Scholarship Resource
Information

Welcome to the Student Scholarship Resource Page that was created to provide you with information on the various scholarships, fellowships, writing competitions, and other financial resources that are available to PA students.  A special "Thank You" to Pat Neff and Jose Mercado of the Miami Dade Community College PA Program for their efforts in helping compile this information.

This list includes BASIC information and is subject to change; therefore, you will need to contact the organization or contact person to request additional/recent information and the appropriate applications. Here are a few key points to help you thorough your search for financial assistance during your PA education:

1. File for financial aid early, even if you know that you don't qualify (No one will give you money without it).
2. Good grades are only PART of a good application.
3. Get involved with your school and community, show your commitment.
4. Document all of your contributions to the profession, your program, your community and school.
5. Write a good cover letter that accurately describes you and highlights your achievement and POTENTIAL.
6. Modify the same letter for EACH scholarship application.
7. Save copies of your application essay - recycle, update and reuse them!
8. Don't just meet deadlines, beat them.
9. The earlier you submit an application, the longer they have to consider it and the better your chances.
10. Keep bugging your school's financial aid department. Let them know you need money.
11. Apply to every scholarship that you remotely qualify for, the worst they can say is NO!
12. Read all requirements to make sure you qualify for any scholarship. Do not be mislead, you may qualify and not know it!

Scholarship/Federal
Student Aid

1. FASTWEB is a scholarship search engine that matches scholarships to you and it’s FREE. Just fill out the personal data and the service finds scholarships that meet your needs. There is also some great advice on letters of recommendation that may be helpful. http://www.fastweb.com/

2. Srnexpress is another a scholarship search engine that matches scholarships to you and its FREE. The service helps YOU find scholarships that meet your needs.

http://www.srnexpress.com/

3. Federal Student Financial Aid forms can now be filed on-line. Log and and request your PIN number and in a few weeks you can renew or apply on-line. http://fafsa.ed.gov/

4. Health Careers Foundation. They offer scholarship and low interest loans to pay for school. CALL 314-770-1626 to request an application.

Scholarships

Basic Requirements:

1. PA student enrolled in an accredited PA program; 2.Program transcripts reflecting good academic standing;

3. Letters of recommendation; 4. Essay(s) on various topics; 5. Any specific scholarship requirements are mentioned with their appropriate scholarship listing.

1. Florida Academy of Physician Assistants Foundation

2008 FAPA Foundation Scholarship Application

2. American Heritage Caucus. Must be a minority member of the African Heritage Caucus and AAPA. 2-5 awarded annually. Deadline February 15th. $ varies. Contact: S. Haiba Collier, PA-C @ Haibasafi@aol.com, 650 Pennslyvania Ave. SE, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20003.

3. Physician Assistant Foundation. Must be an AAPA member and have not received the scholarship before. Number of scholarships and amount varies. Awarded annually. Deadline February 1st. Contact: Robin Hunter-Buskey, RPA-C @ (703) 836-2272 ext. 3113. PA Foundation, 950 N. Washington St. Alexandria, VA 22314.

4. Montana Academy of Physician Assistants Scholarship. Preference given to Montana residents. 2 awarded annually. Deadline: December 15th. $500.00 each. Contact: Jim Marshall, PA-C @ (406) 580-8506, 308 Teton Ave., Bozeman, MT 59718

5. Physician Assistants in Orthopedic Surgery/Susan Lindahl Memorial Scholarship. Must be a senior PA student and member of the PAOS. Number and amount of scholarship varies. Deadline: April 14th. Contact: Scot Rheinecker, PA-C @ (704) 347-5460 or sport_pa@Yahoo.com, 1001 Blythe Blvd., Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28269.

Scholarships Available On-Line

More information about the following scholarships (i.e. deadlines, award amounts, requirements, etc.) can be found at the appropriate web sites.

1. The Hispanic Scholarship Fund. http://www.hsf.net/scholarship/scholarships.html

2. All-Ink.Com Scholarship. This scholarship is available EVERY month on-line from a computer supply company. Save all data so that you can cut and paste the following month. http://www.all-ink.com/storeinfo/scholarship/scholarship.html

3. VarsityBooks.Com Scholarship. This scholarship is available EVERY month on-line from a bookstore (they also have many of your books CHEAP!). Save all data so that you can cut and paste the following month. http://www.varsitybooks.com/scholarships/
varsityscholars.asp?dqs=4

4. The Gates Millennium Scholarship. The application process is very long and tedious. It is a new scholarship; it’s worth a try. Download the application on-line. http://www.gmsp.org/

5. The Hispanic Scholarship Fund. http://www.hsf.net/scholarship/CollegeRetention.html

6. HACU, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. The scholarships are very competitive but worth it! http://www.hacu.net Contact: Antonio Hernandez @ (201) 692-3805

7. Hispanic College Fund. http://hispanicfund.org/index.html.

8. Hispanic Collage Fund. Additional scholarships for Hispanics and other minorities. http://www.hsf.net/

9. Veterans' Caucus. One of my favorites (not just because they gave me money!) http://www.medvets-aapa.org/medvets/

10. PALH, Physician Assistants of Latino Heritage. You don't have to be Hispanic to apply! http://www.aapa.org/spec/palh.htm

Writing Competitions

1. Surgical Physician Assistant. 5 semi-finalists-$300.00, grand prize-$1000.00, Deadline: December 31st. Contact: Linda Kotrba @ (888) 676-8644 ext.14 or surgicalpa@aol.com. Manuscript guidelines can be viewed at www.surgicalpa.com.

2. J. Petar Nyquist Student Writing Competition. 1st prize-$500.00, 2nd prize-$300.00, 3rd prize-$200.00. Additional award of $200.00 for all recipients to present work at the AAPA National Conference. 6-20 pages not including title page, abstract, legends, tables, figures, or references. Any topic dealing with clinical medicine or PA issues is appropriate. For more information, contact: Richard W. Dehn, MPH, PA-C @ (319) 335-8925 or rdehn@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu, 5167 Weslawn, Iowa City, IA 52242.

3. Secretary's Award/US Department of Health and Human Services. Single Discipline prizes: 1st prize-$3500.00, 2nd prize-$2500.00, 3rd prize-$1500.00; Interdisciplinary prizes: 1st prize-$7500.00, 2nd prize-$5000.00, 3rd prize-$3000.00. Deadline: February 1st. 2500 words maximum. Contact: www.aacn.nche.edu

Fellowships

1. The Schering Corporation Fellowship Program in Liver Disease for Physician Assistants. Must be a practicing or graduate PA of an accredited PA program and licensed or eligible for licensure. Must be able to relocate at your own expense for 1 year. 40 hours per week=$50,000 plus healthcare, disability, and malpractice insurance. Requires participation in various conferences, reporting, and CME courses.

Contact: Dianne Voshell at Projects in Knowledge
(201) 617-9700 ext. 180
or by e-mail at dvoshell@projectsinknowledge.com.

Additional information can be found at
www.aapa.org/pafellowship.html