USARA Scholarship Program provides financial grants to students who plan to attend or are already attending an accredited college, university, or higher technical trade school. Scholarship awards funds are to assist with academic expenses at the attending University/School and will be disbursed directly to the University/School to assist with tuition, books, fees, supplies and room and board.

This year the USARA Scholarship Program has been expanded to include not only the USARA Legacy Scholarship that was established last year, but now includes the First Lieutenant Dimitri A. del Castillo Scholarship.   

On June 25, 2011, US Army First Lieutenant Dimitri del Castillo, 24, of Tampa, Florida, died in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He was on the radio calling in support for the men of his unit around him who had been attacked and wounded by small arms fire from enemy forces. While refusing to give up the radio so he could help keep his men alive, he was hit and died with the mike in his hand.  To honor his memory this scholarship has been established by his family.  Graciously, the del Castillo family selected USARA to manage the scholarship and made it available to our members. 

Applicants must be a qualified dependent of a USARA member.  Qualified Dependent is defined as an unmarried child; grandchild or great-grandchild of a USARA member (included those legally adopted) who is under the age of 23 for the entire academic year.  USARA Member (scholarship sponsor) in this case is defined as an individual who at the time of scholarship application has been a Regular Member (Annual or Life) of USARA for a minimum of one year; or a deceased Regular Member of USARA.

Applicants that meet the eligibility requirements for the USARA legacy scholarship are also eligible to compete for The First Lieutenant Dimitri A. del Castillo Scholarship.

The First Lieutenant Dimitri A. del Castillo Scholarship is also available to a qualified child or spouse of a fallen tabbed or scrolled Ranger. Qualified child is defined as an unmarried child of a fallen tabbed or scrolled ranger (included those legally adopted) who is under the age of 23 for the entire academic year. Qualified Spouse is defined as the person legally married to the fallen Ranger at the time of his death; and not remarried at the time of application for the scholarship.

The term “fallen tabbed or scrolled rangers” is means those tabbed (graduated from Ranger School and awarded the Ranger Tab, or scrolled Rangers (served with the 75th Ranger Regiment in a Ranger slot) who were killed in action or those tabbed or scrolled Ranger killed in training. This includes those who died in a hospital later as a result of critical wounds related to combat or training.

Detail description, containing the purpose, scope and eligibility requirements, specific to each scholarship is outlines on the USARA website at www.ranger.org.