Nursing Scholarships

Texas will face the second highest nursing shortage in the country, and the problem is more severe in West Texas. TTUHSC El Paso’s Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing was established to counteract this long-term shortage in greater El Paso and the extended border communities. Enrollment at the Hunt School of Nursing will double by 2020, and estimates show that between 85% and 90% of RN candidates at the Hunt School of Nursing will stay and practice in the immediate area, so the school’s mission is critical.

One of the key programs at the Hunt School of Nursing is the accelerated nursing program, which allows candidates who already have another degree to achieve their RN in a very intensive 18-month period.

However, most students at the Hunt School of Nursing are in high need of financial support. The average student has an unmet annual need of over $17,000, leaving them with a huge debt burden. Students approaching graduation are more vulnerable to financial shortages and interruption of their education. An emergency fund for these students in particular would have a direct effect on the number of RNs in the community.

With only two modest nursing scholarship endowments currently available, the Hunt School of Nursing is limited in its ability to help students financially, either as part of their long-term academic planning or on an emergency basis. Students who turn to outside work or high-interest loans jeopardize their standing in school and their later work lives.

Your investment in scholarship support would not only be life-changing for students and their families – allowing the Hunt School of Nursing to help students when they are most vulnerable and faced with unforeseen circumstances – but would be transformational for the entire El Paso region.