Funding Tips

General Tips

• Anticipate deadlines. Start early, 18 to 24 months before you wish to begin your degree program; do not wait until you are admitted to apply.
• Expect small amounts from a number of different sources - don't count on one large amount to pay for it all.
• See your unique qualities as strengths - the UW sees scholarships, grants and fellowships as important forms of financial aid for achieving diversity in the student population.
• Complete a Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 15; many funding sources will not consider you unless you have completed a FAFSA.
• Use a variety of tools to locate scholarships, including the web and your personal contacts. Apply to more than one source of funding, as outlined below.

Funding Sources

Federal Aid & Student Loans
The government offers low-interest student loans and some scholarships. To apply, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 15. Without it, you are NOT eligible for School of Nursing funding, or for student housing and childcare if you are an international student. Applications are available through:

University of Washington
Office of Financial Aid
Box 355880
Seattle, WA, 98195
Phone: 206-543-6101

The Office of Financial Aid receives federal loan funding at a reasonable interest rate for nursing students specifically (both undergraduate and graduate). To qualify you must submit your FAFSA application no later than February 15. Applications for the following academic year are available in December. The Office of Financial Aid will consider you automatically for all the Office of Financial Aid funding which you are eligible.

UW School of Nursing
The School of Nursing has some student scholarships and provides some funding for students in certain focal areas/specialties or degree programs. Much of this support is needs-based. Check the School of Nursing Financial Aid Criteria Information Sheet to ensure that you understand eligibility and priorities for this funding. You will receive instructions for submitting a School of Nursing financial aid application should you be admitted to the School of Nursing. The deadline for this is February 28 for continuing students and April 30 for new students. Submitting this means you will be automatically considered for all the School of Nursing funding for which you are eligible, including:

• Traineeships: Federal money awarded to the School of Nursing for graduate students. Amount of funding varies per year and pays tuition and a monthly stipend.
• School of Nursing Funds: Money made possible by gifts from the School's alumni and friends who delight in knowing that their gifts have a personal impact. Some undergraduate awards cover in-state tuition for one academic year. Some tuition for graduate students is covered as well.
• Fellowship Awards: Fund tuition and/or stipends for PhD and post-doctoral students.
• Research and Teaching Assistantships: Priority is given to doctoral students who work 20 hours per week in exchange for a tuition waiver and health insurance coverage. Some funding is available for masters students.

Other Sources
Scholarship opportunities may be available through clubs, churches, your state, national and local health service agencies, private charitable foundations, professional associations or employers. Professional groups sometimes allocate a portion of membership dues for nursing student scholarships. There are scholarships for women, for multi-ethnic students, for nurses, for older students, for those pursuing a second career, and for people who want to practice in underserved areas to name a few. For more ideas, see the postings on bulletin boards outside the School of Nursing's Academic Services Office, Room T310 of the UW Health Sciences building.

Searching for Funding
There are a multitude of scholarship search engines on the internet. These are useful because you can specify information and the site will search for scholarships that fit your specific profile. Though we do not support or recommend one site over another, here is a list of places to start:

• The Financial Aid Information Page provides links to free online scholarship search services.
• College Aid Sources for Higher Education (CASHE). Access is through Sallie Mae's free Online Scholarship Service.
• The Scholarship Resource Network gives an overview of financial aid resources available to students with a special focus on scholarship information.