Frequently Asked Questions

The maximum scholarship is $10,000 per person (if you are affiliated with a group which is also contributing to your scholarship (e.g., Lancaster County [VA] Lions Foundation), any funds you receive from that group will be in addition to the Maximum Scholarship, above.) If your Scholarship is renewed (see below), the maximum amount will increase to $20,000 over four years.

Yes, the scholarship will provide up to two thousand five hundred ($2,500) dollars per semester (five thousand [$5,000] dollars per academic year) OR the cost of Covered Charges (e.g., tuition and other course-related fees) per semester or academic year, whichever is less.* An academic year runs from the beginning of the fall semester until the beginning of the next fall semester, or from the beginning of the spring semester until the beginning of the next spring semester.

The program, college, or university for which you intend to use scholarship funds must be accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and/or the Commission on the Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Any program, certificate, or course of study must be related to nursing. Scholarship funds may be used for a range of certifications or degree paths, from initial GNA/CNA certifications up to and including a Master’s in Nursing (MSN). Currently, we do not offer scholarships for degrees beyond the MSN.

The scholarship covers tuition, fees which are mandatory for all students, and other course-related fees (e.g., lab fees); costs for room, board, books, insurance, and other non-course-related costs and fees are not covered and will remain your responsibility.

Yes, subject to the limits per semester/academic year, above, your scholarship may be used to pay for covered charges for courses taken during the summer term (the period between the end of the spring semester and beginning of the fall semester) and/or winter term (the period between the end of the fall semester and beginning of the spring semester). Again, scholarship funds paid for summer/winter terms will count towards the limit for the academic year.

No, scholarships do not depend on whether/where you work.

No, you do not have to be a full-time student. We know that many people who are pursuing education in nursing are already working, and many of those have families, so, as long as you are enrolled and making progress (i.e., earning credits each semester), you can feel confident in pursuing your education at a pace that best enables you to balance the demands of work, home, and school.

We accept applications each year from January 15. All applications must be completed (i.e., both the online application and all supporting documents received by us) by the end of February. Scholarship award decisions are emailed during the third week in April.

During the month of February, you can click Apply from the navigation bar at the top of the page to begin your application.

Your application will be evaluated and scored by three members of the Scholarship Review Committee using the rubric below. The scoring rubric is weighted to give preference to applicants currently employed in the nursing industry, then to those who are working (or have worked) in a nursing-related capacity and also to current nursing students, then to high school (pending) graduates and those who have earned a GED. To help ensure we are serving those most in need of financial support, we mimic the income guidelines used to qualify low- and moderate-income homebuyers. We use an online tool to determine how your Qualifying Income (see below) compares to the Area Median Income (AMI) for your address of record. If you are claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return, the Qualifying Income of that person or persons will be used to determine your eligibility. Instructions for accessing and using the AMI can be found below.

We have a deep connection to our local community, so some preference will be given to applicants residing in the local community, as indicated in the scoring rubric. However, since the aim of the scholarships is to provide more qualified nurses for the health care industry in any location, applications from otherwise eligible persons will be considered, even if they don't live in the immediate area.

Each SRC member will award between 23 and 102 points per application. Each application will be scored and the points awarded by each member will be totaled to yield your application's Total Score, which can range from a minimum of 69 points to a maximum of 306 points.

Tie scores between applications will be resolved by giving preference to the application with the earlier submission timestamp.

Access the Area Median Income (AMI) tool online at https://ami-lookup-tool.fanniemae.com/amilookuptool/. Input your address of record. Compare your Qualifying Income to the figures on the resulting chart to determine whether you meet the <=50%, >50% to <80%, 80% to <100%, or 100%+ threshold.

Absolutely not. We collect that information for statistical analysis and reporting only.

No. Once you have been awarded a scholarship, provided you maintain and document minimum academic standards and continue to meet all other terms, conditions, and requirements, the scholarship will continue at the initial funding level for a maximum of two Academic Years.

REMEMBER, provided you meet all the requirements, you may elect to renew your Scholarship for another two-year term with the same terms and conditions.

Minimum academic standards are a 2.75 cumulative GPA and that you are enrolled in and making progress (i.e., earning credits) each semester. Failure to meet minimum academic standards for one semester will result in you being placed in a probationary status. Failure to maintain minimum academic standards for two consecutive semesters will result in the loss of scholarship.

If you are awarded a scholarship, your Scholarship Agreement will also contain a Bad (personal) Conduct clause which, at our discretion, could also result in the loss of your scholarship.

Scholarship funds are remitted from us directly to your school, within 10 business days (federal holidays not included) after the first day of instruction for each academic semester or term, including winter and summer terms.

If you are also receiving scholarship funds from another entity, those funds would come directly from that other entity.

Our scholarship funds are paid out each semester. Before we can make a disbursement from your scholarship account each semester, you must submit a statement of account showing charges and anticipated awards for the coming semester. If the total of all anticipated credits, including scholarship monies from us, exceeds the total charges, we would reduce the amount we remit to your school by that same amount. In addition, if the anticipated usual semester disbursement from your account will result in you reaching the maximum scholarship amount, above, we would only disburse the amount remaining on your scholarship. REMEMBER: we DO NOT count student loans as credits when determining whether and how much we will pay from your Scholarship. Credits from other grants, scholarships, etc. WILL count, but student loans DO NOT.

Except as provided for in our Privacy Policy (see link in the footer), we never share any personal information about any of our applicants or scholarship recipients.

Yes, you can! Provided you have met (and continue to meet) all the terms, conditions, and requirements of your Scholarship, you may notify us no later than January 15 of your second Academic Year that you wish to renew your Scholarship for another term of two Academic Years. You will NOT need to submit another application to renew your Scholarship.

Your Renewed Scholarship will be subject to the same terms, conditions, and requirements as your Initial Scholarship, as described and defined in this Agreement. If, for example, your Initial Scholarship had a $10,000 Maximum Scholarship amount, your renewed Scholarship would also have the same $10,000 Maximum Scholarship.

If during your Initial Scholarship the total amount disbursed was less than the Maximum Scholarship, the difference will be added to the Maximum Scholarship available in your Renewed Scholarship.

Your Scholarship may only be renewed once.

Yes! If your school operates on something other than the usual two-semester academic calendar, the amounts we might disburse from your Scholarship will be spread over the number of semesters or terms in your school’s Academic Year. If your school doesn’t use a 4.0 grading system, we will use the equivalent GPA based on your school’s grading system.