Scholarships for Continuing Students
Each year Wake Forest recognizes a number of continuing students with a merit-based scholarship. The Scholars Office oversees the awarding of the Stamps and Mullen Carswell Scholarships.
Stamps Scholarship for Continuing Students
Beginning this year, the Committee on Scholarships and Student Aid in collaboration with the Stamps Scholars Program, will nominate a limited number of current Wake Forest students to become Stamps Scholars based on their intellectual potential and engagement, particularly through leadership activities and demonstrated community engagement. Students who are selected for the Stamps Scholarship for Continuing Students will be required to participate in an additional interview with the Stamps Foundation Interview team. Applicants must have completed at least one year of coursework at Wake Forest. Applications are due by October 15.
Once awarded, Stamps Walk-On Scholars:
- Are eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in merit grant funding to support research of educational value each summer prior to graduation.
- Receive funding for the full standard cost of attendance starting in the spring semester.
- May be renewed through the fourth year of undergraduate study.
- Join a larger Stamps network of approximately 1,000 current undergraduate scholars around the world.
Mullen Carswell Scholarship for Continuing Students
The Committee on Scholarships and Student Aid annually recognizes up to ten students as Thomas E. and Ruth Mullen Scholars as part of the Carswell Scholarship Program for continuing students. Applicants must have completed at least one year of coursework at Wake Forest. Applications are due by October 15.
Once awarded, Mullen/Carswell Scholars:
- Are eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in merit grant funding to support research of educational value each summer prior to graduation.
- Receive up to a $1,500 scholarship per academic year (dependent on the student’s existing financial aid package)
- May be renewed through the fourth year of undergraduate study.
What the Committee Looks For
The Committee on Scholarships and Student Aid seeks students who have demonstrated excellence in at least one of the following areas:
- Intellectual promise
- Leadership potential
- Contributions to their community
You do not need to possess excellence in all three of these areas. Each student is unique in their strength and interests.
Ready to Apply?
Deadline: October 15
All continuing students will be considered for both scholarship awards at the time of application.
Required Application Materials
Students who submit the online application will be considered for both the Stamps Walk-On Scholarship and the Mullen Carswell Scholarship. All application materials must be submitted by October 15.
- Current Resume
- Personal Statement Essay (up to 500 words)
- Short Answer Questions – Select 2 of the 3 questions (up to 250 words each)
- 2 Letters of Recommendation – At least one must be from a faculty member; recommenders will automatically be sent an email to submit their letters.
- Current unofficial Wake Forest University Transcript. Transcripts can be either ordered through the Office of the University Registrar or accessed through WIN and saved as a PDF. Need help with converting a web page to a PDF? Follow these steps from Adobe.
Steps in the Process
- Submit the online application by the October 15 deadline.
- Finalists will be selected for on-campus interviews with the Committee on Scholarships and Student Aid that will take place in early- to mid-November. Students who are studying abroad will be able to do their interviews over Zoom.
- Finalists will be notified around the end of November.
- Students nominated for the Stamps Walk-On Scholarship will have an additional interview with the Stamps Foundation interview team in December. If you are selected for a Stamps Scholarship interview, your application will be shared with their interview team.
Application Guidance
The best applications are submitted by students who start early and build in time for reflection and review. We hope the guidance below will help you submit strong applications. View a sample application.
What do we want?
Be sure to include activities, research, clubs, service, and organizations you have been involved with on- and off-campus. Use numbers where you can to emphasize what you’ve done (i.e. “tutored two times a month” or “an event that had X number of attendees”).
Please keep it to 2 pages max. Your resume can be uploaded as a PDF or Word document.
Why do we ask for this?
Your resume gives us a comprehensive view of your time on campus and a snapshot of what you’ve been involved in and accomplished. You are also encouraged to include an optional “Bonus Section” on your resume in which you can list a unique category or achievements that wouldn’t usually go on a resume.
The optional “Bonus Section” is a great way to highlight something you are proud of that you have accomplished or can help highlight something that is unique and doesn’t necessarily fit under another category. It is a way to showcase something to the Committee that you are proud of or that helps show who you are. We know this is weird and new, but try it out!
Some Ideas to Get You Started (be sure to come up with your own!)
- My Favorite Waterfalls in North Carolina
- Hanging Rock State Park’s Lower Cascade Falls
- Widows Creek Falls at Hanging Rock State Park
- Linville Falls at Linville Gorge in the Blue Ridge Mountains
- Significant Board Game Triumphs
- Spelling the word “quixotry” in Scrabble to win a game
- Reigning chess champ of the Nelson family
- Amateur Expert in… [your expertise here!]
- Maybe you know a lot about a town in Costa Rica, or
- Maybe you are an amateur entomologist
- Maybe you are a birder and have spotted 30+ birds, or
- Something completely different!
Resources
What do we want?
You have up to 500 words to tell us about yourself using the following questions to guide you:
What is the most important or interesting thing you’ve learned in your time at WFU? How will you apply that knowledge to your future year(s) here? The lesson could come from your activities, classes, or simply be something you’ve learned about yourself – and don’t forget to explain why you chose that particular lesson!
Why do we ask for this?
The Personal Statement Essay helps the Committee on Scholarship and Student Aid to get to know you and what makes you unique. Be authentic and share something that you were excited about learning. Don’t overthink this or write what you think the Committee wants to read.
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What do we want?
In this section, you will select 2 of the 3 questions listed below. You have up to 250 words to answer your selected questions.
Why are we asking you to answer additional short answer questions?
This is another opportunity for us to get to know more about you, your time as a member of the Wake Forest community, and how you think. Your responses to your selected questions should be different than your response to the Personal Statement Essay and should not rehash your resume.
Short Answer Questions
- Tell us about a piece of art or culture that you’ve encountered over the course of your undergraduate career that you find significant and explain why. This can be a book, movie, piece of music, poem, painting, sculpture, or something else not on this list. It could be something you discovered in class or outside of it—your choice.
- Describe something you accomplished that you’re proud of, for whatever reason you like (the Committee is more interested in something you are genuinely proud of than what you think will impress them). If you choose something from your resume, do NOT rehash what you did—be sure to go into the why.
- Tell us about a situation, experience, or assignment you encountered at Wake Forest that you would handle differently if you revisited it now. Why did you choose this situation, and what would you do this time around?
Resources
What do we want?
You are required to provide contact information for two individuals who will provide a letter of recommendation. At least one letter must come from a faculty member; the second may come from anyone else who can speak to your outstanding qualifications who is not a friend or family member. They may be a staff member or advisor for a club/organization you’re a part of; a supervisor or mentor where you intern or volunteer; a postdoc at the lab you perform research in; or an additional faculty member.
Why do we ask for this?
Letters of recommendation provide the Committee with insights into what you are like as a student and person and helps put the rest of your application in context.
Helpful Hints
- The best letters of recommendation are from individuals who know you well and can speak to your abilities as a scholar or as a member of a community. Choose someone with whom you have a good relationship rather than a fancy title.
- Ask early! Four weeks’ notice is a good rule of thumb, but the earlier the better! Don’t forget to provide them with a copy of your resume.
- Once you submit the online application, a link will be emailed to your recommenders and they will have until October 17 to submit their letter. This invite only goes out once you submit your application, which is why we give them 48 hours after the application deadline to submit their recommendations. This might be helpful information to share with recommenders ahead of time.
- Follow up! Let your recommenders know once you submit your application to ensure they received the email inviting them to submit their letter on your behalf (sometimes the emails get caught in their Spam folders!). Letters of Recommendation are due by October 17.
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