Mensa US Scholarship

Scholarship Value: $2,500

Awards Available: 178

Award Deadline: Jan 15, 2025


There are two requirements for applicants:

  • Applicants must be enrolled in a degree program in an accredited U.S. institution of higher learning during the academic year following the application date.
  • Applicants must submit an application and essay explaining his or her career, academic and/or vocational goals.

Applicants have until Jan. 15 to write an essay of not more than 550 words explaining their career, academic and/or vocational goals and how they plan to achieve those goals. For more information, read our scholarship FAQ.

Local judging

American Mensa’s local chapters assemble judging teams of at least three members to review the applications. The essays are judged on content and also grammar, organization, and craftsmanship. The Local Scholarship Chair refers the best local essays to the Regional Scholarship Chair for review.

Regional judging

At the regional level, the process is repeated. The regional chair arranges for all of the essays referred from local chapters to be judged a second time. Regional judges rank the local winners and nominate the best essays for regional and national awards. These essays are then forwarded to the National Scholarship Chairs.

National judging

Finally, the National Scholarship Chairs conduct additional rounds of judging to select the regional and national winners. Each applicant can receive only one Mensa Foundation scholarship per year; therefore, the winners are chosen beginning at the highest dollar amounts. The next highest scores receive awards of the next lower amounts, and so on until all the winners are chosen based on the judges’ scores.

The final list of scholarship winners is presented to the Mensa Foundation Board of Trustees, who certify the winners. Winners are notified by mail and given instructions for claiming their award. They are required to submit proof of registration in a degree program during the following academic year as well as proof of U.S. citizenship. After the verification is received, the checks are written and students receive the funds to help them pursue their education.

How to Apply:

Niche $50,000 Scholarship

Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
$50,000
Covering the cost of college expenses for four years without writing a single essay? Sounds too good to be true.It isn't with Niche. We are giving one student $50,000 (our biggest scholarship yet) to help pay for tuition, living expenses, books, and other educational expenses.Who Can ApplyAll high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college...

Be Bold Scholarship

Deadline: Jan 01, 2025
$25,000
The "Be Bold" Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship that will be awarded to the applicant with the boldest profile. It takes less than 2 minutes to apply.To us, boldest does not mean "best", or "most accomplished". Being bold means being:EarnestDeterminedMovingThe scholarship will be awarded to the student whose profile is most bold, according to these characteristics.Furthermore, the scholarship will be...

ScholarshipOwl No Essay Scholarship

Deadline: Dec 29, 2024
$1,000
ScholarshipOwl is your source of relief from the dreaded application process. We put students on the fast-track to success by providing direct access to the scholarships they need the most. Take the hassle out of financial aid and maximize your chance at a free ride in college. No matter how much funding you need for school, we have the opportunities...

$3,500
The Christian Connector offers various scholarship drawings for Christian colleges. All of the information services provided by The Christian Connector are offered absolutely free!Eligibility:Students applying to the Christian Connector Scholarship must be current high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, or 2027) interested in attending a Christian university or college.About:The Christian Connector offers a "one-stop-shop" for receiving free information from...

$10,000
The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. Whether you are a high school student who hopes to go to college, a graduate student who’s in a master’s program, or an adult learner who wants to return to school, you are eligible for our no essay scholarship.This scholarship...

No Essay Scholarship by Sallie

Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
$2,000
The $2,000 No Essay Scholarship by Sallie is only open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and any US Territory age 17 or older at the time of entry, and who meet one (1) of the four (4) following eligibility requirements at the time of entry:A parent who currently has a child enrolled in...

The Future is Now Scholarship

Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
$1,001
The Lenny Scholarship offers $1,001 US to support young individuals aged 16 and above, enrolled in college and residing in the US or India. Automatic disqualification may occur for multiple applications.EligibilityYou must be a resident of the US or IndiaYou must be 16 years of age or olderYou must be enrolled in a college

Appily Easy Money Scholarship

Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
$1,000
The Appily scholarship application is fast and easy.Scholarship Eligibility: This scholarship is open to high school sophomores, juniors, and first semester senior students for all majors and schools. We will judge this scholarship based on other criteria such as volunteer work, extracurricular activities, special circumstances, etc.About the sponsors of the scholarship (EAB and Appily):EAB is the market leader in helping colleges...

10 Words or Less Scholarship

Deadline: Apr 15, 2025
$1,000
Scholarship Eligibility:A) Anyone who is between the ages of 14-25 who will be attending school in the Fall of 2025.B) This scholarship is provided by StudentScholarships.org. In order to apply for our scholarship follow these instructions:1. Go to www.facebook.com/myscholarships and place a comment on any post you see answering the question:In 10 words or less, tell us why you deserve...

Mindscape Big Picture Scholarship

Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
$10,000
The universe is extraordinarily complex, but it is also understandable. It is crucially important that we support young people who are passionate about working to understand it better.Sean Carroll is a physicist, philosopher, and host of the Mindscape podcast. Mindscape is dedicated to the idea that the quest to understand our world, from a wide variety of angles, is one...