Walmart College Grants

The Walmart Associate Scholarship offers educational funding for Walmart employees.

The Walmart Foundation provides funding for education through direct scholarships to students and grants to support college and university programs. According to the foundation, it gave over $9 million in student funding during the 2010-11 academic year, through four scholarship programs. Programs provide funding to non-Walmart employees and dependents, to postsecondary institutions and to Walmart employees and their family members.

Sam Walton Community Scholarship

The Sam Walton Community Scholarship provides educational funding to individuals who are not employed by Walmart and who are not dependents of Walmart employees. The program awards money to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have earned a high school diploma or GED certificate. Applicants must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 and must enroll in an undergraduate program at a U.S. four- or two-year university or college. Candidates must have a financial need for funding and can receive a one-time maximum award of $3,000, as of February 2011. The program disperses funding directly to the recipient's university or college to pay for tuition, on-campus housing and textbooks. Students can apply for the Sam Walton program online at the Walmart corporate website.

Walton Family Foundation Scholarship

The Walton Family Foundation Scholarship helps pay educational expenses for undergraduate dependents of full-time Walmart employees. Scholarship guidelines require applicants to have a minimum ACT score of 22 or a SAT score of 1030. Candidates must have earned a high school diploma or GED certificate. Awardees can receive a maximum of $13,000, dispersed in $1,625 increments each semester until graduation. Recipients must enroll in a minimum of 12 hours of coursework each semester and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. Dependents of Walmart employees can apply for the Walton Family program online at the Walton Family Foundation website.

Walmart Associate Scholarship

Full- and part-time employees of Walmart can apply for the Walmart Associate Scholarship. Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED certificate and hold legal residency or citizenship in the U.S. The program only awards money to students with a need for funding and does not offer funding to students receiving full scholarships through other student aid programs. As of February 2011, awardees can receive a maximum of $2,000 per year for associate degree programs, $3,000 per year for bachelor degree programs and $2,000 per year for graduate degree programs. Walmart employees can apply for the Associates Scholarship online at the Walmart corporate website.

Walmart College Success Award

The Walmart College Success Award program provides up to $100,000 to universities and colleges in support of programs designed for first-generation college students. Recipient institutions can use funding to develop their own programs, which can include mentoring programs, counseling and advising initiatives and workshops to help college staff and faculty members understand how to work with first-generation college students. Past College Success Award recipients have included Bay Path College in Massachusetts, California Lutheran University and Wiley College in Texas.

References

• Walmart Corporate: The Walmart Foundation
• Walmart Corporate: Walmart Foundation Scholarship Programs
• Walmart Corporate: Sam Walton Community Scholarship
• Walmart Corporate: Sam Walton Community Scholarship Program Guidelines
• Walton Family Foundation: Walton Family Foundation Scholarship
• Walton Family Foundation: Walton Family Foundation Scholarship Program Guidelines

Resources

• Walmart Corporate: Walmart Associate Scholarship
• Walmart Corporate: Walmart Associate Scholarship Program Guidelines
• Walmart Corporate: Walmart College Success Award Winners
• Council of Independent Colleges: Walmart College Success Awards