By INGRID MALDANADO
The deadline to apply for department scholarships is approaching, and students are encouraged to go online and apply before Feb. 15.
The scholarships come from donors who are often alumni or family of alumni who want to give back and help students, said Tara Hannaford, the director of financial aid and scholarship at Northwestern. Some donors set their scholarship while they’re living, some people do them in memory of someone, maybe a spouse who was a teacher. When they’re ready to set up a scholarship, they reach out to the Northwestern Foundation, and they store and handle the scholarship, Hannaford explained.
“We have individuals and donors that are alumni, but then also ones that do not have a degree and tie to Northwestern,” said Dr. Leslie Collins, division of nursing chair at Northwestern.
“It’s simply they are from the community, their family member maybe was cared for by a nurse, maybe even a Northwestern nurse, but they see the need for the nursing program and wanting to support those students.”
Students are always highly encouraged to apply. Natalie Miller is the assistant certification officer in the division of education at Northwestern. She explained these scholarships provide assistance to paying for college. They can help alleviate the pressure to work a job outside of school, so students can focus on their education, Miller explained. She said these scholarships help with a lot of the fees education majors have.
“We probably need more to apply because there is lots of funding that they could benefit from,” Miller said. “I would encourage students to get on the scholarship page that gives the descriptions under each department and just read through there.”
Some departments struggle to get students to apply, Hannaford said. All the applications are online, where in the past students had to go to their department chair and fill out the application on paper, she explained. Hannaford sends out emails to remind and encourage students to apply.
“We want to give the money away, so apply, even if you’re a freshman and you’re worried about if we have scholarships for beginning students,” said Dr. Jenny Sattler, the department chair of natural science.
While some of the scholarships have different requirements and are specific to certain activities, GPA, etc., the scholarship will benefit the student even if it is $500, Miller explained. Hannaford said she estimates there are around 278 foundation awards, and the amount they can give each year is around $616,000, which is then split between fall and spring semester.
“We’re extremely grateful for the donors and for the ability that they give to the students because the nursing program is rigorous and so being able to take off that financial pressure or decrease that financial pressure is life changing for students,” Collins said. “We have a lot of gratitude toward that.”
To apply, students can go to the scholarship information page, and go to the department scholarships for continuing students tab. There they can choose their department and then fill out the application.