How to Apply for Christian Nursing College Scholarships

Earning a Christian nursing college scholarship may help pay your way through school.

Whether you're a high school senior preparing to start a college career in nursing or coming into the field from a background in health care, many organizations and colleges offer scholarships to aid students in need and reward them for excellent academic performance and contributions to their community. Scholarships often require detailed and intricate applications; some are limited to only students at a specific college, others may be faith-based or regional. Assemble your best tools to make your best effort when applying for a Christian nursing college scholarship.

Instructions

1. Research general scholarships available by searching scholarship and financial aid websites. Scholarships for specific schools won't appear on these sites, but ones awarded by companies and other organizations will. For example, the Christian Connection offers a $2,500 annual Christian college scholarship drawing.

2. Review scholarship application guidelines to ensure you qualify. For example, if the scholarship is general, not related to a school, check to make sure your age, region of the country or intended college major of nursing are permitted.

3. Check with your intended college to see whether any scholarships are available; this information may be found on the college's financial aid web page. For example, the Christian school, Anderson University, offers a variety of scholarships nursing majors may apply for, including the Church of God's Minister's Scholarship, which awards $1,000 per year to children of Church of God Ministers; parents must be listed in the Church of God Yearbook.

4. Create an essay about why you are pursing a Christian nursing education. Include information about past experiences with health care, such as caring for your mother who battled cancer, helping with an uncle who was in a car accident or wanting to pay back the excellent nursing care you received when you suffered a childhood illness.

5. Write about any current nursing service you have completed, including candy striping and other volunteer work in shelters, hospitals or doctor's offices. Describe procedures you have assisted in and any training taken such as continuing education classes.

6. Include information about any awards and honors, including membership in Sigma Theta Tau, the international nursing honor society that you may have joined if you are applying as a transfer student from another university or community college.

7. Add past and present church experience. If you've done missionary work or lead Sunday school, include that on the scholarship essay. Note down positions held, such as youth group secretary or "20s Group assistant leader."

8. Ask the school for the scholarship. Let them know that if they place their faith in you along with God, you will honor their gift of financial assistance by maintaining a high grade point average, working hard on your classwork and seeking out extra nursing experiences where possible. If the scholarship requires you to answer questions about your beliefs or submit a statement of faith, make sure to turn in a response that covers all of the requests.

9. Proofread your scholarship forms or give it to a parent, pastor or friend to review. Having a second pair of eyes can help catch grammatical errors, spelling mistakes or punctuation issues.

References

• Christian Connector: Christian Colleges
• Anderson University: Scholarships