Students from Mexico and Central America, including Nicaraguans, can now apply to the Walton International Scholarship Program (WISP), which is now officially accepting applications from those who wish to pursue a university degree at Harding University, John Brown University or the University of the Ozarks.
The Walton Scholarship Program, founded by Sam Walton and his wife, Helen Walton, funds 60 scholarships annually for students at each of these three respected Arkansas religious universities.
The program’s goal, according to its website, is to “promote democracy and free enterprise in Latin America through education,” providing scholarship recipients with “quality college education and exposure to the benefits of a prosperous society and economy under a free, open, and elected government,” and so each year they conduct “rigorous selection processes in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico to identify the next generation of students.”
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The scholarship offered by this program includes “tuition, books, lodging, meals, airfare, health insurance, taxes and a stipend.” Airfare includes roundtrip travel to their countries once they finish their degree, as well as travel to visit relatives in their home countries during the summer holidays.
Requirements to apply for the Walton Scholarships
Individuals planning to apply for these scholarships must initially meet six eligibility requirements, including: be a citizen of a country that is part of the WISP, that is, Mexico or a Central American country; be between 17 and 21 years of age; and be single and without children.
In addition, they must have an academic average of 88 percent or higher in the last three years of high school; be of low economic resources and have oral and written command of the English language.
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Once they verify that they are eligible, applicants for these scholarships can apply online from this linkwhere they will have to fill out a form with their personal information, the degree they wish to apply for, the university they wish to attend, send three letters of recommendation, present receipts for water, energy or internet services, prove household income, and send an essay and a video related to what motivates them to apply, both in English.
- The selection process for Walton Scholarship recipients takes approximately three to six months. There is also a stage for “finalist candidates,” who are called to preliminary interviews and then to final interviews in which they will determine whether or not they have been selected as recipients of these scholarships.
- The call for applications for the Walton Scholarships from countries such as Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama opened on August 1 and will close on September 15. While for students from Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico it will open until November 1 and will close on December 15.
