Nursing Scholarships Archive

Just like any scholarship, nursing scholarships are meant to meet the financial obligation of undertaking a nursing academic program. Scholarships are usually in form of funds or money targeted to help beneficiary students alleviate their tuition fees required to pursue a career. As a general observation, nursing scholarships donors have a driving motivation.  It is their way of giving back to the community and helping students who might be in a dilemma they once were in.  People who run and fund scholarships require the beneficiaries of their scholarships to emulate some set targets or goals as a way of appreciation. They are usually associated with individuals, government, college, states, and foundations among other set-ups.

The tuition cost of most nursing programs are prohibitive to the average high school graduate, blue or white collar worker who wants to pursue a nursing career. Luckily, available are plenty of sources to help fund those people interested in becoming professional nurses. So besides federal loans from the government, those wanting to join a nursing school may apply to various nursing scholarships. These scholarships for nursing students may be associated with the state that potential student is resident in, the state in which the nursing school is situated, the college they want to go to or just may be a national scholarship.

Being awarded a nursing scholarship will usually depend on your academic achievements or financial needs. There are nursing scholarships available for full-time students, part-time students and even some for online nursing students. Whichever category you may fit into, one thing you must do is search for scholarships you may be eligible for, complete the application form and submit it.

Nursing Scholarships Vs Nursing Grants

There is a tendency for students to use one term in reference to the other. There is a similarity though between scholarships and grants awarded in that unlike loans, it is “free money” and you do not have repay. Grants are tax exempted fees disbursed by the government or non-profit organizations towards a worthy cause. For grants, students make an application towards a project relevant to the grants mission. Usually, those awarded grants are expected to report back to the grant donor on the progress of such a grant initiative. It is also common for grants to be awarded to non-school going individuals like employed nurses working on a nursing research project outside the classroom.

On the contrary, scholarships are strictly confined to school-going nurses. This means that you have to be enrolled in a particular nursing track to be eligible to receive the scholarship. Another key difference between a scholarship and a grant is that for scholarships, there are strict requirements for selection due to numerous applications. On the other hand, grants proposals only need to convince the donor that the initiative is worthy and in line with the mission of the grant. 

Eligibility Criteria for Nursing Scholarships

Scholarships for nursing education have different eligibility requirements. The motivation behind the establishment of a scholarship program is usually used to determine individual eligibility to apply.  However, at the discretion of the scholarship donor, any of the below combinations may be used to determine a nurse’s suitability for a scholarship. Such criterion includes:

• Merit-Based Nursing Scholarships

To be eligible for merit-based scholarships, students must demonstrate exceptional levels of academic excellence. The examination department generates a list of highly achieving students who become eligible for the scholarship. Usually, merit-based nursing scholarships may not require students to apply. The merit list is used to allot the scholarship; e.g. in a hierarchical mode. According to the policies of the scholarship program is question, a certain number of students may benefit e.g. the top 10 students in a bachelor of science in nursing class.

• Need-Based Nursing Scholarships

These are scholarships designed to meet the nursing program financial needs for students who can prove financial difficulty in funding their tuition. Usually, the financial department or FAFSA provides proof of the applicants’ financial needs to the runners of the scholarship program. It is a common phenomenon for need-based scholarships to be accompanied by high academic ranking.  Students who meet such eligibility requirements are likely to become beneficiaries.

• Level-Based Nursing Scholarships

To be eligible for these scholarships, nurse applicants must be enrolled at a certain level in their nursing education. Students outside of this level automatically become ineligible to apply.  Precisely, this means that Master of Science in nursing scholarships cannot be awarded to Bachelor of Science in nursing students. Likewise LPN, ADN/ ASN/AAS, DNP, PhD nursing scholarships cannot be exchanged between levels.

Student-Specific Scholarships

Eligibility criteria for these scholarships depend on the student category a student is in. These types of scholarships target specific students nurse groups with regard to gender, race, as outlined below:

i)        Gender

Here, there are two major types of scholarships namely the male nursing scholarships and women nursing scholarships.  Male nursing students are encouraged to join the female dominated nursing career and scholarships are available as an incentive towards this. Examples of exclusive nursing scholarships for men include:

– AAMN Johnson & Johnson Scholarship
– Jadeh Moore Student Nurse Essay Contest
– Istudysmart.Com Scholarship
– Leonard G Cross Endowed Scholarship

Few examples of women nursing scholarships include:

– Caroline E.Holt Nursing Scholarship
– Rebecca Andrews Scholarship
– Blanch L. Dawson Nursing Scholarship Fund
– Roberta Pierce Schofield Bachelor’s Scholarship

ii)      Minority Nurse Scholarships

These scholarships are open to the students from an ethnic, race or origin which is considered to be a minority group. Most of minority nurse scholarships are grouped under a common association targeting the respective minority nurses. This category may include black women nursing scholarships, African American high School seniors nursing scholarships, Indian, Hispanic among others. Getting to each association’s website will give you a full list of nursing scholarships available. A sample of this would include:

• American Indian Nurse Scholarship Awards
• Asian American/Pacific Islander Nurses Association scholarships
• Ethnic Minority Bachelor’s Scholarships in Oncology Nursing
• National American Arab Nurses Association
• National Association of Hispanic Nurses Scholarships
• National Black Nurses Association scholarships
• Philippines Nurses Association of America
• Lauranne Sams Scholarship
• Ambi-Kiwi Scholarship
• General Hospital #2 Nurses Alumnae Scholarship Program

iii)    Single Mothers Nursing Scholarships

It may prove quite task a find scholarships specifically designated as single mothers nursing scholarships, but all is not lost. Single mothers can still apply for general scholarships e.g. Scholarships for women in science, given that nursing is a science program. On the other hand, single moms can also seek corporate -sponsored and employer-based single parents scholarships targeted at moms seeking advanced education.  Most healthcare facilities encourage nurses to continue with their education by giving either 100% tuition fees or incentives for interested employees. Government stimulus packages are also ways through which one can get a nursing scholarship as a single parent.  A few examples include:

• Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund
• Deanna Kendrick Foundation
• R.Preston Woodruff Jr. Scholarship
• Ed E. and Gladys Hurley Foundation
• Jeannette Rankin Foundation
• Linda Lael Miller Foundation
• Helen E Walker Endowed Scholarship (Students from single parent households)

Categories of Nursing Scholarships

Government Nursing Scholarship Programs

The government awards scholarships to motivate students to take-up nursing programs. This is especially so with the current shortage of nurses. This category of scholarships may target career shifters willing to join nursing, high school decision makers and nurses willing to advance their education levels. 

One good example of is the HRSA Nursing Scholarship Program (NSP) that pays for nursing tuition in return for 2-years service upon graduation. Students must be willing to work in underserved healthcare facilities as part of the 2-yaer appreciation service.  Another excellent opportunity is the Army ROTC Nursing Scholarships. These ones are offered to students in ROTC military nursing programs in supported schools.

State-Specific Nursing Scholarships

These scholarships are awarded to students living in particular states. Student nurses from other states cannot access them as usually, proof of residency is required. Further, these may be categorized into county residents such that within a particular state, only students from a specific county become eligible to apply.  You can perform a search with keywords like:

• Nursing scholarships in Delaware
• Nursing scholarships in New York
• Nursing scholarships in Washington
• Nursing scholarships in New Jersey

Such searches including all other per-state keywords will yield numerous scholarships programs available in each state.

College-Specific Nursing Scholarships

As the name suggest, this are open to students enrolled in the nursing department of a college. The school has the mandate of selecting and awarding the scholarships to successful applicants in line with other eligibility requirements.  These are usually funded by alumni, local businesses-corporate social responsibility, and the college among other sources. Individual who run the scholarship program usually delegate the selection process to the nursing department.

Likewise, using the search engines correctly and quoting the name of the college in question will yield good results. Such information for college specific scholarships is also freely available on financial aid office notice boards. Examples in this category include:

• St Luke’s College Scholarship Opportunities
• John Hopkins Nursing Scholarships
• Ohio State University Nursing funds
• University of Missouri College of Nursing Scholarships

Searching for Nursing Scholarships on the Internet

You may find this to be a daunting task, given the number of scholarships available to applicants. Basically, students must list down their priorities and what they require from a scholarship. Use of search engines can be of great help but confusing at the same time.

To get results of scholarships most relevant to you, you must learn how to narrow down on search engines. Smart use of relevant keywords will give you results of scholarships you are eligible for therefore saving you time of filtering from long irrelevant lists.

Tips on Applying For Nursing Scholarships

• This is where most students go wrong. Students should restrict themselves from applying for scholarships they are not eligible for-since the set eligibility criteria is the first selection cycle. Secondly, students must ensure their application packages are complete otherwise, incomplete applications will go right into the bin.
• All information presented in scholarship application must be true and students must not attempt to play any tricks. If a selection panel finds false information, the application will be rejected automatically. On the case that a student receives a scholarship under false information, the award may be withdrawn and student charged at a court of law.
• All scholarships including nursing education scholarships have application deadlines. Students must be aware of this application deadlines and is up-to them to ensure applications reach the designated offices before the closing date. Applications received after the deadlines are usually not considered.
• Finally, almost all scholarship programs will ask for a scholarship application essay asking the students to explain why they are best suited for the award. In a pool of eligible applicants, the easy may be the only way to set apart those to be selected. It is paramount to customize the essay to fit the question asked because generic essays are rejected. Write in a convincing manner but be realistic when listing your goals to avoid exaggeration of facts.

Nursing Scholarship Scams-Beware!

The whole idea of searching and applying for nursing scholarship programs and others have been taken-up by internet scams to loot students and guardians alike off money. While many scholarships are free to apply, conmen and internet scholarship scams claim to be in a position to give you higher chances of getting the scholarship upon payment of a processing fee.  If you fall prey, you will be asked to pay a small fee- usually to an untraceable recipient using Money Gram, Western Union and similar money transfer routes.

Once they money is sent, the party disappears into thin air and further communication is rejected. You end up receiving annoying scam mails as your email address is sold off to email collectors.  On this note, students should not get involved in looking for back doors and shortcuts from people who claim to have excellent connections. Often, scholarship applications, selections and awarding processes are run by the very organizations that own them or officially delegated partners.  You can only trust the direct communication from the foundation or your school if it collectively facilitates the application processes of the scholarships in question.