Portrait of Chelsea Briggs, holding the boots of her father, SSgt. Raymond Briggs, in Wahiawa, Hawaii on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. Briggs, whose father passed when she was 12, is a recipient of The American Legion's Legacy Scholarship. Photo by Lucas Carter/The American Legion.

2017 Legion Legacy Scholarship application deadline approaching

The American Legion Legacy Scholarship application for 2017 is online for new and returning applicants to fill out. The Legacy Scholarship is available for children whose parents lost their lives while honorably serving on active duty on or after 9/11, as well as for children of post-9/11 veterans with a combined 50 percent or higher VA disability rating.

The renewable scholarship will award up to $20,000 for the expense of graduate or post-graduate tuition, books, room and board, meal plans, transportation and other supplies needed to achieve a higher education.

The application deadline is April 20. Apply online here.

The Legacy Scholarship is a needs-based one. The grant amount each scholarship recipient will receive will be based on his or her financial need after all federal and state aid is exhausted. Recipients will have a year to use the grant and may reapply to the scholarship up to six times. And the number of scholarships awarded and the amount of financial aid granted to each awardee (this includes returning applicants) will be determined on donations to the scholarship fund and one's financial needs.

Scholarship recipients are selected by The American Legion’s Committee on Youth Education during the organization’s annual Spring Meetings in May; all applicants, whether recipients of the Legacy Scholarship or not, will be notified immediately thereafter.