Welcome back, returning candidates

The returning candidate application must be completed by students who:

• Had applied for a scholarship previously as new scholarship applicants and were declined or;
• Those who are previous scholarship award recipients
• Are current scholarship award recipients.

Application Period: 28 June 2022 to 30 August 2022

Application Deadline: 30 August 2022

Scholarship Recipients Notified: By 23 September 2022

Scholarship Funds Issued: By 24 October 2022

1. The award is valued at £1,000 per academic year.
2. The scholarship may be awarded for up to three additional years for qualified applicants.
3. The scholarships will be applied to undergraduate study at accredited, non-profit three or four-year programme at colleges/universities or vocational/technical institutes in the UK.
4. Students are given one award per academic year.
5. The award must be used for the academic year it was awarded, unless winners submit a formal request to have the award deferred.
6. The number of scholarships available each year is dependent on how many students reapply to continue with their studies and the length of their post-secondary programme.
7. Award recipients must enrol at a university or institute of higher education in the UK for the 2021-2022 academic year with the intention of completing a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
8. Recipients may transfer from one eligible post-secondary institution to another and retain the award so long as they have proof of transcript from their current institution.
9. You may receive financial aid – including additional scholarships – from other organisations.

Applicant must complete an online returning candidate application form during the Application Period and continue to meet the eligibility requirements as outlined below:

Part A

Meet the following criteria:

1. You, your parent, your legal guardian, your grandparent or your spouse must be a current UK Foresters member¹

Part B

Meet ALL the criteria:

1. Applicants must be of the age 24 years or under at the time of the application through to the time payment is issued. Members who are applying do not have to be 24 years old or younger but must meet all other eligibility requirements.
2. Applicants must be enrolled in full time studies in the academic year they are applying as a returning candidate.
3. Applicants must be enrolled full time in the Autumn.
4. Applicants must have a minimum module mark of 55-59 (or institutional equivalent). This must be reflected on your current transcript.
5. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 50 hours of community service within the last 12 months of the returning candidate application deadline².

Overall weighting of the application components:

• Volunteer Experience: 65%
• Grades: 35%

Based on the number of applicants, the competition for these scholarships is high. The minimum requirements for volunteer hours and grades are items all students need in order to just be considered for a scholarship. Meeting or exceeding these requirements does not mean or guarantee that you will be chosen as a Scholarship recipient.

Note: only the top applicants from the UK, will be chosen by the Selection Committee, as scholarship winners. This includes returning candidate scholarship recipients.

Volunteer Work

All applicants must have performed a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer work³ within the last 12 months (1 September 2021 – 30 August 2022) leading up to the returning candidate application deadline.

Preference will be given to applicants who have:

• Been involved in volunteer activities that support family well-being, including playgrounds/public space cleanup, children’s health/wellness and other projects connected to family togetherness.
• Held leadership roles in their community service.

Competitive Scholarship encourages students to support a wide range of volunteer activities and types of projects and programmes. While each application will be evaluated holistically on its own merits, Competitive Scholarship will not accept partisan, political or direct religious volunteer/ community service activities.

For the 2022/2023 scholarship academic year, Foresters will grant new scholarship and returning candidate applicants a temporary exception to meet a minimum of 25% of the required hours (please see the COVID-19 exception section for more information).

Minimum Grades

All eligible applicants must have a minimum module mark of 55-59 (or institutional equivalent) in their last academic year of study before the year in which they will receive the award. Applicants will be ranked/scored based on their level of performance above and beyond the minimum of requirement.

Foresters is mindful of the continued challenges students face due to COVID-19, including the difficulties in earning their full volunteer hours. For the 2022/2023 scholarship academic year, Foresters will grant a temporary exception for New Scholarship applicants to meet a minimum of 25% of the required hours for scholarship awards:

We will continue to monitor the feasibility of safe volunteer hours. We encourage our applicants to explore virtual volunteer options or activities with proper safety and social distancing measures that align with the regulations imposed by their local government.

The following restrictions apply to the scholarship award:

1. Applicants whose applications have been declined are able to apply for a Competitive Scholarship up to three times by completing the returning candidate application until such time as the recipient’s first post-secondary degree or equivalent is earned at which point applicants will no longer be eligible for a Competitive Scholarship.
2. The scholarship is applicable only to the first post-secondary degree or diploma sought by the recipient.
3. If the sponsoring member passes away after the scholarship is awarded, the recipient will still receive the scholarship if he/she meets the requirements under Parts A and B of the “Eligibility” Section of these guidelines for new candidates and, in subsequent years, meets the criteria for returning candidates.
4. The scholarship is applicable only to the first post-secondary degree or diploma sought by the recipient.
5. Membership status and eligibility is verified at different stages of the application period and throughout the year.
6. Recipients of Orphan Scholarships are not also eligible to receive the Foresters Competitive Scholarship.

Current scholarship award recipients will receive an email from ISTS with detailed instructions on how to reapply as returning candidates for the scholarship close to the Spring application period.

Foresters and International Scholarship and Tuition Services (ISTS) are not responsible for information that is late, unsuccessfully submitted or inaccurately completed.

If you have changed your email address after creating your account, it is your responsibility to immediately update your My Profile page at https://aim.applyISTS.net to ensure that you continue to receive email notifications about your scholarship renewal.

If you have any questions about the returning candidate application, please contact ISTS at 0800 4049806 or Foresters-UK@applyISTS.com.

Q: How many times can I apply for a Competitive Scholarship?

If you have won the Competitive Scholarship for your first year, you are eligible to reapply up to three times as a returning candidate. Applicants who have previously received their first Foresters Competitive Scholarship and have surpassed their three attempts as returning candidate will not be eligible to apply for a new scholarship. Please refer to the table under the Applications section for further explanation.

Q: Under the circumstances that I’ve applied for a scholarship with my parent/grandparent/legal guardian’s Foresters membership status, and they pass away, am I still entitled to my scholarship award?

If a member passes away after the scholarship is awarded, the scholarship will continue as long as you are covered under another in-force Foresters membership as defined above, AND you continue to meet the criteria as a returning candidate.

Q: What if my parent/grandparent/legal guardian ceases to be a Foresters member during the year I receive my scholarship award?

The scholarship will terminate at the end of any academic year in which the Foresters member, whether it be the scholarship recipient or sponsoring member, ceases to be a Foresters member.

Q: My Foresters plan/policy is coming up for expiry and I need to renew it before applying for the scholarship award. What should I do?

If your Plan is approaching maturity or end of term, contact Customer Services immediately by email at service@foresters.co.uk. If you have made changes to your plan/policy, (i.e. address change, new term, switching to another Foresters plan/policy etc) check with the Customer Service to ensure the status of your plan/policy, is in-force.

Q: If my Foresters membership is under my parents/grandparents/legal guardian, do they have to apply on my behalf?

No, all applicants are encouraged to apply for a Competitive Scholarship on their own behalf.

Q: Who do I contact for specific questions about my application?

For questions about the returning candidate application, please contact International Scholarship and Tuition Service Inc (ISTS) directly.

Email: Foresters-UK@applyISTS.com

Phone: 0800 4049806

For more information, please download the FAQ.