Outside Scholarships
We are pleased to provide a listing of outside scholarships that may benefit Buena Vista University students.
Only state and local scholarship opportunities will be accepted and posted on this website.

Iowa Scottish Rite Masonic Educational Fund
This is a LOAN program available to Iowa residents and may be extended to out-of-state students attending an Iowa college/university. Applicants must show financial need and have completed at least one year of college. A transcript must be submitted to show evidence of further academic success (sophomores must have a 2.75 CGPA and juniors, seniors and graduate students must have a 2.5 CGPA. Three character references need to be submitted as well. Student may borrow up to $2000/year up to an aggregate total of $6,000. Principal payments need not be made until the loan recipient's education is completed or discontinued. Current interest rate is 6% per year and payments should be made in semi-annual installments. If interested in applying, please contact the following address: Iowa Scottish Rite Masonic Educational Fund, Office of Secretary-Treasurer, 316 E. College Street, Iowa City, IA 52240.
Department of the Army
Please see the Office of Financial Assistance for information on the educational benefits (loan repayment) for students who enter the military after graduation.
You can access the following web sites to receive information, free of charge, on searching for other outside scholarships. We do not guarantee the validity of the information you may find on these sites and students should use at their own discretion.
LifeServe Scholarship
LifeServe will award a $500 scholarship to students who organize a successful blood drive during specified dates in the summer months (Memorial Day - Labor Day) or the winter months (December - January). To be eligible to win, students must recruit donors and act as the chairperson for the blood drive and meet a minimum of 40 registered donors at their blood drive. Visit lifeservebloodcenter.org for a complete list of guidelines and additional details.
Carver Scholarship
This scholarship is offered to a BVU sophomore student who is an Iowa resident with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8. The award is $8,000 per year and renewable for your senior year (a total of $16,000 awarded during the Junior/Senior years). To be eligible for this scholarship, students must present evidence of something unusual that is hindering the student from reaching their education goals (some kind of “social barrier” or challenging/debilitating situation; some examples of candidates in the past that have received this scholarship include: student that has a major illness, parents with an illness, or had a mentally challenged parent or sibling).
This scholarship requires that you file the FAFSA by March 1, 2021 and the Carver Scholarship application must be completed by April 1, 2021. You may apply online at www.carvertrust.org (under the scholarship tab at the top of the home page, select Apply Online First Year link on the right side of the screen).
Health Care Careers Scholarship
The goal of the Health Care Careers Scholarship program is to fill Iowa health care positions that have a notable number of openings by offering significant financial support to students seeking health care education or training. IHA does not and shall not discriminate against applicants because of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, creed, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, military status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage members of all underrepresented groups to apply.
In exchange, each $3,500 award recipient must commit to working one year in an Iowa hospital for each year of the scholarship award. The $1,000 award recipients must commit to working one year with a hospital-based or hospital-contracted emergency medical service. IHERF will identify placement opportunities in each IHA geographic district (a district map is included with the application).
Scholarship applicants must be enrolled in an accredited program and be within two-years of completing their professional education. Please see the attached list of qualifying programs.
IHERF will score scholarship applications and make awards based on applicant qualifications. The 2021 IHERF scholarship application process launches December 1, 2020. All portions of the application must be submitted by March 30, 2021.
Applications must be submitted on IHERF’s scholarship website: www.iowahospitalscholarships.org. The site will confirm students’ scholarship eligibility before beginning the application process. Students also will submit their college program verifications and references on this site.
Iowa Student Loan Midwest Senior Scholarship
Iowa Student Loan® offers ten $1,000 college scholarships through the brand-new ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship.
To be eligible, students must be current high school seniors from Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota or Wisconsin who attend college in fall 2021. They may attend any eligible U.S. college either virtually or physically. Students do not need to attend an Iowa college or university to be eligible.
The scholarship has no requirements for minimum GPA or class rank, financial need, intended major or purchase.
To qualify, students must:
- Register on our website between Jan.11 and April 30, 2021.
- Meet the eligibility requirements and other conditions listed in the scholarship rules.
Registered students will also receive important college planning and financing tips via email during the registration period.
About Us
Iowa Student Loan is a nonprofit organization that provides the resources students and families need to succeed in postsecondary education, from competitively priced student loans to free online college financing and planning tools.
Available Resources
Online college and career planning tools help families understand how student loan debt affects their students' financial future and provides information on how to reduce college expenses and associated debt. Visit www.IowaStudentLoan.org/SmartBorrowing to learn more.
Questions?
Email scholarship@studentloan.org.
Scholarship Search Engines
Numerous scholarship opportunities can be found using these scholarship search engines. Awarding criteria, award amounts and deadlines vary by scholarship.
- http://www.fastweb.com/
- www.scholarships.com
- www.studentscholarships.org
- www.iefa.org/
- http://www.finaid.org/
- http://www.collegeboard.org/
- http://www.collegenet.com/
- http://www.hispanicfund.org/
- http://www.chci.org/
- http://www.gmsp.org/
- http://salliemae.com/scholarships
- http://salliemae.com/PlanforCollege
- https://www.discover.com/student-loans/scholarships/search.html
- http://www.FinAid.com
- www.icansucceed.org
- https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-scholarships.aspx
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