New River Community College is offering a new program that will provide a free nursing education for some New River Valley students.
NRCC recently announced the new NRCC Nursing Scholars Program, a scholarship that fosters opportunity and success for outstanding high school junior and senior students who show interest and ability in NRCC’s Nursing Associate of Applied Science degree.
“This new nursing scholarship creates opportunities for students in the New River Valley to get a debt-free education in a rewarding and in-demand career pathway,” said NRCC President Pat Huber. “The program will not only change the lives of our students, but it will also prepare them to serve their communities as health care heroes.”
Nursing Scholars will receive support from advisors who are charged with helping scholars make the best possible transition from high school through completion of NRCC’s Nursing AAS degree. The scholarship consists of level-one and level-two awards. High school (public, private and homeschool) juniors and seniors who reside in NRCC’s service region (Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski counties and Radford City) may apply for level-one scholarships.
Up to five Nursing Scholars in NRCC’s region will receive a level-one scholarship that provides in-state tuition, college fees, and textbooks for five program prerequisite courses to be completed by high school graduation.
Students who receive a level-one scholarship and complete the five prerequisite courses with a grade of “B” or better may apply for a level-two scholarship. Students must also complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and meet all NRCC Access to Community College Education (ACCE) admissions requirements prior to submitting a level-two scholarship application.
The level-two scholarship provides tuition and college fees for four semesters of required courses in the Nursing AAS degree, all required textbooks, and all required fees.
Nursing Scholars must demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and citizenship. Applicants must have a 3.75 high school grade point average or better and demonstrate superior levels of leadership and citizenship in the application essays. Additionally, level-two applicants must be offered and have accepted the NRCC ACCE scholarship to be eligible for a Nursing Scholars level-two scholarship.
Nursing Scholars will be selected by an appointed committee composed of NRCC faculty and staff. Every effort will be made to award one scholar per NRCC service region county/city.
The first scholarships will be awarded in the fall of 2022. Information about the program can be found on NRCC’s website at www.nr.edu/nursing/scholars.
The scholarship application will be available online beginning Feb. 10, 2022, and the deadline for application is March 15, 2022. For more information about the Nursing Scholars Program at NRCC, contact Lynn Taylor at (540)674-3631 or ltaylor@nr.edu.