Scholarship Alert!!! 10 tips for success in applying for scholarships (Part One)

The cost to attend college and, especially, to major in nursing, can be very high. Of course, obtaining an associate degree in nursing will be less expensive than obtaining an entry-level master’s degree in nursing, although both are prelicensure programs. I know the struggle to pay for education, and I have been very successful at funding mine. I try to encourage others to apply for scholarships and grants, whenever possible.

Case in point: In an undergraduate nursing class, for which I was teacher’s assistant this past quarter, I presented “Tiffany’s Link of the Week” at the end of almost every session. I would show the students one or two websites of use to them as nursing students, paying special attention to the scholarship or funding section of the website. Following the end of the quarter, several students asked me to speak with them in more detail about the process of applying for scholarships. Instead of e-mailing each student individually, I decided to write this blog post. (This is Part One.) To all my awesome freshmen and transfer students, this is for you!

Tip #1. Condense your scholarship search to increase the likelihood of receiving the monetary award.
There are many scholarships and grants available for nursing students. There are scholarships for students who live in a certain area, attend a certain school and have parents who are military veterans, and there are scholarships for students of every ethnicity and religion, and for both sexes. Once I decided I wanted to use scholarships to fund my education, I used a strategy in searching for them. I only applied for scholarships that were given to students who lived in my city, county or state; majored in nursing; were African-American; were members of my student or professional organizations; or attended my school. I realized early on in my scholarship journey that sticking to these categories decreases the number of applicants I compete against and, in turn, increases my chances of being awarded the scholarship.

Tip #2. Network, network, network!

I was never shy about telling people I was looking for scholarships. My professors, my campus mentor, members of my church, people in the scholarship office—everybody knew I was on the lookout for scholarships. When people are aware of your needs, they are willing to help you reach your goals. I became very familiar with the staff in my campus scholarship/financial aid office. I visited the office frequently during what I like to call “scholarship season.” I noticed that most scholarships become available after January 1 and are due on or before April 15. During this time, I made trips to the scholarship/financial aid office weekly and perused the application stacks. I would take only those applications that met my criteria (see Tip #1), and I’d begin the application process immediately. For more tips on successful networking, see my RNL article "Going up? Intentional networking works."

Tip #3. Write a winning essay.

Most essays ask for the same types of information: What past adversities have you overcome? What are your professional/career goals? What extracurricular activities do you participate in? How will this scholarship help you achieve your academic/professional goals? What awards or honors have you received? My advice is to create a document that answers each of these questions at length. Then you can easily pull information from that document to meet the criteria—subject and word count, for example—of the specific scholarship for which you are applying. If you begin with a large document, it is a lot easier to narrow the essay portion down. I recommend writing one page to answer each question. This will give you more than enough information to pull from when writing an essay for a scholarship application.

Tip #4. Secure strong letters of recommendation.

I have always been very relationally driven. I enjoy establishing academic relationships and mentorships with my professors, so I have never had much of an issue receiving letters of recommendation. If you don’t know any of your professors, choose one or two whose classes you really enjoy, and get to know them outside of class. Meet with them during their office hours, e-mail them to let them know how you’re doing in your classes and converse with them about your future goals in the nursing profession. If professors know you on a personal level, they are far more likely to write a letter of recommendation for you than for classmates of yours about whom they know nothing. When a letter is written, keep copies of it, either electronically or in hard-copy form, and always ask the professor to save the letter on their computer, as well. I’ve learned that most scholarship applications ask for one or two letters of recommendation. The only application I have ever completed that required four letters was my application to UCLA. The point here is, if you have three or four professors who will write letters for you, you’re set!

Tip #5. Remember that extracurricular involvement is important.

Scholarship donors want to give to students who are well rounded. It’s great that you have a 4.0, but what do you do, other than study? Membership in a campus or community group shows you have interpersonal skills, especially if you hold a leadership position in that group. It also shows you desire to give, as well as receive. Giving of your time to a sorority, student nursing organization or community service group is very telling of the type of person you are. You don’t have to be involved in everything, but you should be actively involved in something. Narrow down what it is that you love to do and find a club on campus that is filled with other students who love to do it, too. If there is no club, start one! I started several clubs during my time as an undergraduate and, more recently, as a doctoral student. Trust me, it’s a lot easier than you think. You don’t want to join a group just so it looks good on your application; you want to join to give yourself something enjoyable to do outside of school.

I don’t want to overwhelm you, so I’ll save Tips 6-10 for my next post, but be sure to read them. And, if you haven’t already “liked” my nonprofit’s page on Facebook, please do so. I often post scholarships, using the tagline “Scholarship Alert!!!” The name of my non-profit is Kyrie Mentoring Academy. You can access the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KyrieMentoringAcademy.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.