The National MS Society Multiple Sclerosis Scholarships are awarded to qualified scholars – individuals with a dream to attend college but have limitations due to either themselves or one of their parents diagnosed with MS – the disease of Central Nervous System that hampers normal mobility. The society through various donors provides annual scholarships for MS to such individuals to ensure that the mobility in their lives remains smooth, especially for education needs. The National MS Society scholarship was started in 2003 and have MS scholarships of $68,000 in the same year. Since then the Multiple Sclerosis scholarship amount has grown due to the various contributions. The society distributed more than $1 million to more than 500 scholars in 2009. This averages to just over a $2,000 MS scholarship per individual.
The annual application process for these disability scholarships for MS needs to be done online and is open from Oct 1 till Jan 15 every year. Dates might vary and hence can be checked online. The application is open for legal residents of the US and the first-time college freshmen only. Age is not a criterion for application but attending an accredited postsecondary school for the first time is. Due to the health limitations the program does not require enrollment as full-time students but has a pre-defined criteria. The application is not to be done at the state chapters.
The society normally distributes $1000 to $3000 to each individual as per the students need for these disability scholarships. The application requires various documents to be provided that are reviewed during the selection process. The selection panel – staff from state chapters, nationalboard members and people with MS – review all the applications.
With more 500,000 people in the US affected due to MS, this disease impacts the lives of many more due to the dependency and other factors. The MS National Society, with the support from various donors, has brought an active change in the lives of many such individuals & families by providing various facilities including access to Education. Education as a basic necessity for growth is everyone’s need and providing the motivation to get the knowledge and skills is done by the MS Society through the National MS Society Scholarships. Getting the individuals to be mentally active first plays a big part to remove the mental block from the minds of the people impacted by this disease.