Scholarships and age

Nurse2bSandy · Apr 10, 2003

Tonicareer,

I have not really found this to be true. I am an older (46) student and was awarded a scholarship last year from my school's language arts dept. Just taking the required english class made me eligible. I have been awarded a half-price tuition waiver based on my GPA and membership in the honor society for the upcoming two years. This scholarship will be worth $15,000!

You need to go to fastweb.com and submit a profile. I get new scholarships e-mailed to me weekly and I qualify for all that they send me. I got one today that I will submit next week. There are plenty of opportunities out there to help you pay for you schooling.

Talbot's has a scholarship especially for women returning to college that is past for this year, but you might want to check it out and keep it in mind if you have another year or two. You are right, many scholarships do focus on high school seniors or younger students... but many are also offered for us not just out of high schools. I can't believe that a college would tell you that donors want to give money to young students... that's discriminatory. Usually counselors are there to help you find what you need!

almondhoney · Apr 10, 2003

I have the same problem out here!! And the fact that I am so busy raising a family doesn't leave the time to volunteer, so I am taken out of the equation. Applied 2 years in a row & got zip!!

I also have 4.0 GPA.

Yes I say this is prejudice!!

Almondhoney

JudithL_in_NH · Apr 10, 2003

Tonicareer--

I'm in exactly the same boat in NH!

Were I a recent HS graduate, the BSN program that has accepted me (very pricey)would give me a FULL SCHOLARSHIP based on my grades, test scores, etc. However, I'm 46 and graduated in '74; they have offered me a merit scholarship worth about 1/4 of my tuition.

This institution's honor society offers a $2K scholarship. I was told that nursing students are not eligible to be in the honor society, because they're already too busy to perform the additional honors work required (an honors seminar and research project every year).

I spoke with the institution's Director of Financial Aid, and he (in a rather nasty tone) told me: "These opportunities are for the young; you had your chance already." !!! He recommended loans. This is from a school that very actively prospects for nontraditional students, yet offers them little in the way of scholarship aid.

I've let him know how very disappointed I am, and that I will likely go elsewhere due to the price tag. I'm still waiting on acceptance descisions from other institutions.

I've applied for many, many other scholarships--national ones, like the ones you hear about on FastWeb, and I'm hopeful, but the reality is that thousands of folks apply for these. Sure, it's worth the effort; I might be one of the lucky ones. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

researchrabbit · Apr 10, 2003

I received a scholarship when I was in nursing school at 41. It was from HCA and did not have any strings attached. It paid for tuition for one semester (plus a little left over). I was not eligible for many because I already had a degree. You might check with hospitals in your area; sometimes they will pay tuition if you agree to work for them after graduation. Good luck!

Nurse2bSandy · Apr 11, 2003

Hey, have you checked out all the scholarships offered at campusrn.com? They have tons listed... of course, most have some stipulations... state, ethnicity, gender, etc. You might have some options there, though.