Mensa Yearly Scholarship Essay Contest

Each year, the Mensa Education & Research Foundation (MERF) sponsors a national scholarship essay contest. Mid-Hudson Mensa participates in this contest. 

You do not have to be a member of Mensa to enter.  The primary requirement is that you must be enrolled in a fully accredited university or college in the United States the following school year. To enter through the Mid-Hudson Mensa chapter, you must reside or be attending a college or university within Mid-Hudson Mensa's geographic area.

Each year, the awards, rules and schedules may vary slightly. But in general, the following may be used as basic guidelines:

• Entry must be an essay of 550 words or less, on your chosen career. The essay must typically be typed or computer generated, double-spaced, on white paper. The complete rules will be on the application form.
• You must send your entry to the participating Mensa chapter in your area-- where you live, or where you currently attend college. Check Mid-Hudson Mensa's geographic area, and which zip codes it covers. 
  Entries that do not fall within our area will be rejected.
• Publicity for the contest generally begins around November of each year. Mid-Hudson Mensa tries to send word of the contest to the guidance office of each high school and the financial aid office of each college within our chapter bounds. If your school is not receiving information about this contest, please let us know.
• Requests for applications must be postmarked by December 18, 2001. All entries for the essay contest must be received by January 15, 2002.
• Besides general scholarships, MERF also provides several special awards of varying amounts for certain categories. For example, the Rita Levine Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a woman returning to school after an absence of 7 or more years. The number and value of these awards may also vary from year to year.

Mid-Hudson Mensa is also building a local scholarship fund, maintained by The Community Foundation of Dutchess County. In future years, we will provide local scholarship awards in conjunction with the national contest.

For information about the scholarship contest, send a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope to:
Mensa Essay Contest
3 North Cross Road
Staatsburg, NY 12580-5301
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