Free Tuition w/ Work Commitment

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Jan 20, 2017

No but I would be weary of such a commitment. It would seem to me that if a facility is offering something like that, it may not be the best place to work.

Also, what happens if you want to leave or they let you go & you have to pay back everything? I would much rather pay my own way through school than be indebted to anyone.

verene, MSN · Jan 20, 2017

Look very closely into the fine print for such an agreement. I know University of Washington offered (at least they did a few years ago) "free" tuition for full-time employees of the medical center who'd been employees in good standing for at least 12 months prior to starting the program, who maintained some number of hours employment (.7FTE+ ?) during their schooling, and committed to staying at least 2 years post-graduation.

Free tuition sounds great, but what happens if you can no longer juggle work with school? If you get sick, or have an accident or some one in your family does and you need time off? What if you need to leave the position for personal reasons or are fired? And working at the hospital for 2 years post-graduation means you take a nursing job on whatever shift and on whatever unit is hiring at the point in time you graduate. This could potentially mean being stuck on nights, in a specialty you have no interest in, on a unit with horrible culture and poor management for years!

Other times the "free" tuition is actually tuition reimbursement. I worked for an employer than did this. So long as you worked at least half-time they offered tuition reimbursement up to a certain dollar amount (prorated on hours worked) per year. The catch: you only got the money at the end of the term once you submitted your transcripts to HR to prove that not only are you in an approved program but that you are meeting minimum grades (3.0+) in all coursework.

Even scholarships like National Health Corps Scholarship which pays a full-ride and stipend come with some pretty strict criteria when you read the fine print (like if you don't follow through on your end of meeting the full work contract in approved facility you owe not only the amount of the scholarship but up to 3 times that amount as damages for breech of contract. Even switching job positions from one approved facility to another, requires permission and with out that permission you are likely violating contract).

Not to say that there aren't some scholarships out there that can be a huge help. But always question why some one is giving out "free" money, particularly in large sums, and what they expect from you in return. I think in general when it comes to scholarships do your research, be prepared to meet requirements in advance of money (i.e. academic achievement, or community service, acceptance into a particular program, meeting ethnic or economic criteria), and realize that nothing is truly free - all scholarships require some degree of work, be it writing essays and submitting letters of recommendation, the work to meet academic standards, active participation in the sponsoring organization, or a contract for follow-through after payment (be it a letter of thanks and maintaining academic standing, or signing a job contract) or something else altogether.