Foundation Of The National Student Nurses Association Fnsna Scholarship
Before you spend hours on this
Will this scholarship actually lower your cost?
Not always. Many colleges reduce your financial-aid package when you win an outside scholarship — sometimes dollar-for-dollar — so the money can end up saving the school instead of you. It's called scholarship displacement. Two free tools tell you where you actually stand:
General guidance, not financial advice — your school's financial aid office is the only authority on how they treat outside awards. Always confirm with them before deciding.
Best fit for
Pre-nursing high school seniors who've been accepted to a BSN/ASN program, AND current nursing students at any level. The breadth of eligible programs (LPN through BSN) means this is one of the few major scholarships open to LPN-track students too.
What they actually look for
FNSNA awards $1,000-$7,500 across multiple named scholarships through ONE application. About 200 winners/yr — the applicant pool is large but the named-scholarship matching means your application gets evaluated against multiple criteria simultaneously. NSNA membership isn't strictly required for all named awards, but members get preferential review for many of them.
What you'll need
- Currently enrolled in OR accepted to a nursing program (BSN, ASN, LPN, or diploma)
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
- Demonstrated financial need
- Essays on nursing career goals + leadership in nursing organizations
- Two recommendations (one from a nursing program faculty or clinical instructor)
- NSNA membership recommended but not always required (~$45/yr — joins you to professional nursing community)
When to start
Application opens September of senior year (for HS seniors) or September of any college year (for continuing students). Deadline mid-January. Awards announced March-April.
Watch out for
Some FNSNA named awards require specific nursing specialty interests (geriatric, pediatric, oncology, etc.) — read each award's eligibility before assuming your general application covers it. Also: nursing program acceptance must be VERIFIED by the deadline. If you're a HS senior with conditional acceptance pending senior-year grades, get that confirmation letter before January.