Getting Started: Searching Strategies

1. If possible, begin your scholarship search before you start classes.

2. Use the World Wide Web (Internet). There are numerous scholarship search engines. These sites will search for scholarships that fit your specific profile. Click here for a list of specific search engines for scholarships. (The University of Washington School of Nursing does not endorse these sites; they are listed for your convenience.) Use search keywords that are most general, and then make your query more specific. For example, begin with nurse, nurses, nursing, then to acute care, nurse midwifery, psychosocial, etc.

When researching scholarship opportunities, please BEWARE. Many companies make unrealistic claims about finding scholarship money for students. Before you give your credit card number to someone, read what the Federal Trade Commission is doing to crack down on fraudulent companies at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/scholarship/

3. Look at our list of private foundations and organizations, which have offered scholarships in the past to Nursing students.

4. Books: If you plan to use books to research scholarship opportunities, be especially careful to use up-to-date publications. Some sources will carry general scholarship information. Click here for a list of books that may be particularly helpful.

5. The University of Washington Health Sciences Library offers an online service for those seeking funding as they pursue health-related education. Go to http://healthlinks.washington.edu/rfs/sources.html. On the left side of the page click on "Grant Seeker Toolkit". There are many search engines, including COS (Community of Science) and IRIS.

6. If you are on campus and are not computer savvy, go to the University of Washington Suzzallo Library. They have grants information in print. A local college or public library may have similar information.