Maryland Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship

The Maryland Higher Education Commission runs the Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship with the Jean B. Cryor Memorial Scholarship. The student applies to the college financial aid office by July 15. An application sent only to the commission misses the school deadline. Two military paths matter here. A child, stepchild, or unremarried surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces who died because of military service, or who has a service-connected 100% permanent disability because of military service, can qualify. A veteran with a service-connected disability of 25% or more can qualify on the veteran's own service, and only after federal veterans education benefits are exhausted or no longer available. The University of Maryland financial aid office also lists a child or stepchild of a Vietnam prisoner of war or a person missing in action, when the member was a Maryland resident at that designation. Public-safety and September 11 categories exist on the same scholarship. They are not veteran benefits. The student has to be at least 16 and a Maryland resident, or the dependent of a Maryland resident, with the public-safety exceptions the commission lists. Enrollment can be undergraduate, graduate, or professional, full time or part time, at an eligible Maryland institution, including a private career school and certain certificate programs. The award cannot exceed tuition and mandatory fees. The University of Maryland, College Park, states a ceiling of $14,086 for the 2026-27 year, covering fall, winter, spring, and summer. That is a cap, not a promise of that amount. The commission 2025-26 conditions of award say no more than 15 Conroy-Cryor scholarships a year may go to veterans who qualify on a service-connected disability of 25% or more. Schools say funding for that veteran-applicant path is not guaranteed. The family path is not under that 15-award line. The 15-award limit is in the statute itself, Education section 18-601(g)(2). How the money reaches the student changed on July 1, 2026. Chapter 798 of 2026 (HB 3) rewrote section 18-601(f): the college now decides eligibility, the Commission allocates the money to each college by a formula it sets, "subject to the availability of funds as provided in the State budget", each college may make awards only within its allocation, and a returning recipient has priority over new applicants. An eligible student can be told there is no money left at that school. The rating filter follows the veteran's own application, which starts at 25%. A child or spouse who qualifies because the member died, or because the member is 100% permanently disabled, can qualify with no rating of their own.