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With the baby boom generation entering their golden years, nursing will be an in-demand career field for many more decades. Nursing schools can be expensive, and if you are a new nurse, you may not have the salary or resources to pay for them yourself. Luckily, there are many hospitals that pay for nursing school.
Don’t let loans or scholarships keep you from getting a career in nursing. When it comes to both, there are many ways for students to avoid taking out loans and being denied scholarship opportunities. There are many programs throughout the United States that help aspiring nurses reach their goals.
Some of these programs will even help with living expenses while in school. By the end of this article, you will know how to secure a spot in a nursing program without taking out loans or scholarships. Read on if you want to hear more about this topic.
How Hospitals Will Pay for your Nursing School
Nursing is a rewarding and in-demand profession, which makes it the ideal time to explore your options. The healthcare field will see rapid growth for the next decade, so you can be guaranteed that hospitals are looking for skilled nurses.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that careers within health care have one of the fastest-growing rates over ten years.
This means there will always be plenty of jobs available as well as many opportunities to move up into higher positions such as nurse managers who work closely with doctors on patient care decisions or head nurses who oversee all aspects of their unit including staffing schedules and general daily operations.
There are several ways hospitals can help pay for your nursing school education, and some of them are below:
Tuition Reimbursement
It is the most common method that most hospitals use to pay for your nursing school. If you are accepted into the hospital’s educational program, they will reimburse part of the tuition for each module that you complete.
Some employers require candidates to work for them first and then apply, while some allow students into the training as long as there is a slot open.
The requirements may vary from one employer to another, but generally, the minimum requirement is at least two years of experience in a healthcare environment before applying. The purpose of this kind of program is to attract motivated nurses that have already acquired experience, so it’s unlikely that you would be denied entry even if you did not pass with flying colors on your board exam.
Usually, hospitals can provide an educational program offering continuing education units (CEUs) which are re-certification credits for registered nurses. While the majority of employers offer this kind of program, there are some that don’t handle any part of certifications.
You can be assured that after completing your training, the pay is still going to be good enough to compensate you for working at the hospital for a couple of years in exchange, and some tuition reimbursement will help anyone in need of financial aid.
Earning an advanced degree such as Nurse Practitioner or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) opens many doors that wouldn’t necessarily be open if you didn’t have it. Earning one enables you to work independently without a doctor present, which means more money even in entry-level positions.
Most hospitals have different reimbursement policies as some will only pay up to $5,000, but they might also be willing to cover 75% – 100%. It is recommended that you inquire about this when going for an interview so you’ll know what to expect and how much money they can offer.
Work-Study Programs
In some hospitals, nursing school students can also work as clerical or cleaning staff to help pay for their education. Normally, they are assigned to the administrative department or another place in the hospital that doesn’t require any special skills. If you decide to do this, it may be possible that you’ve also paid for overtime hours.
This kind of program is not offered by all hospitals, but some have been known to help pay for school if there is a position available. The fact that you can work during college means that you’ll earn more money since tuition costs and living expenses will need to be covered as well as support yourself while studying, which isn’t cheap either.
Work experience at a healthcare facility is very important, so working part-time while doing your studies allows you to gain hands-on experience and gives employers an opportunity to assess how good their future employees are.
You may also get a chance to do regular clinical practice while in your nursing program, and if you can, you should take advantage of it as much as possible since it will be the most effective way to familiarize yourself with being a nurse while earning some money at the same time.
Nursing Scholarship Programs
Some private organizations offer scholarships for students who are looking forward to becoming nurses. It is very likely that if your grades are good enough, you’ll qualify for one of these awards, which could help pay for part or all of your tuition fees.
Keep in mind that there are many different kinds of scholarship programs, so make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully before applying since some might ask for a lot in return, much like asking you to work as a nurse while still studying.
Training can be almost free of charge if you already have someone working with your hospital who already has current credentials issued by the nursing board as well as having taken CEUs or continuing education classes.
As long as they are willing to mentor you, help train and assess your skills on the job, it is certainly going to save you money compared to paying tuition fees if they were charging at all.
Many hospitals will offer internships when students are about halfway through their schooling, but this doesn’t mean you should count on it. There may be a chance that you’ll get one, but they might also have more important candidates who are looking to start working and studying at the same time, so you’ll just have to be patient.
If you don’t qualify for any scholarships and there aren’t any internships available, then your only option left is loans. They will allow you to pay for tuition fees and some other expenses as well, so deciding if it’s worth taking them out just depends on your current financial situation and how much money is offered in return.
Nursing Grants
Some hospitals issue grants to students who are planning to enroll in a nursing school.
The terms and conditions could be quite strict, but you might get lucky if you have excellent grades or came from an underprivileged background.
In order to qualify, you’ll have to provide a lot of financial documents showing your bank accounts as well as details about any debts along with proof of income, so be sure not to leave anything out, or else it won’t get approved unless your parents are extremely wealthy.
Most grants do not need to be repaid, so applying for them is highly recommended before wasting any time on loan applications, even though some will ask for one or two years worth of payments after graduating from school. Your eligibility is going to depend on your total family income, marital status, number of children being claimed, and where you live.
There are also nursing scholarship programs that are offered by the government, and these will usually cover tuition, books, health insurance, and other related costs, with some even offering to pay for travel expenses as long as you’re one of the lucky recipients.
You’ll be required to repay 1 percent of your income every year, but it may not have to be paid off until after twenty years, while some laws allow waivers if you work in remote areas.
Private Nursing School Loans
If you can’t get a scholarship or grant, then the next best option in paying for nursing school is getting a loan. You’ll have to think about how much money will be needed and what kind of monthly payments are affordable before looking into it because failure to pay back loans could mean going bankrupt, so don’t borrow more than you can reasonably deal with after graduation.
The best thing about this type of financing is that your interest rate won’t be too high if you qualify based on your credit history and other factors like whether you’re overqualified for the job or not.
It’s still important that you avoid taking out any unsavory types of loans like home equity lines, where some might give you favorable repayment options compared to standard bank accounts only to make use of your bad credit as a government-backed guarantee.
Federal Aid for Nursing School
As we already have stated above, nursing is a high-demand career, and the need is continually growing.
There are now more and more nursing schools that receive funding from the government, so getting a free education may be possible in some cases.
The Federal Government covers a lot of tuition fees, but you’ll still have to consider any other expenses related to room and board or even books. Plus, you will have to get accepted, so don’t forget about all your other options until you’re confident it’s really worth taking out loans for.
Hospitals That Pay for Nursing School
Finally, we are going to share the list of some hospitals which will pay you to become a registered nurse. Following are the 30 Most Nurse-Friendly Hospitals across the United States.
- Schneck Medical Center – Seymour, Indiana
- Johns Hopkins Hospital – Baltimore, Maryland
- Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital Of Chicago – Chicago, Illinois
- Baptist Medical Center – Jacksonville, Florida
- West Virginia University Hospitals – Morgantown, West Virginia
- Houston Methodist Hospital – Houston, Texas
- Children’s Medical Center Of Dallas – Dallas, Texas
- Rhode Island Hospital – Providence, Rhode Island
- Massachusetts General Hospital – Boston, Massachusetts
- Mayo Clinic – Rochester, Minnesota
- Hackensack University Medical Center – Hackensack, New Jersey
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – Los Angeles, California
- Baylor University Medical Center – Dallas, Texas
- Winchester Hospital – Winchester, Massachusetts
- Cleveland Clinic – Cleveland, Ohio
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago, Illinois
- Mercy Medical Center – Baltimore, Maryland
- Seattle Children’s Hospital – Seattle, Washington
- Lowell General Hospital – Lowell, Massachusetts
- Vanderbilt University Hospital – Nashville, Tennessee
- Carolinas Medical Center – Charlotte, North Carolina
- St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center – Paterson, New Jersey
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center – Hershey, Pennsylvania
- El Camino Hospital – Mountain View, California
- Case Medical Center – Cleveland, Ohio
- University Of Colorado Hospital – Aurora, Colorado
- Yale-New Haven Hospital – New Haven, Connecticut
- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center – Los Angeles, California
- Baptist Health South Florida – Coral Gables, Florida
- Sentara Norfolk General Hospital – Norfolk, Virginia
So above is the list of best hospitals that can help you become a nurse or get a free nursing education.
Hospitals source: https://www.toprntobsn.com/nurse-friendly-hospitals/
How Much Does Nursing School Cost?
It depends on many factors, like where you live, the type of program (online or traditional), and whether or not you are attending a private school. If you already have a nursing degree, it might cost you low money to go further in your career.
In short, there is no set cost of nursing school. Every program is different, and the cost could span anywhere from a few thousand dollars to well over a hundred thousand dollars.
What is the Nursing School Attrition Rate?
Attrition rate could be understood as to how many students discontinued their program. This typically doesn’t happen in a normal school, but it does occur from time to time with nursing schools.
There are various reasons for this, one of which being (though not limited to); some students don’t have money to pay tuition or just decide they want to shift attention and go into a different field other than nursing.
Some others may face difficulty trying to balance their education with a family, and by the time all is said and done, they chose that it wasn’t worth their while after all. Whatever the case may be, at least this will make you aware of what you might encounter if there is such a thing.
How Long Does it Take to Become a Nurse?
On average, you are looking at going through about two years of not only studying the curriculum but working in an actual hospital and/or nursing home setting. There really is no set time for this.
As long as you have your mindset on doing something more than just sitting behind a desk being miserable for 40 hours per week, then there shouldn’t be any problem at all.
Conclusion
While you may have to face some challenges in your life right now, the rewards of a nursing job are going to be worth it.
No matter what financial struggles or assistance you need to get through school as a nurse, just remember that the people who receive care from nurses will benefit immensely, and they’ll thank all those wonderful nurses for everything they do.
As far as the best nursing schools, we hope this helps you to decide where might be a good fit for you. If your passion is to help people, and you want to make some major money doing so, then the nursing school might just be right up your alley.
So don’t let everything else get you down. Just turn it around into something positive that will change your life forever.
Good luck!