Scholarships available to N.D. students

In spring of 2021, North Dakota Mensa will be awarding a $500 scholarship and the Mensa Foundation will award a $600 scholarship, both to North Dakota residents. These two

scholarships are guaranteed to go to North Dakota students. However, Mensa offers a wide variety of specialized scholarships. For the last two years, a North Dakota student was awarded a specialized scholarship, so three North Dakota students won Mensa scholarships. The 2021 Mensa scholarship contest is open to all North Dakota residents who are enrolled in a U.S. college or university in the academic year following the award (Fall 2021). Applicants must write 550-word essays that describe their educational and/or career goals.

Winners are selected based on these essays and Mensa Foundation judging criterion. The Foundation’s college scholarship program bases its awards totally on essays written by the

applicants. Consideration is not given to grades, academic program, or financial need. Mensa membership is not required, nor is it relevant.

The scholarship application process is open now and closes January 15, 2021.

The Foundation’s U.S. scholarship program covers all of the country and awards more than $140,000 a year. The program relies on approximately 450 volunteers around the country, with support from the Foundation’s office staff.

Applicants must be enrolled in a degree-granting program in 2021 at an accredited college or university within the U.S.

Winners may apply the award towards undergraduate, graduate, and non-traditional programs.

A panel of North Dakota Mensans will select the semi-finalists and send those essays to the Mensa Foundation for selection of the winners. Grammar counts, as does essay organization, clarity of writing, and following the instructions.

One entry makes an applicant eligible for all the applicable scholarships.

More information is available at http://www.mensafoundation.org/what-we-do/scholarships/.