About the Scholarship
WMF’s signature program, Empowerment Through Education (ETE), provides undergraduate scholarships to developing country nationals to study in their home country or a neighboring country. WMF believes it is important to educate people locally and to encourage WMF Scholars to become change agents in their local communities.
WMF Scholars study for degrees ranging from medicine to engineering. WMF encourages applications from those interested in pursuing degrees that will best help their local communities – medicine & health sciences, community development, law, education, social work, business, information technology, agriculture and engineering. A major component of the ETE program is community service. All scholars are required to volunteer for a minimum of 100 hours per year in order to remain a WMF Scholar.
We believe that encouraging these young people to give back to their communities now will instill an ongoing, and lasting, commitment to community service throughout their lives. In 2015, WMF Scholars contributed over 6,100 hours of community service. WMF Scholars tutor at local schools and clinics, organize community events supporting literacy and education, organize health screening and disease prevention trainings and more.
Prospective Scholars
Our Ideal Candidate – A student, male or female, from a country in the developing world, who:
- Successfully completed a secondary education, with good to excellent grades
- Will be studying in his or her country or another country in the developing world
- Plans to live and work in his or her own country after graduation
- Has volunteered prior to applying for this scholarship and/or is willing to volunteer while receiving the WMF scholarship
- May have some other funds available for his or her education, but will not be able to go to school without a scholarship
The scholarship awards are determined by the board of directors of the Wells Mountain Foundation and awarded once a year. Applications must be received by April 1 of each year to be considered for the following academic year. The selected WMF Scholarship recipients will be emailed on August 1. Their names will also be published on our website homepage and the WMF Facebook page. Those who do not receive a scholarship will also be notified after August.
Tips for Becoming a Competitive Applicant
The following are suggestions to enhance your Empowerment Through Education scholarship application:
- Become a member of a community service group and record all of your service activities (dates, activities, time spent, photographs, etc.)
- Collect your secondary school transcript, national exam results and grading keys to interpret your results
- Request two letters of recommendation on official stationery from two people who know you professionally/personally and can showcase the reasons you deserve this scholarship
- Have all of your documents translated into English
- Always apply to the Empowerment Through Education Scholarship with the current application form (If it is for the year 2017, apply only with the 2017 application)
Important Dates
December 1, 2016 – The 2017 Empowerment Through Education program application will be available on our website. Completed 2017 Empowerment Through Education scholarship applications will start to be accepted on this date.
April 1, 2017 – The 2017 Empowerment Through Education scholarship application deadline.
Empowerment Through Education Program For 2017
Applications from qualified applicants will be accepted until April 1, 2017. Before applying, we strongly encourage you to read the Empowerment Through Education information Flyer and also the Empowerment Through Education Application Frequently Asked Questions document. These two documents will assist you in determining your eligibility and guide you in the application process.
The following are required elements for an application to be considered complete:
- Clear personal photo
- Two essays (topics are stated on application form)
- 2017 application form
- Personal essay statement
- Two recommendation letters*
- Official transcript of grades from secondary school
- Official grading key to interpret grades**
- Official transcript of grades from tertiary studies (if applicable)
- Official grading key to interpret grades**
- Official results from your national exam
- Official grading key to interpret scores on your national exam**
*Recommendation letters vary throughout cultures. We have created ETE Recommendation Letters Guidelines to assist applicants in seeking letters that will be supportive of their application. Read this document and share it with the individuals who will be writing your letters of support.
**Official grading keys must be provided by the school issuing the grades or the government issuing the national exam. Grading keys that are not official will result in your application being disqualified. Contact your secondary school, university, or government for this document.
How To Apply
If you qualify, now is the time to apply for this exciting opportunity! Since 2005, we have supported more than 175 students worldwide. Please note that in our recent years, we have only been able to select approximately 3% of applicants to become a part of this program. The number we select is based solely upon limited funding, as nearly all applicants are extremely deserving. As our organization grows, so will the Empowerment Through Education program. We encourage you to apply AND to continue searching for additional ways to finance your education.
There are two ways to apply: Online, or by mailing in a completed application packet to our office.
APPLYING ONLINE: You will be redirected to a portal where you will be asked to create a free account (username and password), fill out information and upload documents. We strongly suggest that you apply online as it will provide you with the opportunity to save your work and return multiple times. You will also guarantee that your application, once submitted online, will be received and reviewed.
ATTENTION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS!
It has come to the attention of WMF that someone is trying to defraud those who apply for our scholarships. No matter what you may be told there are NO FEES required to submit a scholarship application to the Wells Mountain Foundation! You only need to submit a complete application through our website, by our one deadline each year of April 1. If someone contacts you saying a fee is required, please forward that email to info@wellsmountainfoundation.org. We would very much like to prosecute this fraud.
For more information click "Further official information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.wellsmountainfoundation.org/our-programs/scholarships/