Scholarships for Nursing Students: How to Find Programs that Help You Pay for Nursing School
A career in nursing can bring job stability and great pay in the healthcare field. An undergraduate degree in nursing will generally land you a good job right out of college, and registered nurses continue to be in high demand across the country. As a result, nurses have a relatively straightforward path when it comes to paying off student loans in a timely manner after they graduate.
Of course, you’ll still want to explore how to minimize those student loans in the first place because why graduate with more debt than necessary? Depending on your personal situation and your nursing career objectives, there are plenty of nursing scholarships available that you can mix and match to cover most or sometimes all of your nursing school tuition, fees, and living costs.
Keep reading to learn how to get nursing scholarship money including in-house scholarships from your college, private external nursing school scholarships, government scholarship programs for nursing students, and “scholarships after the fact”: federal and state loan forgiveness programs specifically for nurses.
Where do I start with nursing scholarships?
You’re seeking ways to minimize the student loans you’ll take out for your nursing degree. Where do you start? The quick answer is: do the easiest work and the work you have to do anyway, and then move on to your longer-shot scholarship options. Here’s what that looks like:
- Start with scholarships from your college. Start researching and applying to colleges early so you can get your financial aid packages from each school and compare the final costs. Be sure to talk at length with each college’s admissions counselor and ask them to help you find every in-house scholarship, grant, or work-study option that might apply to you. If you start this hunt early (say, fall of your junior year), you’ll even have time to bulk up your scholarship resume. For instance, many scholarship programs want to know what you’ve contributed to your local community in terms of service, leadership, or volunteer work. Some programs want to see that you’ve been involved in certain extracurriculars, and you need a minimum GPA for certain scholarships. So find out what you’re shooting for while you have time to work on those items.
- Fill out the FAFSA. Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as soon as the application period opens to find out exactly how much federal education aid you’re eligible for, in the form of both grants and loans. Many need-based scholarships will require your FAFSA information to make their determinations. If it’s still your junior year, use the Federal Student Aid Estimator to get started on the calculations early. The program tends not to change much year to year, so assuming your household income also won’t change a lot you can get a good idea how much federal grant money you’re looking at.
- Research government programs for nurses. Check out federal government and military scholarship programs for nurses, then see what programs are available from relevant state governments. Become familiar with federal and state nursing loan forgiveness programs as a backup. Keep in mind that government scholarship programs like the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program, while highly competitive, guarantee scholarship recipients reimbursement of their college expenses. By contrast, most loan forgiveness programs have you competing with fellow nurses after you graduate: you’ll apply for these programs at the end of nursing school, and not all applicants will be accepted. (The exception to this is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Plan, which is available to everyone but is also not as robust or quick in its loan repayment as other programs.)
- Strategically pursue private scholarships. Start searching early for scholarships from businesses, associations, and college funds. Study the scholarship award criteria for your top government and private scholarship programs. As with the in-house school scholarship programs, determine what the external scholarship programs want in their candidates (high GPA, leadership roles, extracurriculars, certain types of community service, other achievements), then bulk up your resume while you’re still in high school.
It’s important to realize that external scholarships are often highly competitive. If you’re determined to get substantial support from government and private scholarships, then start early, do your research, and cast a wide net.
In-house scholarships for nursing students
Many colleges and universities offer need-based and merit-based scholarships to their students to cover part of the cost of tuition. As you’re exploring your top nursing school choices, check the college website to see how many in-house scholarships you qualify for at each of the schools you’re considering. Once you’ve subtracted those scholarships from your total college bill, explore the most promising external private and government nursing scholarships to pick up as much of the remaining cost as possible.
Can you Afford the Nursing Program at Gustavus Adolphus?
The private nursing education Gustavus Adolphus provides takes a lot of resources to meet the quality you deserve, so the sticker price of a Gustavus nursing degree can be daunting. We know a lot of motivated prospective nursing students can’t afford to pay most of the actual cost of a Gustavus education. That’s why we’ve sought extensive funding to be able to grant both need-based scholarships and merit-based scholarships to our students, in some cases covering almost all of their tuition costs. Here are some of the in-house scholarships you should know about if you’re considering nursing school at Gustavus:
First Year Free Tuition Program
Our biggest single in-house scholarship at Gustavus is the First Year Free Tuition Program. If you are an incoming nursing student starting school in the fall of 2024 and you qualify for this scholarship, it covers all of your first year’s tuition at Gustavus. As long as you remain eligible, the scholarship covers that much tuition for each of your four years of nursing school.
You can receive this scholarship if you are accepted into Gustavus and meet the following qualifications:
- You’re a first-time college student and attend Gustavus full time.
- Your family lives in Minnesota.
- Your family’s household income is less than $80,000/year.
- You fill out and submit the FAFSA for the relevant school year. (Remember to mark Gustavus as a college of interest on the online form so we’ll receive a copy of your FAFSA determination.)
This massive nursing school scholarship includes state and federal tuition grants supplemented generously by our own institutional scholarship fund. And yes, this really is all grant money; it doesn’t include any loans, and you do not have to pay any of it back.
To keep receiving the FYFTP scholarship for all four years of your nursing school education, you simply need to continue to meet these eligibility requirements. With this comprehensive scholarship covering almost all of your tuition, you’ll only be responsible to pay for housing, meals, school fees, and any tuition increases after the first year. Tuition increases are typically 3.5% per year on average, meaning your projected total tuition for four years of nursing school with this scholarship, based on starting in 2024, is around $12,000 total, so an average of $3,000/year.
Gustie Guarantee
Gustavus nursing school students who don’t qualify for the First Year Free Tuition Program scholarship are still covered under the Gustie Guarantee. There are only two requirements:
- Attend Gustavus full time.
- Complete the FAFSA each year.
Under the Gustie Guarantee you’ll receive at least $25,000 per school year towards your Gustavus nursing school tuition, for a total of $100,000 over four years. Students with higher financial need receive a proportionately higher scholarship amount. Curious what that adds up to? Try our Net Price Calculator to get an approximate idea of your total nursing school costs.
President’s or Dean’s Scholarship
Incoming Gustavus students with an exceptional academic record are automatically considered for the President’s Scholarship, which covers $34,500-$36,500 of your tuition each year of nursing school. Typical recipients of the President’s Scholarship
- received an ACT score of 30+ or an SAT score of 1400+
- graduated near the top of their high school class
- took academically challenging classes in high school
Students applying for this scholarship will undergo an interview process, and those who earn the scholarship will continue to receive the same award amount each of their four years at Gustavus as long as they maintain a 3.25 GPA.
Students who don’t receive the President’s Scholarship are considered for the Dean’s Scholarship, which takes into account community service and leadership in addition to academic achievement. The Dean’s Scholarship carries a tuition award of up to $34,000 and also renews yearly, with no minimum GPA requirement.
Other Gustavus scholarships
The President’s Scholarship and Dean’s Scholarship are mutually exclusive; students can receive one or the other, but not both. Many other scholarships, however, can be layered on top of either of these, including both Gustavus scholarships and scholarships from other institutions or businesses. Here are some of the additional Gustavus scholarships eligible students can use to pay for nursing school:
National Merit Scholarship competition finalists who designate Gustavus as their top college choice will receive a $7500 Merit Scholarship that renews each school year.
Incoming Gustavus students who bring diversity to campus can receive the Paul L. Rucker scholarship, with an award amount of up to $2500/year.
Students in Phi Theta Kappa who are transferring to Gustavus from a community college can receive an annual scholarship of $2500. To qualify, you’ll need a 3.5 GPA and 28 semester hours completed at your current college. Earn a 3.25 GPA at Gustavus to continue qualifying for this scholarship each year.
Estimate your total scholarship and grant award with our Net Price Calculator. See what costs remain, then explore external nursing scholarship options to discover how you might fund the rest of your nursing school costs.
Government scholarships for nursing school
An ongoing shortage of nurses and other professionals in the field of health care has inspired various departments of the federal government and state governments to offer scholarship or student loan forgiveness programs to qualified students.
Nurse Corps Scholarship Program
The competitive Nurse Corps Scholarship Program offers undergraduate nursing students comprehensive nursing education scholarships, potentially covering the entire cost of your tuition, fees, housing, and meals for the four years of your undergraduate education. In return for free tuition and a generous monthly stipend for living expenses, you commit to working as a nurse at a Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) for the same number of years as you received the scholarship award.
CSFs are locations the federal government has identified as having a shortage of qualified nurses. These facilities include rural hospitals and clinics, school health clinics, community mental health centers, residential nursing homes, public health department offices, and other institutions. CSFs are located all over the country, meaning nurses have geographical flexibility when applying to jobs to fulfill their scholarship obligations.
This scholarship is open to any U.S. citizen or permanent resident who’s enrolled in an accredited nursing school program. It gives preference to students with both high academic achievement and high financial need. In past years, 10% of applicants received the scholarship.
National Institutes of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program
If you are passionate about the research side of health care, consider applying for the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program once you are formally enrolled in nursing school. To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, students must
- demonstrate exceptional financial need
- have a 3.3+ GPA
- commit to participate in a paid 10-week summer internship at an NIH research lab for each scholarship award year
- begin work as an NIH research employee after college graduation and complete 62 weeks of employment for each scholarship award year
Scholarship awards under this program are up to $20,000/year and can be used for living expenses as well as tuition. The scholarship commitment level is high, but for candidates interested in nursing research the work also constitutes a valuable and prestigious nursing career opportunity. Future nurses have a guaranteed job right out of college and access to extensive guidance, mentorship, and healthcare research experience while still pursuing their degree.
State nursing scholarship programs
Depending on where you attend nursing school, you may qualify to apply for state-administered nursing scholarship programs. While you’re searching online for state scholarships for nurses, check out what the state may offer in terms of nursing student loan forgiveness. Loans you do have to take out to fill scholarship gaps can sometimes be paid off early by federal or state nursing loan forgiveness programs.
Military nursing scholarships
The U.S. military hires professionals in a wide variety of fields, including health care, and offers various associated scholarships. High-achieving students interested in a career as an Army nurse or willing to serve in the Army Reserve or National Guard can apply for an ROTC scholarship as early as their junior year in high school. ROTC scholarships cover either tuition and fees or room and board, and either route comes with substantial stipends for additional living expenses and books. The Air Force and Navy also offer ROTC scholarship programs.
If you aren’t interested in joining the U.S. military, an immediate family member’s service can make you eligible to apply for scholarships from various other organizations. For instance, the Army Nurse Corps Association is not affiliated with the U.S. military but offers $3,000 scholarships to nursing students in the Army or whose parent, spouse, or child had or has an Army career.
Private nursing scholarships
For-profit corporations, nonprofit foundations, professional associations, and even religious groups offer a vast array of scholarships for nursing students. Search for scholarship programs specifically for nursing, or search more broadly for scholarships in health care or STEM subjects. Also, customize your search using any demographic criteria that apply to you. There are scholarships out there specifically for nontraditional students, disabled students, students from specific geographical areas, students from various tribes or ethnic groups, and students who have a given religious affiliation.
Here’s a quick sampling of some of the scholarships that are out there. Check out any that apply to you, and use them as a springboard for your scholarship search:
Nursing school scholarships offered by businesses
Your online scholarship search will probably turn up an assortment of scholarships from various corporations with ties to the healthcare industry. For instance, the Kaiser Permanente Scholarship Program awards $2500 scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate education in various healthcare specialties, with preference given to students from underrepresented populations.
Note that when you search for private scholarships, there may be many applicants for only one or a handful of scholarships. If the application will be a lot of work, see if you can find numbers that show how competitive the scholarship is, or contact the scholarship program to ask how many applicants they generally field for how many available scholarships.
Scholarships for students from minority demographics
There is an array of scholarships available for students from different underrepresented populations. Scan this list or do a quick Google search to see if your race, ethnicity, cultural heritage, disability, or other identity makes you eligible to apply for a specific type of nursing scholarship.
Scholarships for American Indian and other Native nursing students
The American Indian Medical Scholarship Award is available to American Indian, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native nursing students who are members of a tribe or village or have proof of ancestry in one of these groups. This scholarship is intended specifically for students whose nursing careers will focus on serving the needs of one of the native populations in question. AIMS recipients receive a $1500 award per semester towards tuition and related academic costs, and they can apply to renew this each semester for up to a $12,000 total scholarship over four years in college.
Native nursing students already in college can also apply for the A.T. Anderson Memorial Scholarship. Applicants must join AISES (it’s free) and have a minimum 3.0 GPA. Undergraduate nursing students who receive this scholarship are awarded $1000 for the academic year, and joining AISES (“Advancing Indigenous People in Stem”) automatically provides you with a list of additional scholarships for which you are eligible to apply.
Scholarships for African American nursing students
Black and mixed-race nursing students can sign up to search a vast array of scholarships administered by the United Negro College Fund, which awards over $100 million in scholarship money per year. Some of the UNCF’s scholarships are specific to students in a certain geographical area, a given field of study, or a set of colleges, most often Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Other scholarships are open to students at any school and cover a broad range of studies. Check in regularly and keep an eye out for scholarships that fit your individual situation.
The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund also awards millions of dollars in scholarships per year to Black college students, largely at its member schools. Academically high-achieving students ready to pursue a competitive scholarship route with high potential awards can also check out the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Program or the Ron Brown Scholarship Program.
Scholarships for Hispanic nursing students
Students of Hispanic heritage and a GPA of 3.0+ can apply for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Scholar Program. This program selects 10,000 scholars per year and divvies up $30 million worth of awards into individual scholarships between $500-$5000, which can be used for both tuition and school-related expenses. Scholars also gain access to HSF-exclusive conferences, leadership development resources, internship and career services, and more.
Scholarships for students with disabilities
If you have a diagnosed disability, physical or otherwise, you might search for scholarships specific to your case. For instance, students with dyslexia or a similar learning disability can apply for the Joseph James Morelli Legacy Foundation Scholarship, which awards recipients between $500 and $2500 for the school year, with an option to reapply. The application asks several short essay questions and requires students to submit documentation of their disability and a letter of recommendation from someone who is familiar with their academic journey.
Geographically specific scholarships
There are countless local scholarships out there, including ones only for students from a specific geographical area. Local branches of the Lions Club, Kiwanis, VFW, and other nationwide organizations sometimes offer scholarship programs just for local high school students. Some local faith groups offer scholarships to students from their church, mosque, temple, or synagogue, often for attending specific colleges associated with the religion or denomination.
Ask your school guidance counselor for leads, check with local clubs and associations, and search online for scholarships specific to your town, city, county, and state.
Loan forgiveness, a.k.a. scholarships after the fact
Okay, technically, student loan forgiveness isn’t a scholarship, but it adds up to the same thing: paying for nursing school with minimum debt going forward. Fortunately for nursing students, the high demand for nurses means the federal government and various state governments have created programs to incentivize students to become nurses and use their nursing skills where they’re needed most.
Some of these, like the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program discussed above, require a contractual commitment going into your nursing education. The scholarship funds are then disbursed while you’re in school, and you fulfill your part of the contract after you graduate. If you aren’t inclined to make this large of a commitment going into nursing school, you still have options to apply for nursing grants that pay down your student loans. By agreeing to spend your first years as a nurse in a specific setting, you may qualify for one of these “after the fact” scholarships and relatively quickly shed part or all of your nursing school loan debt:
State-based registered nurse loan forgiveness programs
You might be surprised to discover that most states in the U.S. have some type of student loan forgiveness program for nurses. Some states have more than one program, with different grants available for different nursing positions and for nurses of different education levels. These programs vary greatly from each other and from state to state, so you’ll want to look them up and read the fine print. Find out:
- What type of nursing degree do I need to have earned to be eligible?
- Do I have to work as a nurse in a particular field or geographical area?
- What total amount or percentage of my nursing school loans will the program pay off?
- How many years of commitment are required?
- Is acceptance into the program guaranteed for eligible nurses, or is it competitive?
If you graduate from the nursing school at Gustavus and choose to stay and work as an RN in the state of Minnesota, you can apply to be accepted into the Minnesota Hospital Registered Nurse Loan Forgiveness Program. You don’t need to be from Minnesota to be eligible, only to establish residency and work as a nurse inside the state. Nurses who are accepted into the program must do full-time RN work in a non-profit hospital for the time they are enrolled in the program. During this time, they receive a grant of $6,000/year towards their nursing school loans, with a potential for up to four years in the program.
Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program
Another way nursing college graduates pay down school loans fast is the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the federal government. This program isn’t restricted to a specific state; instead, you sign a two-year contract to work as an RN in a healthcare facility in an underserved area of the country, as designated by the HRSA. In return for filling this particular nursing demand, the federal government will pay off 60% of the total amount of the nursing school loans you have going into the program. Nurses who complete their two-year contract can apply for a third year for a potential total award of 85% of their nursing education loans forgiven.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Plan
If you’re open to working in a public or nonprofit setting after you graduate college and want to get the remainder of your student loans forgiven, you aren’t limited to the nursing positions available through the Nurse Corps program. To qualify for the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you only need to do the following:
- Graduate from an accredited nursing college.
- Enroll in the federal government’s SAVE program.
- Work as an RN in a public or nonprofit healthcare setting for ten years total.
- Make your minimum monthly loan payments during that time.
Through the SAVE program, your required minimum annual loan payments will be capped at less than 5% of your total income. Any remaining balance on your federal nursing school loans at the end of ten years will be forgiven. As with the other loan forgiveness programs listed here, the grant that wipes out your loan balance is awarded on top of your earning a full-time nursing salary. Unlike most of the other programs on this list, this one isn’t competitive; if you fulfill the requirements, you’re in.
Tips on applying for nursing school scholarships
If you’re dedicated to nursing as your career field, you might be able to pay for a high-quality bachelor of nursing education through a strategic combination of scholarships, grants, and loan forgiveness programs. As you research and apply to nursing schools, compare the sticker price of the degree to the total cost after in-house scholarships and grants are deducted. Talk with a school admissions counselor to ensure you’ve explored all the scholarships they have available. Then expand your search to outside scholarships and federal and state government programs.
Applying for scholarships takes some work, so start your list early and stay organized. Here are some things to pay attention to as you research scholarships to pay for nursing school:
- What the scholarship covers. If you are eligible for generous in-house tuition scholarships from your college of choice, such as the First Year Free Tuition Program at Gustavus, you’ll want to focus on additional scholarships that cover expenses other than tuition.
- When you can apply. Some scholarships require that you still be in high school, some require you to be enrolled in nursing school, and others require you to have begun going to college. List your good scholarship leads chronologically by eligibility and apply as early as you can to each.
- How to streamline the process. Writing scholarship application essays can be time-consuming. On the bright side, many of the essay prompts will likely overlap. Cross-reference your scholarship applications, and you might be able to use essentially the same essay for multiple applications. In fact, these essays might also overlap with your college application essay or essays. Be strategic, and you can reuse your work to save time and cover a lot of scholarship application ground.
- How to connect with your audience. As you customize your scholarship essays and achievement lists for each scholarship application, pay close attention to the online presence of the organization offering the scholarship and what matters most to them. Analyze where your strengths and interests intersect with the student profile they want to support and focus on presenting those aspects of yourself clearly and enthusiastically.
Finally, don’t be put off by the up-front cost of nursing school. A bachelor of nursing degree is an exceptionally good return on investment, with recently graduated registered nurses near Gustavus making an average starting salary of $74,000. Choose a high-quality four-year education that will serve you well in your nursing career, including setting you up to pursue an advanced practice nursing degree if that is of interest to you.
At Gustavus, we offer a fully accredited bachelor of science degree in nursing. Our comprehensive four-year program prepares you to be an RN via a solid foundation in nursing and life sciences, state-of-the-art labs and simulation facilities, high-quality clinical internships, and an established network of close relationships with local healthcare providers. Our nursing students also receive a rich liberal arts education steeped in the humanities and social sciences, promoting interdisciplinary thinking, critical reasoning, and the focused development of written and oral communication skills.
If you’re interested in receiving your nursing degree from a dedicated private liberal arts college with small class sizes and well-coordinated layers of student support programs, check us out. Talk to an admissions counselor today about what Gustavus scholarships you might be eligible to receive to help pay for your nursing degree.
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