NICEVILLE — The Mensa Education and Research Foundation scholarship application is due midnight, Jan. 15.
Applicants must provide a goal statement that includes specific information on experience or steps taken toward the goal; persuasiveness; and why you think you will succeed. The essay must have excellent grammar, spelling and punctuation. Winning essays typically are close to 550 words in length.
The program bases its awards totally on applicants' essays. Applicants don't have to be Mensa members, but they must be legal United States residents and plan on attending, or be attending, United States universities.
American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top 2 percent on an accepted, standardized intelligence test. The organization has more than 54,000 members in the United States.
This year, its foundation — a non-profit, tax-exempt organization funded by gifts from American Mensa members and other donors — awarded 176 scholarships totaling more than $77,000 to students.
The Northwest Florida Mensa Local Group, which covers 10 counties west of the Apalachicola River, is guaranteed two scholarships this year.
The application is available at www.mensafoundation.org/scholarships.
Visit www.us.mensa.org or call (800) 66-MENSA for more information about Mensa or to apply for membership.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mensa scholarship deadline approaches for Northwest Florida students