Nursing Scholarships

You have decided to dedicate your life to serving others in the health field, a very admirable pursuit. The schooling will be tough, but you are positive you can make it through with flying colors. Now all you have to come up with is the money to afford schooling, which is certainly not always easy to find. However, the world needs nurses now more than ever as our aging society has fewer to take care of it. Nursing scholarships grant an excellent chance of partial school funding, and there are quite a few out there for nurses only.

A scholarship is essentially free money granted to one who has applied for it. Reception of the scholarship might be contingent on particular factors, such as:

• Merit
• Need
• Obligation

Sometimes a scholarship is very specific and is only open to single mothers or single fathers, certain fields of specialization, or even to prospective nurses whose family belongs to a specific Moose Lodge. Scholarships can be a few hundred dollars awarded in cash, several thousand dollars paid directly to the school or even a full-ride, meaning all school costs will be covered. They can be open for application once a year, four times a year, or any number of times as dictated by the sponsor. Usually, the more often the application is open, the smaller the amount to be given away at one time. Many sponsors are private organizations, such as a ladies’ auxiliary club, but some may be given away by big companies like Microsoft.

As mentioned, there are three basic kinds of platforms off which judgment is made for the winning of nursing scholarships: obligation, need and merit. An obligatory scholarship is for those who have obligations within the four branches of the armed services: Air Force, Navy, Marines and Army. Nursing scholarships in the National Health Service Corps and the Veterans Affairs Health Careers are also available from the government. There is no limit to how many scholarships can be won, so apply to many, large and small, popular or not. Once graduated, the recipient is required to serve either four or eight years in the service, whichever was agreed upon. This is similar to the G.I. bill for education, which can cover up to $50,000 of schooling, but in that case the service is given first, then the money granted.

Need is the next type of scholarship offered, and it is based on financial need or provided to those who are not well-represented in the halls of higher education. For need-based applications, financial records, such as tax returns, must be presented. Need-based scholarships are also given to those of certain ethnic backgrounds or those who are disabled.

Finally, merit-based scholarships generally require an essay and an interview by the granting committee. They may also require reference letters from employers or teachers. The committee then evaluates applicants by community service, academic merit and future goals. The applicant deemed most worthy wins the scholarship.

There are hundreds of scholarships available each year and thousands of dollars for which you can apply, but scholarships require a bit of effort. The biggest effort one will probably have to make towards a scholarship is an essay expressing why the applicant is the best choice out of many. When you write an essay, remember to write from your heart, not what you think the judges want to hear. They often look for new blood and a fresh outlook, so restating what they believe is not going to win you any points for originality. Make sure you step back from the essay before submitting it. Let someone else read it, and then read it again yourself, making sure everything is sensible and that there are no spelling or grammatical errors.