Tuition Reimbursement How-To

Extra Pickles · Dec 30, 2016

If you are willing to work in a very underserved area of the country where nurses are desperately needed some reimbursement may be an option for you. If you work for certain non-profits and government employment and meet certain conditions, some reimbursement may be an option for you.

Typically, employers have their pick of nurses for whom they don't need to pay off any debts so it shouldn't be expected. Consolidating loans into manageable amounts and potentially working in those very-hard-to-fill jobs would be your best bet.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Dec 30, 2016

Tuition reimbursement happens when you take courses concurrent with employment. I suspect you are looking for loan repayment programs. They are scarce. So I suspect that "!0 years from now" what you'll be doing is making student loan payments.

llg, PhD, RN · Dec 30, 2016

Most tuition reimbursement programs work like this:

1. You work for an employer

2. While you are working for that employer, you go to school -- and the employer helps by paying some of your expenses

3. It is very rare to find an employer that will reimburse your tuition for classes that you took before you worked for them.

4. The government offers some student loan forgiveness programs -- but they are run by the government, not by employers (except for a very few exceptions)

5. A few employers will help you with expenses up front ... but they require a contract that you will work for them for X number of years in return. Be leery of such deals as they often cause problems for the student/nurse.

So ... if you want some reimbursement for your nursing school tuition ... you have to start working NOW for an employer who will help you out in the near future. Don't put yourself deep in debt and then expect an employer to bail you out. There is very, very little chance that will happen.

MrChicagoRN, RN · Dec 30, 2016

Varies from employer to employer, you need to check their policy

Covers tuition incurred during employment, not before.

May be available from Day 1, or from up to a year of employment, before it kicks in

Will cover up to a specific amount per year. This may be either per Calendar year or Fiscal year; their choice.

May cover up to 100% per course, or only a portion. Some $$ may be held back till graduation, or even a year after.

May require you to stay for another year or you will be asked to pay back the reimbursement.

Usually covers courses related to present duties, or potential future duties at the institution.

Usually requires a grade of C or better in the course.

My employer isn't particularly generous. Basically covers cost of only 1 course per year of moderately grad school at a private not for profit Uni. But, every little bit helps.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Dec 31, 2016

Wait! OP- didn't you also plan (in another thread) to use unemployment to support yourself during nursing school?

johsonmichelle · Dec 31, 2016

Hi all!
As a pre-nursing student I may be looking into it way too early. But as a scrupulous planner such as myself, I have to know what I am doing 10 years from now.
I have already some hefty student loan debt so I was looking into "tuition reimbursement." The reason it is in quotation marks is because I practically have no idea how it works. Therefore, I am here asking for some help. Those of you who know what it is, or how it works, I would very much appreciate an input! Thank you all in advance!
P.S. I am a second degree student, hoping to apply to an accelerated BSN in NYC.

I do not think that tuition reimbursement will really help you especially since its an accelerated bsn program and the tuition is probally high. Most of time , you have to be an established employee to benefit from it and most hospitals that have this program in my area only offer $2500 - $5000 a year. They also have a bunch of requirements apart from being an employee.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Dec 31, 2016

Tuition reimbursement usually is for current employees of a facility who wish to further their education, and sometimes this is where you see the "we'll pay for school in return for X years of work after graduation."

There are government programs where the government will contribute towards educational costs in exchange for you working for the government in very under-served areas...but think more acute/ambulatory care and community health nursing, and not a free ticket to the ICU.

Otherwise, almost no employer is going to pay for a random person off the street to go to nursing school. Nor are they going to offer to repay your loans if you work for them. After all, it's a lot faster--and cheaper--just to hire one of the many experienced nurses looking for work instead of trying to launch you out of the nest.

Sorry if this isn't exactly what you wanted to hear.

amoLucia · Dec 31, 2016

Some places will reimburse only after a course/courses are taken. That cuts down on the chance that you'll try to take them for a 'free ride'.

It is necessary that you read all the fine print in any financial agreement. If you fail to meet all the contractual obligations, the facility may opt to demand that YOU reimburse THEM. And some places will go after you with a vengeance if you think you'll just 'stick it to them'.

That's why they tag on so many requirements so that you'll be less likely to cheat them.

FutureNurseInfo · Dec 31, 2016

Wait! OP- didn't you also plan (in another thread) to use unemployment to support yourself during nursing school?

Hi, yes, I planned. I contacted the NY Labor Dept and was informed that I might be able to be approved for UI benefits. The thing is, I will be attending the school to acquire skills to do the job (never mind the skills I already have in teaching). if that is approved by the state, I may be getting the UI benefits.

comm · Dec 31, 2016

Each place that offers a form of reimbursement is going to be different other than the fact they will all require you to work there for a set amount of time and will usually pay it off gradually over time. During that Time you will still be accruing interest so the amount they pay off will be significantly less than you think due to hefty portions of the pay off going to paying pure interest. Same thing for military repayments.

If you're worried about debt for school these are my suggestions:

-Work. There's no reason not to work during nursing school. It will get you used to managing your time well and force you to sacrifice various luxuries. A good ability for anyone to have. Many will tell you not to because nursing school is so hard all I can say is I disagree. If you cant work and go to school simultaneously then you'll probably struggle with other things in the future as well. Like when you need to get your CEN while your working. Remember, education in healthcare never stops.

-Less loans. This ties into the above. The best way to not have to worry about school debt is absolutely minimize it. Don't take out extra loans because you need to pay for housing or food or other daily needs you should be taking care of anyway. Its interest that puts you in debt. And most loans you'll accrue interest while your still in school (unless you get a subsidized one) Currently you can buy a house with less interest than student loans, absorb that for a moment. Student loans will follow you after death (literally) so its best to avoid them all together.

-Perkins loans - Ok after condemning loans I'll say this. Federal perkins loans are a type of loan that is forgiven by the government so long as you are working in a public service job. (nurses, cops, etc) Its a form of repayment that's already built into the loan so If those are available, snag them up. You'll have to do continual paperwork for years afterward but its worth it to save the money.

- Join the military. Basically a guaranteed payback regardless of where you work. Both the reserves and the national guard have repayment programs plus the healthcare is amazing. The commitment wont be that much longer than a civilian hospital would tie you down with any way

- MOVE! Good lord your state has high education costs. Here's the thing, No(OK almost no) job gives 2 poops what nursing school you went to. Once you pass the Nclex a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. Your just a new grad nurse to your employer so don't waste your money going to a school that costs double what a school in the state over costs. Plus, NY isn't in the nursing compact so if you ever want to work somewhere else you will have to petition with their state licensing and get a separate license (ie I hold 4 different licenses.) But if you pass your boards in a state that's in the compact you can freely go between the 25 states in the compact. (just something to think about) Even if your not going to move find a cheaper school. (yes I understand you'll have to live there for a bit to not pay out of state tuition but life is about the long term not the right now.)

calivianya, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2016

Let's pretend you're going to start working for my employer so they will pay for your tuition. My employer reimburses up to $3k/year for tuition for a full-time employee. For a part-time employee, it's $1.5k. PRNs get nothing. You have to have been with my employer for a year before you can apply for tuition reimbursement, and if you have any sort of disciplinary action (even just a verbal warning for being late a few times) you lose your eligibility.

Other factors to consider if you were to work for my employer:

1. Accelerated BSNs usually cost more than $3k, period.

2. Working full time during an accelerated BSN would probably be very difficult, so the most you'd get back in reality if you worked for my employer is $1.5k/year.

3. You have to get your plan pre-approved before you start going back to school. Cutoff for Spring approvals at my job is around November. So, say you wanted to start classes in January of 2018 - if you started working today (December 2016), you'd be way too late getting hired because you wouldn't have been there for a year before the approval period next November.

4. Reimbursement funds are distributed after the end of the semester. I am going to get mine for fall 2016 sometime in January 2017. I still had to pay tuition up front without help.

You'd be better off doing a regular BSN if you're looking for tuition reimbursement to help you, because you'd have more years to spread the reimbursement over. Total amount my employer could give you for an 18 month degree is $6k if you're full time, as you're paying tuition in two calendar years. Total amount my employer could give you for a four year degree would be $15k - assuming four school years but five calendar years if you start in the fall. That's a big difference in the amount of money you'd receive.

When it comes to tuition reimbursement, the more years you can spread your degree over, the more money you get.

I'm getting a bachelor's in another field now and still working full time, and most of my tuition is covered by reimbursement as I'm going to a state university. My tuition for the fall was ~$2100, but you've also got to take fees into account. The total amount I paid for the semester was about ~$3600 so even with tuition reimbursement I'm going to have plenty of not covered expenses, because tuition reimbursement is TUITION ONLY.

Not to mention total tuition for 2017 is going to be about $4.2k, but the max reimbursement I can get is $3k.

Tuition reimbursement helps somewhat (it's definitely better than nothing), but it's no magic bullet as far as paying for your schooling goes.