NURSE Corps 2017-2018

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Hello everyone,

With the NURSE Corps application cycle just having opened, I wanted to start a thread so that we may communicate about the application. I've called them a few times already with questions, and would be happy to share what I have learned.

One thing that I was not able to get a clear answer on was the required length of the essays. I read through the pdf guide as well as the online instructions and found conflicting information. The guide states that each essay should be 250 words, but online it says, "Each response should be limited to 5,000 characters or less (approximately ½ page), one page per essay." I called twice to ask about this, and one person said 250 words was ok and the other stated it could be up to 5,000 characters. Since I've heard you can easily be disqualified if you don't follow guidelines, I wanted to see if anyone else has called to ask about this.

Thanks in advance, and best of luck to you all!!

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Can you post the essay questions?

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Here they are @cherryblossom23:

1. How will you contribute to the mission of the NURSE Corps Scholarship Program in providing care to underserved communities?

2. What experiences have you had that have prepared you to work with underserved populations? For example: community service, internships, and federally funded health programs; or work in rural, frontier or tribal settings.

3.Please discuss your commitment to pursue a career in nursing.

Each response should be limited to 5,000 characters or less (approximately ½ page), one page per essay. We recommend that you use a standard word processing tool (e.g., Microsoft Word, Word Perfect) to respond to the questions. The applicant must provide the first initial and last name and their Application ID number at the top of each document.

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I had the same (mixed) answers when calling different times. I think since 5,000 characters is WAY longer than 1/2 page, we should go with 250 words which is about 1/2 page. That's what I'm doing anyway!

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I think that is a safe way to go!

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Just wanted to let you know I got more (still somewhat vague) information yesterday. Someone on the conference call asked about essay length. The director of the program said it should be less than 5,000 characters and under 1 page. She replied her essays are less than 5,000 characters but about a page and a half. He replied, and I quote, "Well, we aren't too picky about that."

So...I decided to expand my essays a bit because you can't say much in 250 words. Mine are now each between 450 and 510 words, and 2,500 and 3,000 characters, and less than one page at 1.15 spacing, 12 font, Times New Roman.

I'm hoping that is acceptable.

Wish they'd be more clear! Sheesh.

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Thank you for this information! Guess I need to go back to the drawing board with my essays. Fun stuff. :/ At least we won't be disqualified for essay length!!

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