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 or;
• Are current scholarship award recipients.

Application Period: January 31, 2023 to March 21, 2023

Scholarship Recipients Notified: By June 12, 2023

Scholarship Funds Issued: By August 31, 2023

1. The award is valued up to $2,500 in local currency per academic year.
2. The scholarship can be awarded up to three consecutive years after the first application for qualified applicants.
3. The scholarships will be applied to tuition only for undergraduate study at accredited, non-profit two or four-year colleges/universities or vocational/technical schools in Canada and US.
4. Students are awarded 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. 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.
7. If recipients have other scholarships or subsidies which cover portions of tuition costs, Foresters will provide a scholarship which will amount to the lesser of:

1. $2,500 (local currency) or
2. The recipient’s remaining tuition requirements for that given academic year.

Note: Payments will be allocated in the local currency of the country which the institution is located and not the applicant’s country of residence.

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 ONE of the following criteria:

1. Foresters member who is insured under:
   • An in-force certificate¹; or
   • An in-force annuity; or
   • A rider under any of the certificates listed above; or
   • Have an in-force Foresters Social Fraternal Membership
2. The spouse of an eligible Foresters member as defined above
3. Dependent child or grandchild of an eligible Foresters member as defined above.

a. Includes children under the care of a legal guardian who is an eligible Foresters member as defined above

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
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 Fall semester
4. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or 75%. This must be reflected on your current transcript
5. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 50 hours of community service within 12 months of the returning candidate application deadline.

Overall weighting of the application components:

• Community Service: 65%
• Grades: 35%

Based on the number of applicants who apply each year, the competition for these scholarships is high. The minimum requirements for community service hours and grades are items all students need in order to just be considered for a scholarship. Please be mindful that at any time during the selection period, you may be asked to submit proof for the number of community service hours worked. Meeting or exceeding these requirements does not mean or guarantee that you will be chosen as a Scholarship recipient.

Note: up to 300 applicants from Canada and US will be chosen by the Selection Committee, as scholarship winners. This includes Returning Candidate scholarship recipients.

Volunteer/Community Service

All applicants must have performed a minimum of 50 hours of community service² within the last 12 months (April 1, 2022 – March 21, 2023) 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 community activities and types of projects and programs. 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.

Minimum Grades

All eligible applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or 75% 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 GPA of 3.0 or 75%.

The following restrictions apply to the Competitive Scholarship member benefit:

1. New applicants whose applications have been declined or accepted are able to apply for a Competitive Scholarship up to three consecutive 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 the 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. The scholarship will terminate at the end of any academic year in which the Foresters member, whether the scholarship recipient or the sponsoring member, ceases to be a member of Foresters.
4. 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 Applicants and, in subsequent years, meets the criteria for Returning Candidates.
5. Membership status and eligibility is verified at different stages of the application period and throughout the year.
6. Recipients of Orphan Scholarships and the Foresters Renew™ grant are not eligible to apply for the 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://foresters.applyists.net to ensure that you continue to receive email notifications about your scholarship.