I am beginning SLU's accelerated BSN program this month and am facing the reality that I may no longer be able to cover the costs of this program. I am receiving limited federal aid, and I am forced to look into other financial options. I know that many of the St. Louis area hospitals provided agreements with students to give them x amount of money in exchange for working for them for x amount of years. SLU Hospital had a great setup last year where they would give you $5,000 for each semester in exchange for 3 years of work. Then they would continue to help with outstanding loan balances each month while you continued your employment. This and more was what I was counting on last year when I applied and began working toward starting the program. Can anyone offer me any resources on what the current benefits are for tuition assistance from hospitals in Missouri/Illinois? I have heard so many different things from so many different people. Some say that those benefits have been shut off entirely due to the economy, while some say that nursing students are still eligible. Then some say that only current employees working toward becoming a nurse are eligible. I've called several hospitals directly, but often, no one calls me back. This is very stressful, and aside from sitting down again and calling every single hospital system in the state, I don't know who to talk to. Financial aid staff at the school have little to offer on this subject, and I am beginning to think that I am simply going to have suck it up, scrape together a million loans, and graduate $50,000 in debt, in addition to my other loans from my previous degree. Any information anyone can offer would be tremendous.
