Scholarships for Nursing Students in Utah

Nursing scholarships in Utah are offered through professional organizations and through individual colleges and universities. There are different competitions depending on what level of education you currently have and what level you’re pursuing.

Professional nursing is a growing field — in Utah more so than in most other states. The Labor Bureau projects a startling 41% growth in the years between 2008 and 2018. The good news is that organizations within the state are working to attract able students to the profession and help practicing nurses move up the career ladder by way of scholarship support.

Nursing Scholarship Requirements in Utah

If you are a female graduate of a Utah high school, and you’re ready to commit to an RN or BSN program, you may be eligible for the Ruth S. Clayton Memorial Nursing Scholarship. The committee wants to see evidence of high achievement and clearly articulated goals. Financial need is also taken into account. Four letters of recommendation are required. You should submit completed applications between January 1st and March 1st The committee expects to grant several scholarships in amounts up to $4,000.

RN to BSN candidates are given first priority in the Utah Nurses Foundation Nursing Grant-in-Aid Scholarship competition, though other nursing students are also considered. The committee asks for three letters of reference, including one from an advisor and one from an employer. (An exception is granted if the applicant has been unemployed for more than a year — in this case, volunteer service may provide a suitable reference.) There are two application deadlines each year: July 15th and October 15th. Applications can be downloaded from the website of the Utah Nurses Association.

The Utah Student Nurses Association is another Nevada professional organization that offers scholarships. The committee asks for references, a biographical paragraph, and an essay — plus attendance at their conference to claim your award. The 2011 essay asks you how you will “cultivate new frontiers” in professional nursing through endeavors like academics and service to the larger community. Scholarships are in the amount of $1,000 to $2,000.

Individual schools also have some generous donors… and may be able to pass the generosity on down to you. The most outstanding graduate students at the University of Utah College of Nursing can win a CoN Donor-Named Graduate Fellowship — a full fall/ spring tuition waiver. Additional awards will be made which equal half the cost of tuition. The number awarded depends on current funding.

Nursing Scholarship Expert Tips

You will want to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the organizations: their overall objective and their criteria for evaluating applications. Some scholarship committees publish their scoring guidelines in detail, right down to the number of points allotted to each category. Others give a more general overview. The USNA Scholarship is among the latter. The essay is scored based on several criteria; these include originality, effort, and grammar as well as how the topic is addressed. Of these, originality may be the most intimidating. It can help to look at real award-winning essays; some foundations do indeed publish them. But don’t get hung up on one scoring criteria — or on any one part of an application. A representative of the Mary Mahoney Society reminds students that awardees are selected by a multi-faceted, multi-step process.

It can pay to do some research. What does the USNA mean about “new frontiers in nursing”? How might this relate to nurses’ expanding roles, and how do your own strengths demonstrate this? It can be effective to tell a personal story in a scholarship essay, but in most cases, it should be integrated into the overall composition.

Contact Information for Nursing Scholarships in Utah

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