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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The deadline is quickly approaching for high school juniors to apply for the West Virginia Scholar Program.
April 30 is the last day to apply for the four-year scholarship to West Virginia Weslyan College.
The full-ride scholarship is valued at $160,000. It includes tuition, fees, and room and board.
John Waltz, vice president for enrollment management at West Virginia Wesleyan, the application process is easy for students.
“All they have to do is send us their transcripts and there’s a some essay questions,” Waltz said on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Waltz added it’s not just about grades and scores.
“We’re looking for well-rounded students. We’re looking for students with a great background in community service, athletics, creative arts, religious and spiritual life, maybe they’ve organized things,” he said.
Waltz said students are encouraged to listen to their teachers or counselors who urge them to apply.
“Winners always comment to us ‘wow, in the last week or two I was urged by my guidance counselor or my neighbor to apply and those are often people that win, people who don’t think they have a chance at it,” he said.
The West Virginia Scholarship can help teach high school students to apply for other college scholarships too, Waltz said.
“It opens them up to a world of scholarships, not only here, learning more about the Promise Scholarship, the West Virginia higher ed grants. Students really find this as an educational process by learning how to apply to college,” he said.
The program is open to all high school juniors in the Mountain State.
The sponsors for the West Virginia Scholar Program include title sponsor Greer Industries along with West Virginia International Yeager Airport, the West Virginia Hospital Association, ZMM Architects & Engineers, Friends of Coal and the West Virginia Farm Bureau.