Applications for the Elks National Foundation's 2010 Most Valuable Student contest are available online, at your local Elks Lodge, or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Foundation. To locate an Elks Lodge near you, try your phone book or click here.

The 2010 Most Valuable Student scholarship application deadline has passed. Applications must advance through local, district and state competition to reach the national competition. National finalists will be notified by email on February 1, 2010. To be eligible for an award, national finalists will be required to submit a secondary application online, which will include an essay, aid received to date and college plans. The national finalists will also be required to mail their FAFSA Student Aid Report to the ENF. National finalist applications are due March 1, 2010.

The Elks National Foundation will award 500 four-year scholarships to the highest-rated applicants in the 2010 competition.

• Any high school senior who is a citizen of the United States is eligible to apply.
• Applicants need not be related to a member of the Elks.
• College students are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants must be citizens of the United States on the date their applications are signed; permanent legal resident status does not qualify.
• Male and female students compete separately.

Applicants will be judged on scholarship, leadership, and financial need.

All scholarships are in the form of certificates of award conditional upon the full-time enrollment of the winner in an accredited U.S. college or university.

The Chicago office of the Elks National Foundation will announce the 500 national winners, and notify them in writing, on April 1, 2010. (Many local Lodges, districts and state Elks associations award their own scholarships through this program. These scholarships are not to be confused with the 500 Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Scholarships.)

Ranging from $1,000 per year to $15,000 per year, Most Valuable Student scholarships are for students pursuing a four-year degree, on a full-time basis (minimum of 12 semester hours), in a U.S. college or university.

Requests for additional information should be addressed to the scholarship chairman of the local Lodge or of the Elks association of the state in which the applicant is a resident.