The MyCAA scholarship is short for My Career Advancement Account. It is a $4,000 scholarship specifically for active duty military spouses. Your spouse must be in the rank of E1-E6, O1-O2, or W1-W2 to qualify.

Unlike most other military benefits, the MyCAA scholarship is a “use it or lose it” benefit. As an active duty spouse you only qualify while your spouse is on Title 10 orders and in the eligible ranks listed above.

The top things to know about the MyCAA scholarship are:

• First: You only qualify for a short amount of time. As a scholarship it is not a loan. You do not have to repay it. It is literally free money for school.
• Second: Beware: There are scams. They are non-accredited programs or legitimate looking schools. They target military spouses and are a waste of your scholarship benefit.
• Third: The MyCAA scholarship does not reimburse you for tuition costs. It pays the school for you.
• Fourth: The funding only pays for tuition or testing/licensure costs. In addition, MyCAA does not pay for fees, books, etc.
• Fifth: You can make the MyCAA scholarship work for you no matter what level of education you have! For example, I have a master’s degree and I used it. I had friends use it with a high school education. You must at a minimum have a high school diploma or GED.

Most importantly: If you know the rules you can use them to your advantage. There are “hacks” and best practices for using MyCAA that I am here to help you with!

Read my blog for more details!