Fellowships or Scholarships for NP Students

[jmuhammad10]

I am looking to start a NP program and I do not want to get loans. I hear scholarships are hard to come by for NPs. I've come across programs for loan repayments. I don't have any student loans - thank God. Does anyone have any resources for fellowships or scholarships for NP programs? Can the NP program be an online program or must it be a traditonal in-class program? Your help is always appreciated.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

There are HRSA grants for NP students not tied to loan repayment. Only certain schools have been eligible, doubt online for profits are included but I'm sure both public and private research universities have received it. When I was in grad school (state university) I applied and was picked for HRSA's Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship grant. The university I attended had 10 slots a year for this particular grant. The grant requires a full-time course load. Grant amount varies by school, ours paid for half of my tuition. Ask schools about it.

Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship (AENT)

Advanced Nursing Education

[myelin]

You can apply for the NHSC or nurse corps scholarship. Both pay for your education upfront, and you agree to work in an underserved area upon graduation, equivalent to the number of years you received funding.

[onesunniegal]

jmuhammad10,

I totally understand your perspective about taking out loans to go for your NP. I do not know which state in which you reside, but do a google search to see if there is an agency that advocates for rural health or underserved populations. This may be a good starting point locating some sort of funding/repayment.

Keep us posted!

s

[BostonFNP, APRN]

You can apply for the NHSC or nurse corps scholarship. Both pay for your education upfront and you agree to work in an underserved area upon graduation, equivalent to the number of years you received funding.[/quote']

There are some serious downsides to this. Do your research before you sign up!

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

What are the downsides that you're referring to? I've been researching it and haven't seen anything negative.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

What are the downsides that you're referring to? I've been researching it and haven't seen anything negative.

I don't want to influence you one way or the other, but I can say to make sure you know the answers to these questions: Are you will to relocate? How many qualified jobs are currently open? How many people are in the program looking for jobs? What happens if you are unable to find a qualified job within 6 months? Longer? Are you able to work the strict day/hour/weeks requirement? What happens if you need time off? What is the salary differential between qualified jobs and others in the area you would like to work?

What is the support system for you in the qualified job?

[phea]

Some of these scholarships end up paying you a lot less than what you would make as a NP when you graduate and you will end up loosing money in the long run

[elkpark]

I don't know what has been happening since the economy tanked, but lots of states used to have scholarship/grant programs to assist their residents who wanted to become nurses or further their nursing education and career. I got a pretty good chunk of money from my state to attend graduate school, and was able to work it off by working in the state (in the state, not for the state) after graduation, which I was planning on doing anyway, instead of paying it back.

It may be that a lot of those programs have been cut back or eliminated in recent years, with the economy and lack of any kind of nursing "shortage," but it would be worth looking into. There are also lots of small, private scholarships around. Your school's financial aid office should be able to help you identify possibilities.

Best wishes!