Wells Mountain Initiative Scholarships (WMI), Social Change through Education and Community Building

Wells Mountain Initiative or WMI Scholarships is a highly competitive scholarship opportunity for students in developing countries. The scholarships support students who are earning their first certificate, diploma or bachelor’s degree. The scholarship award lasts throughout all years of undergraduate education. For those interesting to apply the opportunity, below is more details overview and information.

About WMI

WMI was founded by Tom Wells out of his desire to help motivated, bright young people he met in the developing world further their education. Tom believes, “Education is the most powerful tool ever conceived in the fight against inequality and injustice and is the surest path to hope and prosperity for the greatest number of people.” Tom had met many deserving students in his work with YMCA World Service. Our initial group of scholars were youth involved in YMCA programs in Senegal and Haiti and youth, including our very first scholar, Jordyn Wells met while studying and volunteering in Ghana.

With welcomed additional financial support from Tom’s long-time friend and law client, David Bolger, through the Bolger Foundation, WMI was able to expand our programs and number of supported scholars. We then needed the involvement of our third founder, Carol Wells. The WMI team is now made up of 8 dedicated individuals.

Since 2005, WMI have supported more than 418 students worldwide. Please note that in the recent years, WMI have only been able to select approximately 5% of applicants to become a part of this program. The number that selected is based solely upon limited funding, as nearly all applicants are extremely deserving. As the organization grows, so will the number of WMI Scholars can accepted each year.

About The Scholarships

Every years WMI offers 50-60 scholarships per year with maximum scholarships is $3,000 USD per year. The scholarships supports:

• Tuition and fees
• Books and materials
• Other related costs

Applications from qualified applicants will be accepted until March 1, 2020. Before applying, it will be better that the applicants read the WMI Scholar Program Information Sheet and also the Frequently Asked Questions for Prospective Scholars document. These two documents will assist you in determining your eligibility and guide you in the application process. For further details on the application process, below are some information related to it.

Application Process

For those who interesting to apply the scholarships, be noted that there are several important timeline to note. Below are the date of each process on the application program.

December 1, 2019: Application opens, the 2020 WMI Scholars Program application will be available in the website. Completed 2020 applications will start to be accepted on this date.

March 1, 2020: Application closes, the 2020 WMI Scholars Program application deadline.

April-July, 2020: Review of applications.

August 1, 2020: Announcement of Scholarship recipients.

September 1, 2020: First installment of Scholarships wired.

Candidate Qualification

The ideal candidate for the Scholarships including a student, male or female, from a country in the developing world, including Asia and Africa, who have several criteria or qualification as follow:

• Successfully completed a secondary education, with good to excellent grades
• Is 35 or under on March 1, 2020
• Will be studying in his or her country or another country in the developing world*
• Is pursuing his or her first bachelor’s degree or diploma
• Will be enrolled in a program of study that will benefit the community and/or contribute to the continued growth and advancement of his or her home country
• Plans to live and work in his or her own country after graduation
• Has demonstrated his or her commitment to giving back and has volunteered prior to applying
• May have some other funds available for his or her education, but will not be able to go to pursue his or her tertiary degree without financial assistance

Applications must be received by March 1 of each year to be considered for the following academic year. WMI Scholars are selected through an in-depth multi-step review process. The selected WMI Scholars will be emailed on August 1. Their names will also be published on the website homepage and the WMI Facebook page. Those who are not selected will also be notified after August 1.

Document Selection Criteria

The following are required elements for an application to be considered complete:

• Clear personal photo;
• Essay (topic is stated on application form);
• 2020 application form;
• Personal essay statement;
• Two recommendation letters;
• Official transcript of grades from secondary school;
• Official grading key to interpret secondary school grades;
• Official transcript of grades from tertiary studies (if applicable);
• Official grading key to interpret tertiary grades;
• Official results from your national exam;
• Official grading key to interpret scores on your national exam.

How to Apply

For those who qualify on the criteria, there are several ways to apply the Scholarships. First is by online, or the second is by mailing in a completed application packet to WMI office. In details, the way to apply it is as explain in the below paragraphs.

APPLYING ONLINE:

The applicant will be redirected to a portal and asked to create a free account (username and password), fill out information and upload documents. It is 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. File format types accepted are: JPG, PNG, GIF, DOC, DOCX, PDF (version 10 or newer).

MAIL-IN:

The applicant will need to print the 2020 application form (available 12/1/19) and it is their responsibility to clearly complete it and attach all required supporting documents before sending it to WMI. Applications must be received by March 1, 2020. Applications that arrive after March 1, 2020 will not be reviewed. This means that applicants must allow at least three weeks to mail the application from abroad. Only send one completed application. Incomplete or additional mailings with supporting documents will be discarded.

Hopefully all applicants can get luck in preparing their applications. It is important to remember that acceptance in the WMI Scholarship Program requires a dedicated interest in community service, improving your nation, and working within your country after graduation. In case of having further questions can be mail directed to info@wellsmountaininitiative.org. Otherwise just visited https://www.wellsmountaininitiative.org/prospective-scholars/ as the official website to get more information.