Qualifying Applicants
Applications for Wilsterman Scholarships may be submitted by students who have graduated from a high school located within Genesee County, Michigan. Applications may be submitted in any of the six years following the year of graduation from high school.
Unlike typical scholarships, GPA is not a controlling factor. The Wilsterman Foundation is interested first and foremost in finding students who have great potential but may have struggled in high school due to extenuating circumstances such as work, family issues, setbacks or even “late blooming”. Extra-curricular and community service activities are also heavily considered, all with a focus on the student's character, financial need, and potential.
The Wilsterman Foundation is currently offering scholarships up to a maximum of $5,000 per year which can be received for up to four years. Awards are made at the sole and absolute discretion of the Advisory Board.
Application Instructions
Please read these instructions carefully before continuing
We recommend using Adobe to fill out the application
Please keep in mind that the deadline to turn in an application will be March 1st, 2025. In order to apply for a Wilsterman Scholarship, please first download and fill out the "Main Application" PDF. We strongly recommend that applicants download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free and open their downloaded PDF in that program - this will ensure that the application will work properly, and importantly: you will be able to save your progress as you go. However, current updated versions of most internet browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, will now allow you to fill out the form directly from your internet browser and save the completed form. We do suggest caution if you use this method and would suggest that you thoroughly test saving and reopening your file before filling out the application fully - any issues you encounter should be resolved by downloading and using Adobe. If you need any help please do not hesitate to reach out to us at admin@wilsterman.org. We are here to help!
After completed, this form will be emailed to apply@wilsterman.org with your high school transcript, college transcript if applicable, and any letters of recommendation you have received. If you do not receive an email from us confirming that your application has been received within 2-3 days of submitting your application, it is likely that your email did not reach us and you should try sending it again.
Main Application
Please include with your application a statement from one or more of your teachers, guidance counselors, school administrators, non-family clergy, employers or volunteer organization staff briefly stating why you would be a good prospect for success in post secondary college or trade school. Including at least one recommendation is *highly* suggested - but including additional statements is encouraged and may increase your chances of receiving a grant. The forms provided here do not necessarily need to be used if you have already obtained letters of recommendation which fulfill the above stated criteria. Many students simply send in a written statement printed on the stationary of the person from whom they are receiving the recommendation, which is completely fine.
Both the Recommendation Letter form and the Work Evaluation form can either be emailed to the person from whom you are receiving your recommendation, which they can they fill out in Adobe and send back to you; or they can also be printed out if they would prefer to fill it in by hand - if you choose to print out the forms, you will then need to scan the completed forms and attach those to the email with your application.
Letters of Recommendation and Work Evaluation
Please e-mail your completed application forms to us at: apply@wilsterman.org. Simply attach the Main Application, any Letters of Recommendation and Work Evaluations you have gathered, your *most current high school transcript*, and any college transcripts that you have. The deadline by which you must send in your application to be reviewed will be March 1st, 2025.
Thank you! If you need any help with this process or have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us at admin@wilsterman.org
If you are still somewhat unsure after reading these instructions, please watch this brief instructional video on how to download and fill out the main application in Adobe (click play and make full screen):