Accelerated Nursing Scholarships and Financial Aid

Key Takeaways

Accelerated Programs’ Appeal: These programs help career switchers become nurses faster, but they’re costly. That’s where accelerated nursing scholarships come in.
Financial Aid Options: Includes federal loans, grants, and scholarships—some need-based, others merit-based.
Scholarship Opportunities: Examples include FNSNA Scholarship, Tylenol Future Care Scholarship, and A Nurse I Am Scholarship.
Application Tips: Meet deadlines, understand each aid’s purpose, and showcase your suitability and financial need.

Something about the nursing profession tends to attract people from all walks of life. Not only do many young people decide as soon as they leave high school that they want to become nurses, but plenty of others get started in a different career before making the switch.

If you have been working in another field and want to get into nursing as soon as possible, an accelerated program would be a great choice. Of course, such programs are not free, and the financial side of this process may be holding you back from making the move.

On this page, we are going to take a look at some of the scholarships for accelerated nursing programs that might be available to you. By seeking outside funding in the form of financial aid and scholarships, you could bring down the out-of-pocket cost of the program or even eliminate the cost entirely.

An Overview of Financial Aid Options

There are a couple of primary benefits to be enjoyed when you opt for an accelerated nursing track. For one thing, the timeline to become a nurse is shorter, which is particularly appealing to those who are making a switch from another career. In addition to getting started faster, you can save money on the cost of tuition because a shorter program is almost always going to come with a smaller price tag.

A smaller price tag is still a price tag, however, and you might find it difficult to fit the cost of tuition into your budget as you deal with the rest of the costs that accompany modern life. As a starting point, you can consider federal loans to pay for your schooling, and you’ll need to pay those loans back later on. When doing the math on how this will work out, determine what you expect your salary to be once you become a nurse and then factor in the payments you’ll have to make to get out from under the loan or loans.

Additionally, you can look into available grants and scholarships for students in your position. Financial aid for accelerated nursing students that you don’t have to pay back is ideal, obviously, and there are more options out there than you might imagine at first. Grants for fast-track nursing students tend to be available based primarily on need, whereas nursing scholarships for accelerated programs are given out on a merit basis.

Some Scholarship Options to Explore

There are many different funding options for accelerated nursing, and we’d never be able to touch on all of them in this article. However, we are going to highlight a few below to help you understand what is available, what these scholarships tend to look like, and what steps need to be taken to apply.

FNSNA Scholarship. One of the longest-standing scholarship programs for nurses, the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association has given away millions of dollars of support over the years.
Tylenol Future Care Scholarship. This program has been running for more than 20 years. It isn’t specific to nurses, but it does offer those studying in a healthcare field the potential to earn a meaningful award toward their education.
A Nurse I Am. This is another program that offers nursing students the potential to gain financial support to pay for their tuition costs. It’s been helping students for more than 10 years and applies to both undergrad and graduate-level studies.

Learning to Apply for Scholarships and Grants

Accelerated nursing financial support is a competitive space with many people trying to make this career switch. If you are going to stand a good chance of securing some help with your tuition, you’ll want to make sure to complete all of the applications you find for grants and scholarships correctly. This isn’t particularly difficult but it does require that you pay close attention to detail.

The first thing that you need to learn about these kinds of applications is that the deadlines are firm, and you need to hit them. As you collect a list of grants and scholarships that you’d like to apply for, start building a list (maybe on a calendar) with the due dates for each. That way, you can prioritize which ones need to be worked on first, and you won’t run out of time to get them in.

Also, take time to carefully read through each financial aid opportunity to understand what it is meant to do and who it is meant to serve. Then, when applying, position yourself to be an ideal candidate. That might mean highlighting why you have financial needs, why you want to be a nurse, or what you have accomplished previously that makes you worthy of the support.

Explore Institutional Aid

The financial resources for accelerated nursing students don’t end with what is available through third-party scholarships and grants. There is also typically aid money available directly through the institution that you are using for your education. If you never bother to ask about what may be available, you could miss out on some meaningful benefits that will make your education far more affordable.

Your best bet on this front is to schedule a meeting with the financial aid office at the school. As the name suggests, this office exists solely to help students with financial aid, so this will be one of the best assets you have available to you. Be open to all of their suggestions and be willing to get creative in order to make this work.

Doing Some Careful Math

It can take a little bit of time and effort to figure out how to fund an accelerated nursing education. That work will be worth it in the end, of course, but don’t expect this to come easy. Finding tuition assistance for accelerated nursing programs can be a part-time job all its own until you secure some help and make sure the math works out moving forward.

Do your best to chart out your spending for your upcoming school years while studying to be a nurse. How much money are you going to be able to make while also going to school? What do your expenses look like? Do you have any savings that you can lean on until you become licensed and start to work as a nurse?

Building a future budget might not be your idea of a fun afternoon, but it is a critical step in this process. Take some time to get into specifics on what you expect your spending to look like and how you’ll make ends meet. This can include going through your bank statements to outline spending patterns on basics like food, as well as housing costs, insurance, and more. Remember to build in increases moving forward as the cost of living is always rising. Having your financial plan to make it through nursing school charted out is going to take some of the stress off of your plate and will allow you to focus on your studies more clearly.

The Dream Is Possible

It would be a shame to put off, or even give up on, your dream of becoming a nurse due to financial limitations. Accelerated nursing school scholarships are available to make it possible for many people to attend school and complete their education who might not have been able to do it otherwise.

These scholarships aren’t going to find you, however, so get started today by reviewing the possibilities, putting together applications, and reaching out to the right organizations. Set aside some time starting today to complete these tasks and give yourself as many chances as possible to receive financial assistance toward your educational goals. Good luck!

Financial Aid and Scholarships for Accelerated Nursing Students