National Multiple Sclerosis Society scholarship applications are now being accepted

November 8, 2011 Tulsa, Okla. – The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Oklahoma announces scholarship applications are now being accepted for the 2012 school year. The deadline for submissions is January 13, 2012. 

The annual scholarship program helps students affected by multiple sclerosis pursue a college or technical school education. It is open to high school seniors who live with MS or have a parent who does; or anybody living with MS who has not yet been to a post-secondary school.

In addition to the emotional toll, MS can have a substantial financial impact on a family. The direct and indirect costs of MS, including lost wages — even for those with health insurance — are estimated at more than $30,000 annually or $2.2 million over a lifetime. This makes funding a college education that much harder.

“We are pleased to say that the National MS Society has provided many high school seniors with college scholarships throughout the years,” said Sharleen Dupee, director of programs of the National MS Society, Oklahoma. “This scholarship program exists to help highly qualified students who have been diagnosed with MS or who have a parent with MS achieve their dreams of going to college.”

For more information, call 1-800-344-4867, option 2 or visit nationalmssociety.org/scholarship.


WHAT:    2012 National MS Society Scholarships now available
WHEN:        January 13, 2012 – Deadline for application submissions 
APPLICATIONS:     Download an application at nationalMSsociety.org/scholarship, or call
1-800-344-4867 for more information.


Annual Scholarship Program Continues To Grow Across the Country
The Society established its scholarship program nine years ago, and it immediately became a source of great encouragement for families concerned that MS might put college out of reach. In its first year of operation the program awarded 36 scholarships for a total of $68,000; in 2011 over $1 million was awarded to 639 scholars nationwide. Applications are evaluated on financial need, academic record, leadership and volunteer activities, a statement of educational and career goals, and letters of recommendation. Applicants are also asked to provide a personal statement describing the impact MS has had on their life. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $3,000 and typically cover one year.


About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. The Society addresses the challenges of each person affected by MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, collaborating with MS organizations around the world, and providing programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move forward with their lives. In 2010 alone, through its national office and 50-state network of chapters, the Society devoted $159 million to programs and services that assisted more than one million people. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested $37 million to support 325 new and ongoing research projects around the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. Join the movement at nationalMSsociety.org.

Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis. Learn about your options by talking to your health care professional and contacting the National MS Society at nationalMSsociety.org or 1-800- 344-4867.

About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with the disease. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and over 2.1 million worldwide.