What Kind of Nursing School Scholarships Are Out There?

Chances are that if you want to go to the best nursing schools, you’re going to need some nursing school scholarships. The Huffington Post reports that, “The inflation-adjusted price for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 42 percent between the 2000-2001 academic year and 2010-2011, according to federal data.” In comparison to the academic year 1980-1981, the price had almost doubled.

Despite these rising costs, the call for nursing has never been stronger. People feel compelled to contribute to society, and so they learn how to medically assist others. Plus, nursing also offers stability and security in these stormy economic times. Thankfully, many colleges offer nursing school scholarships to help young men and women learn, train, and become the important healthcare providers.

But how can an individual earn nursing scholarships? What steps need to be taken, and where to even begin? The first thing to do is to familiarize one’s self with the different kinds of nursing school scholarships. There are grants, scholarships, work study programs, and more.

Grants are easily the best kind of nursing school scholarships to get because they’re essentially free money. These are the kinds of nursing school scholarships that you don’t have to pay back. There are over a thousand different federal gran programs in the U.S. that are worth more than $400 billion, and securing one of these can help save potentially thousands off of school.

Scholarships are the next best thing to grants. Like grants, nursing school scholarships don’t have to be paid back, but the caveat is that they can be pretty competitive. There are usually restrictions for applicants such as they’ll only allow applicants who are actively involved in a particular group or organizations. While some may see this is as a problem, it can also be seen as an opportunity, because it limits the amount of competition for one’s applicable scholarships.

Work-study programs are a way for students to finance their education through community-related jobs, assisting teachers or through on-campus jobs. These are usually given out on a need based level, but they’re extra helpful because they may afford students to gain on-the-job, related experience for their resume before graduating.

Knowing what kind of nursing school scholarships are out there is the first step to financing an education. If you have any questions about nursing school scholarships, or any suggestions about where to find nursing school scholarships, feel free to share in the comments.