Accelerated BSN (/MSN) that have scholarships

disneyprincess · Apr 4, 2016

Anyone?

oldsockventriloquist · Apr 4, 2016

Many nursing programs will have a financial aid and scholarships section on their websites and if you don't see one, you could inquire about it via email or phone for someone with bachelor's and master's degrees. Because you have a graduate and an undergraduate degree, your needs-based funding is very limited. Depending on your state, you likely do not qualify for state grants, along with federal grants, due to your bachelor's degree for undergraduate degree funding. Because many programs utilize state and federal funds, you most likely will not be designated as a candidate for many financial aid programs, such as work study. From the FAFSA brochure, your grants for an MSN are non-existent, since you (to my knowledge) are not enrolling in a teaching program. This means that you qualify largely for unsubsidized loans (and possibly some subsidized loans) for either pathways, assuming you meet the qualifications (US citizen, accepted or enrolled in a program, etc.). Other federal funds could include NIH research, but I imagine you would need a good research project and funding probably is extremely competitive. Just as competitive would also be scholarships and loan forgiveness for working in underserved communities. It might be worth it to look at federal public service loan forgiveness awards (I think you need a number of years of public service).

From doing some research (although I'm sure I'm neglecting a ton of information listed somewhere), the scholarships that are offered by nursing programs are going to be minuscule compared to the overall cost. Meaning you'll get anywhere from $500-10,000+ for a $50,000+ ABSN, excluding non-tuition costs. There might be some major program scholarships, but I've found that they are extremely rare. Here is an example -http://www.missouristate.edu/nursing/Scholarships.htm . I would expect to pay 90%+ of the costs using other sources. Many universities offer general scholarships, but those will also be limited to certain populations. Usually, they are geared towards freshmen, first degree transfer students, first generation college students, minorities, etc. If you don't fall into those categories, chances of getting those funds are unlikely.

So now onto private sources, there are awards out there from nonprofits and for-profit organizations. Many offer around $1000 per awards and will be contest-based, merit-based, essay-based, or some combination of the three. Word to the wise, NEVER give out critical information with these private scholarships (like your social security number or bank information) and NEVER pay for a scholarship. If something looks fishy, it probably is, and if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. Usually for these scholarships, you'll be submitting hundreds of applications and writing many essays. I would ALWAYS keep in mind what each party does with your information. But if all goes well, you might end up with a few thousand dollars that can be used towards tuition and/or room and board.

Meaning you probably could get a few thousand from both private and university sources, depending on how persistent you are. Hopefully at the very least you've filed FAFSA by now to receive priority for many schools, if you intend to go back. For the rest you might be able to get by with federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans. After that, you'll have to take out (usually high interest rate) private loans, to pay for the rest depending on how much you've saved up. If you all ready have tons of student loans, I'd probably talk to a financial advisor, accountant, attorney, or some other expert that's specialized in student loans to see if you can consolidate your debt before proceeding and if it's wise to take out additional student loans (use a non-biased party that you likely have to pay for in your area).

Also, remember that the ABSN and BSN/MSN pathways are going to be extremely expensive. For the BSN/MSN, we are talking about potentially over $100,000 for tuition alone for both degrees! ABSN programs I have seen run near that price and that's also for just tuition. So, you need to think about if you can pay it off in 5-20 years down the road or even in your lifetime. BSN degrees can also be just as expensive if you decide to go out-of-state, private, etc.

My advice is after you research each of the sources listed above and you find out you'll be accruing a huge amount of debt, I'd heavily consider saving up some amount of money to pay for a less costly way into nursing (in-state BSN or ADN) and maybe also trying to find some employer to cover some of the costs (working as a CNA, tech...). There really isn't some large source of funding that you won't have to pay back and if you are serious about making nursing a career, you might have to look at non-traditional pathways through ACCREDITED schools (make sure you look up each school and don't go with ones not yet accredited that MIGHT get accredited in the future) to make that dream a reality. Good luck!

Edit: I will also say if you think you'll be able to payback your loans with a career as a nurse, nurse manager, nurse practitioner, or CRNA, I would consider how much you'll make with each pathway by looking on job search websites in your area (and not searching for average salaries). If the loans and salaries (including interest rates) do not match up, then you'll know your options.

oldsockventriloquist · Apr 5, 2016

I forgot to mention about looking at military benefits (which I only have a basic understanding of, so double check what's stated here) in your family, receiving GI bill benefits if you're willing to meet the minimum number of years of service prior to starting nursing school, and researching military nursing schools (that have no tuition in exchange for a number of years of service). If you want to join the military as a nurse, some branches might offer loan repayment, but I think you need a BSN (at minimum) to join, although I could be wrong. Hopefully, my two posts will give you an idea about your funding options.