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Rainy River Community College (RRCC) is pleased to announce a $2,500 scholarship opportunity for two students interested in pre-nursing. Students begin their pre-nursing work a year before applying to the actual nursing program. Nursing is an ever-expanding profession, and will grow even faster as healthcare has more scientific breakthroughs. The number of registered nurses, for example, is expected to increase by 439,300 people by 2024 (source, salary.com) while practical nursing positions will grow by 22%.

RRCC Nursing Instructor/Healthcare Program Director, Donita Ettestad said, “This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in nursing! There is such a need for nurses not only in our community but nationally. Being a nurse, helping people and making a difference in their life is so emotionally rewarding. Plus the starting wages and sign on bonuses make this career an excellent choice.”

The nursing program at RRCC is through a partnership with Itasca Community College (PN) and Hibbing Community College (RN). RRCC advisors can guide students through course selections and the application process. Once accepted to the nursing program, students will attend their nursing theory lecture classes via telepresence in the nursing classroom at RRCC. The skills lab experiences are in RRCC’s state of the art nursing lab with a number of fully functioning nurse simulators. Patient clinical rotations are conducted at local healthcare facilities. Ettestad teaches both skills lab and clinical rotations.

The estimated cost of tuition and fees for a full year at RRCC is $5,324.10 (Annual cost, 30 credits, *General fees are subject to change by the Minnesota State Legislature and the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.). RRCC will award two-$2,500 scholarships to pre-nursing students. The amount of this scholarship covers almost half of the cost of tuition and fees for a year!

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must:

• Be a Minnesota high school senior or recently graduated.
• Be enrolled/declared into health care programming at RRCC.
• Be accepted to RRCC to take the nursing pre-program course requirements and attend beginning Fall 2019.
• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Complete the RRCC Scholarship Application.

The deadline to apply is February 28, 2019. Apply online at: http://www.rainyriver.edu/college-costs-financial-aid/scholarships/ and complete the RRCC Scholarship Application. The scholarship recipients will be announced April 1, 2019.