Do Hospitals Help Pay for Nursing School?
Some hospitals have programs that will help you pay for nursing school. There are also other options, such as federal aid and the Nurse Corps program, that you may want to consider as well.
For years, nursing has been one of the most in-demand career fields, and that trend doesn’t appear to be changing in the near future.
However, one decision every aspiring nurse must make is how much they are willing to pay in nursing school costs to receive the necessary training.
Due to the high education costs, it can be worth your time to find hospitals that help pay for nursing school.
On this page:
- How Hospitals Will Pay for Nursing School
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Work-Study Programs
- Nursing Scholarships
- Nursing Grants
- Private Nursing School Loans
- Federal Aid for Nursing School
- Nurse Corps Payment Assistance Programs
How Hospitals Will Pay for Nursing School
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare career field has the highest projected occupational growth for the next decade.
With this in mind, hospitals are in need of attracting and retaining quality nurses. This means they are willing to help pay for nursing school through several different methods.
Tuition Reimbursement
The most common payment method is tuition reimbursement. This doesn’t mean that each nursing student can attend school for free. To qualify for tuition reimbursement, you will most likely need to be a current employee of a hospital for at least six months.
Hospitals might help pay for an Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (BSN) to help attract entry-level nurses. They might even help pay for advanced certification such as becoming a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Nurse Practitioner.
Each hospital will have different reimbursement policies as some will only pay up to $5,000, but, they might pay up to 75% to 100% depending on the hospital and caliber of the candidate.
Depending on how much the hospital is willing to pay in tuition reimbursement, they will usually require a work commitment of several years after completing nursing school to receive a return on their investment. Higher reimbursement amounts usually require a longer commitment.
Before accepting tuition reimbursement, it is important that the student is willing to work for the required period of time to avoid having to repay the hospital if they switch employers.
Work-Study Programs
Hospitals might also allow nursing school students to work in a clerical or cleaning position to help pay for their education.
Work-study positions help expose students to the many sides of healthcare beyond what they will learn in classroom and clinical training. Plus, the additional work experience can help them become a more qualified candidate when applying for a nursing position at the completion of their training.
Another benefit might be that there aren’t any employment requirements after graduating from school, unlike tuition reimbursement.
Nursing Scholarships
Scholarships are another option to help pay for nursing school. Similar to tuition reimbursement, hospitals and other medical providers might provide nursing scholarships to students based on factors like financial need, gender, race, or academic merit.
Some donors, such as the U.S. Army, require an employment commitment to qualify for the scholarship. Other scholarships only require students to be enrolled at schools affiliated with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to receive the scholarship funds.
Nursing Grants
Hospitals will also issue grants to students with large financial needs. Grants are very similar to scholarships, but they normally don’t require a work commitment after graduating from nursing school. This form of financial aid might also be the least common provided by private sources.
Private Nursing School Loans
While federal student loans are also available to pay for nursing school, students might need private loans to fill the funding gap.
It’s common for hospitals and nursing schools to provide in-house loans. Of course, private lenders that also lend to normal undergraduate and graduate student borrowers will lend to nursing students as well.
>> Read More: How to Pay for College
Federal Aid for Nursing School
As nursing is a high-demand career field, federal aid is also available to help students afford nursing school. To be considered for federal aid, students must first apply for the FAFSA.
Students with the highest financial needs can qualify for the Federal Nursing Student Loan that accrues 0% while in school and has a low-interest rate once the loan enters repayment status.
For those that do not receive this loan, Direct Stafford Loans are also accepted at most nursing schools. Some states might provide financial aid via nursing loans, scholarships, and grants as well.
Enroll in the Nurse Corps
One final way to receive federal aid is to enroll in the Nurse Corps. This organization has both a scholarship and a loan repayment program.
Nurse Corps Scholarships Program
Similar to AmeriCorps, nursing students enrolled in the scholarship program will receive tuition assistance and a monthly stipend of $1,383 by agreeing to work in a Critical Shortage Facility — at an underserved area within the United States — upon graduation.
Applications for the Nurse Corps are accepted in the spring of each year. Preference is given to nursing students with demonstrated financial need.
Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program
If you are currently a registered nurse, the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program may help you repay your debt in exchange for working in a Critical Shortage Facility.
This program will pay off 60% of your remaining nursing student loan debt in exchange for two years of service. If you commit to a third year, an additional 25% of your original balance will be paid off.
This article originally appeared on LendEDU.
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