Scholarship opportunity

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Arkansas announced 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 Brooke Smith, director of programs of the National MS Society, Arkansas. "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.