Nurse Corps Scholarship 2018-2019

Published

Hi Everyone, I'm planning to apply for the HRSA NurseCorp Scholarship this year. I figured I would go ahead and start the next thread for this award year. I'm currently finishing up some of my prereqs and will be starting my BSN program in June. I know the application date hasn't been released yet but from what I have seen on other threads, it should be opened sometime in March/April with a deadline in May. I've also read that the prompt questions have been the same from one award year to the next so I have begun working on them as well as trying to figure out who I would like to use as recommendations. I would love to hear from all who plan to apply this year.

Hi FutureNurseEmily,

I had a questions about Nurse Corps.... Lets say a person gets accepted, that person is receiving federal school loans, does the college get paid first by Nurse Corps and then uses federal funds for the balance? If there is monies left over, does the school issue a refund to the student? How does it work exactly?

This really depends on your school. Everyone's handles it a different way. What HRSA will tell you is the student is not allowed to "profit" from the scholarship. In my case the majority of my award was prior to them starting to take taxes from the tuition, which started on 1/1/18. My school applied my pell grand and my state grant to my tuition and then billed HRSA for the remainder. After the bill was submitted I applied for loans which were then issued to me as a refund because I needed them to live off of. Some people's school issued their grants as refunds but mine did not interpret that as being what HRSA deemed acceptable. In my last semester my school waited to apply my grants and I applied them to the remainder of my tuition left over from the tax deductions to my payment. I ended up owing about $100 still which then came out of my loans and the remainder was issued as a refund. So I was not profiting from the scholarship. Again, this is largely up to your school how they wish to handle it. HRSA will give you a very bureaucratic response. I hope this helps. My recommendation to you is to stay in VERY, VERY, VERY close contact with your student accounts office. Make sure they know you, because some schools are very familiar with this scholarship, other, like mine, were not as I was the first to ever receive it. So it was a continuous process of learning. Make sure you understand the HRSA policies as well as your schools policies in order to ensure you get the most out of your scholarship. I hope this helps!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My honest question is, why do they award so late? If the purpose is to pay for expenses for students with the most financial need, should that not happen before school starts? I'm just scared to death about struggling to pay all the fees, buy my uniforms and books, and the biggest scare of all, quitting my job to attend classes. Yes, I am putting all of my eggs in one basket, but it was a chance I had to take, to do better for my family. I just wish they could notify earlier so I kind of knew where I stood before going through all of this preparation. I wish luck to all who applied!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
My honest question is, why do they award so late? If the purpose is to pay for expenses for students with the most financial need, should that not happen before school starts? I'm just scared to death about struggling to pay all the fees, buy my uniforms and books, and the biggest scare of all, quitting my job to attend classes. Yes, I am putting all of my eggs in one basket, but it was a chance I had to take, to do better for my family. I just wish they could notify earlier so I kind of knew where I stood before going through all of this preparation. I wish luck to all who applied!

I completely understand. I don't think I have ever been more stressed then the summer before I started school (well accept for my Med/Surg 2 rotation). But you have to have faith. Also, you have to be realistic. About 1 in 10 applicants receive this scholarship. If you do receive it, its issued by the federal government. They do things in their time, always. It's all very stressful. The process of nursing school was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was what I've always wanted and I got through some very dark times, including divorce with 3 kids and a broken leg, among many others. Keep your head up and don't stop fighting if it's what you want!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

FutureNurseEmily,

If someone receives the award, when is the monthly stipend paid out? What can we use this stipend for? Are taxes deducted from it? Do we need to report it on our income tax return? Any other information you can gift us would be amazing. Thank you again for your knowledge and advice on this forum.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi! The Stipend is paid usually between the 15th and 20th of every month. It does very sometimes it is late but is long as it's paid before the following month on the 15th HRSA doesn't deem it late. Taxes are taken out for federal Medicaid and Social Security but not state taxes yes you do have to clean it on your income it's issued as a W-2. You can use it for anything it's a stipend so therefore you can use it for bills rent food mortgage whatever. But if you don't know this information I highly suggest you read the guidance PDF. Because these are the kind of things that you should already know prior to applying for the scholarship because if you receive it there's a lot of fine details that you need to already be familiar with in order to make sure you're in compliance with your scholarship. I'm happy to give guidance but it's really important that you do all your research and read every thing befoe you sign that contract. The biggest thing I suggest to everybody is make sure that there are service sites in your area because I know a lot of people that didn't do that research prior to applying and then ended up having to move her default because they couldn't get a job and a site that was approved I suggest more than anything that you research that there are sites local to you because you will be required to pay back all of the money with interest within three years if you can't find a site to do your service contract .

QUOTE=RNMikey1983;9881993]FutureNurseEmily,

If someone receives the award, when is the monthly stipend paid out? What can we use this stipend for? Are taxes deducted from it? Do we need to report it on our income tax return? Any other information you can gift us would be amazing. Thank you again for your knowledge and advice on this forum.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

These are two thing that are crucial in understand this scholarship

Read this front to back and refer back to it often:

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nurse-corps-guidance.pdf

Use this to search facility address in your area. It must have a PCP or Mental Health score of at lease 14 to qualify, and no, you don't have work in the capacity it scores in ie: you can work Med Surg if it scores for mental health. But you cannot work there if it only scores for dental. If there are no sites in your area HRSA WILL NOT CARE! You will be required to do what ever it takes or you will default your scholarship AND BE REQUIRED TO PAY IT ALL BACK IN THREE YEARS WITH INTEREST! Make sure you know where sites are before you sign your contract!!!!!

HRSA - Find Shortage Areas by Address

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×

I read the program guidance packet and I have a question about the sites we can work at. I'm currently working at the VA as a student nurse technician and I most likely will have the ability to stay on as a nurse after graduation. In the handbook it say "U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals are also allowable entities under this category.". I was wondering if you know if the VA has to have score of 14 or higher to qualify or if a job at the VA automatically is accepted.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I read the program guidance packet and I have a question about the sites we can work at. I'm currently working at the VA as a student nurse technician and I most likely will have the ability to stay on as a nurse after graduation. In the handbook it say "U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals are also allowable entities under this category.". I was wondering if you know if the VA has to have score of 14 or higher to qualify or if a job at the VA automatically is accepted.

To my knowledge all facilities have to score 14 or higher.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

HRSA - Find Shortage Areas by Address

@futurenurseemily I used the address of a local hospital and it said yes (score of 18) under primary care. Even if I didn't work In the offices at the hospital would it still qualify? I attached the site at beginning of post for verification...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

As long as you are working as a nurse at at that address it would qualify based on the score.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Has anyone had a credit check at this point? Not sure how much later things will kick off this year considering the later application cycle. Thanks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion