WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship® Program
A scholarship program for WoodmenLife Members.
WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship® Program
WoodmenLife has established a scholarship program to assist WoodmenLife Members who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship® Program must:
- Be high school graduates or GED holders of the class of 2024, 2025, or 2026.
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school for the entire 2026-2027 academic year.
- Be a WoodmenLife member in good standing with at least three consecutive years of unlapsed membership.
- Be part of a 100% WoodmenLife Family
- All persons within the household must be WoodmenLife members in good standing by the date of application submission.
Past recipients of the WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship ® are not eligible.
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive an award ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 in U.S. currency. Awards are allocated as follows:
- 3 awards at $10,000
- 4 awards at $5,000
- Up to 300 awards at $1,000
Awards are one-time only; past recipients may not reapply. Awards are not deferrable. All funds must be used in the 2026-2027 school term.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in April.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of WoodmenLife.
Full payment is made in July for $1,000 and $5,000 awards. Payment for $10,000 awards are made in two payments in July and December.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of career and educational goals and objectives
- Any unusual personal or family circumstances
- Essay: Describe a volunteer activity that you have participated in, what impact it had on the community and what you learned from this service
- Essay: Describe what patriotism means to you and how you demonstrate it
- Volunteer hours served in the prior twelve months.
Financial need is not considered.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of WoodmenLife play a part in the selection.
Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
Frequently Asked Questions
The application will be open from November 1, 2025 – January 15, 2026. There are no exceptions or extensions to the deadline.
Past WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship recipients may not reapply.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Applicants must be high school graduates or GED holders of the class of 2024, 2025, or 2026.
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited 2- or 4-year accredited college, university or vocational-technical school for the entire 2026-2027 academic year.
- Must be a WoodmenLife member in good standing with at least three consecutive years of unlapsed membership.
- Be part of a 100% WoodmenLife Family
Please note: If a family member applies for a product and is declined or rated, the family member may refuse the policy and the family will still be considered a 100% WoodmenLife family and eligible for WoodmenLife Extras. However, the family member who is declined or rated is not eligible for WoodmenLife Extras. Contact your WoodmenLife Representative with questions about eligibility.
Yes, students who were home-schooled are still eligible to receive the scholarship, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.
All applicants will need to provide their most current high school transcript, including student name, grades, and credit hours for each course.
The names and WoodmenLife certificate numbers of all family members in household.
Your certificate number is the 7- to 10-digit number identifying your policy.
You can find it on your actual certificate/policy provided to you by your WoodmenLife Representative;
OR on the cover sheet of your Annual Report at the top-right of the first page;
OR on your premium notice, in the box toward the center of the document.
WoodmenLife has teamed up with Scholarship America to administer the WoodmenLife Focus Forward Scholarship Program. Scholarship America is the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals.
Perfect grades and good test scores aren’t required. Scholarship recipients will complete an online application that includes short essay questions.
Scholarships will be awarded to those students who
- Make a difference in their community through volunteerism
- Want to make their community a better place to live
- Want to pursue a career as a leader in their community
- Demonstrate their academic performance by providing their transcripts and GPA
Financial need will NOT be a consideration for the awarding of scholarships.
When filling out the application, enter your first choice for attendance. Once recipients are selected, school choices can be updated.
There are no long-form essay questions on the scholarship application. However, applicants must provide responses to short answer questions.
All applicants, whether selected or not, will be notified by Scholarship America via email in April 2026. Recipients will receive a congratulatory letter via email.
Scholarship America will mail scholarship checks (payable to the educational institution) to the student recipients at their home address in early July 2026.
The funds can be used for education-related expenses, including tuition, fees, books, housing, meal plans, and supplies required for course work. How the funds are applied is up to the educational institution.
On the log in page, click the “Forgot password?” link and follow the instructions.
November 1, 2025: Application Opens
January 15, 2026: Application Closes
April 2026: Award letters* emailed to recipients and emailed notification sent to non-recipients.
July 2026: Scholarship checks mailed to recipients.
*Please Note: In order to receive scholarship checks, awards must be electronically accepted by the established deadline. Email notification of this process is sent to all recipients in April.
Scholarship America
Phone: 507-931-8378
Email: woodmenlife@scholarshipamerica.org
Customer service is available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST
No, we are unable to defer scholarship funds. All funds must be used during the 2026-2027 academic year.
