to your school.
Awarded each year by the Command Sergeants Major Advisory Council. Open to EANGUS Army National Guard members and their dependents. Recipients are drawn from the Williams and Patriot applicant pool, so no separate application is needed.
University partner scholarships
Four universities award scholarships exclusively to EANGUS members. Two are open now and listed above. The other two reopen in 2027.
One scholarship for a currently serving Army National Guard member and one for a currently serving Airman. Covers tuition and technology fees for up to 60 semester hours or 36 consecutive months in one online degree program. Textbooks and other fees are yours. Recipients must begin coursework within six months of the award.
Open to EANGUS members and their dependent spouses and children. Undergraduate or master’s degree, online or on campus. The 2026 window ran 1 March to 31 May.
Awarded through Kentucky
EANGKY awards $1,500 each year across two scholarships. Depending on the applicant pool, both may go to one recipient or they may be split between two. One application covers both.
These awards apply to a college, university, or trade school. A lineman program, an A&P school, or a certification course counts the same as a degree.
Applications close 1 July, every year
The 2026 window has closed. The next deadline is 1 July 2027. Mark it now, because the announcement will go out in the spring and the pool has historically been small enough that applying is most of the battle.
USAA funds one $1,000 scholarship for every EANGUS state association each year, awarded to an enlisted member or dependent at the state level. This is separate from the national programs and does not compete with them. EANGKY selects the recipient.
Kentucky funds this award directly. It may be presented alongside the USAA scholarship to the same recipient or awarded separately.
Who the scholarship is named for
Virgil S. VanArsdale, known as Scotty, enlisted in the 149th Separate Armored Brigade of the Kentucky Army National Guard in 1948. He served thirty years and retired as a Sergeant Major.
In 1972 he was one of the founders of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States. He went on to serve as Historian of EANGUS and Parliamentarian of EANGKY, holding office at both the state and national level. Away from the Guard he worked as a construction electrician at the LG&E Mill Creek Plant.
He died in Louisville on 8 March 2006 at the age of 77. Kentucky is one of a small number of states whose name appears on the EANGUS founders roll, and it appears there because of him.
Your odds are better than you think
In 2024 the Executive Council approved an additional $1,000 award because only two members applied. Both applicants received a scholarship. The Council does not guarantee that every year, but the point stands. The pool is small and the money is real.
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How to apply for the Kentucky awards
One application covers both awards. You do not choose between them and you do not apply twice.
Questions before you start, or trouble with the form, write to info@eangky.org.
Before you apply
Kentucky in 2026
Fourteen national scholarships awarded. None to Kentucky.
Five Virgil R. Williams awards, six Patriot awards, three CSMAC awards. North Carolina took two. Mississippi took two. California took two. Kentucky took none, and eight more went out through the university partners in 2025 without a Kentucky name among them.
Those awards are not harder for us to win. Members from other states applied and ours did not. Two windows are open right now, and the national window reopens in a few months.
Deadlines move
EANGUS has extended and shifted these windows more than once. Confirm the current date on the EANGUS scholarship page before you rely on anything here, and subscribe to the Minuteman Update so the announcements reach you directly.
Questions about eligibility or the Kentucky awards, contact president@eangky.org.