Places who pay for schooling ????

Christie RN2006 · Jul 20, 2007

I got a bonus from my hospital when I accepted a position after graduation... I got 1/4 of it up front and I get the rest of it on my 1 year anniversary. It will only pay for about half a year of schooling, but hey its more than I started with!

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

hi, i have a niece who is to start nursing school this fall. we had heard that there are some hospitals an a few other kinds of businesses that will pay for your schooling if you sign up to work or them for x number of years. has anyone else ever heard of this an if so do you know how you find out who is doing it ? any help would be so great. thanks in advance.

i've heard of it, it's pretty common. however, you should approach this type of arrangement very carefully.

the pro side of this is that the tuition/books/etc is either completely or mostly paid for by the facility, leaving the student with little or no debt. sounds great, right? the con side is that upon graduation, when other new grads are comparing lots of different offers in their fields of interest, your niece will be locked into whatever arrangement she made years before (and may no longer want). hospitals that contract for this will expect her to take the shift(s) they need her for, and not necessarily what she wants. she will be expected to work whatever units they want her to work, again it's not her decision where that will be. she will get whatever the compensation is that she's agreed to at the time of the contract, not whatever might be offered at the time of graduation for her peers. she might find out during her clinicals that the hospital she's contracted with is not where she wants to work, either because of working conditions, facility limitations, social imbalances, whatever. and none of that will matter in the end because she either has to work for them for several years or pay back a large sum of money.

if she has inside knowledge of a particular facility and is absolutely sure she does want to work there, wherever they stick her for whatever hours are available, then it might be a good plan. if any of those things are out of alignment, well....i'd suggest alternatives like student loans, grants, scholarships, intern programs, part-time jobs, anything to keep her a free agent.

good luck!

Nellie Nurse · Jul 20, 2007

When I was in nursing school I did not take the scholarship for the reasons mentioned by the previous poster but the hospital I worked for also had an option for tuition reimbursement. Unlike the scholarship program they did not pay for the full load, if I remember right it was like 75% or up to $1000 per semester (which for community college is pretty good). The good thing about that program was that I didn't have to promise to work there after graduation.

Your neice should first look to start working at a hospital just to get the experience and then once she has started working there she can find out what is offered and talk to other employees to see if there is a better deal elsewhere.

casi, ASN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

A lot of the hospital web sites list their benefits along with open positions. Most will list tuition reimbursment.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

hi, woogie_nell!

yes, this does go on. i know of one hospital in southern california that does this. they have a program going with their local community college where their employees who want to be rns get priority admission into the rn program and all their costs of education paid for. the students must remain employees and work a small number of hours as nurse techs for the hospital while going through the rn program and upon graduation must work a certain number of months for the hospital in repayment of the tuition. i won't say anymore, but i used to work for the hospital at one time, so i know how great their need is for rns. i also worked at one hospital that gave $2,000 loans to employees who were in nursing school (not sure they do that anymore). the loans were paid back in hours worked when they became rns or in cash just like a promisory note. many hospitals have tuition reimbursement programs for their employees where as an employee you are entitled to this benefit to help pay for your college. this is not a loan, but money given to pay for tuition. each facility has their own rules about how they distribute the money of this kind of benefit if they offer it.

these kinds of arrangements are going on all over the country. where the greatest need for rns is are the likely places you are going to find them. places to look for these kinds of programs are on the state board of nursing websites, the websites of the state nurses associations, some of the state hospital associations and any links or information about becoming a nurse on your state department of education website. another organization to investigate is the armed forces. many people who are in the reserves get tuition reimbursement of some type and have their school tuition almost totally paid for by the government. the thing is that if the reserves call you up for service, you have to go where they send you. i would investigate every state nurses association for scholarships and grants. also, some colleges and universities have some strange financial aid arrangements available. my older brother got a lot of tuition assistance from a special grant at a certain university that was set up specifically for children of a certain steel manufacturing company which our father had been a lifelong employee of.

california supported community colleges currently only charge $20 a credit hour for classes and they are the primary schools training rns out here. the catch is that you have to be a state resident to get this rate of tuition. i hear there are a couple of states where residents go tuition free. i don't know if this will be of help to you, but reading it might give you some ideas:

http://www.choosenursing.com/paying/calfinaid.html - financial aid available for nursing students in california

welcome to allnurses! :welcome:

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

A lot of the hospital web sites list their benefits along with open positions. Most will list tuition reimbursment.

Just as an FYI, "tuition reimbursement" does not always mean paying off a previous schooling expense. Usually, it means they will pay tuition (and sometimes books, etc) for current employees who are CONTINUING their education. In other words, if I am working there as an ADN-RN, I can take advantage of their tuition reimbursement plan if I wish to get a BSN.

This kind of plan comes with caveats too, of course, but a very different animal than what the OP is asking about.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

I've worked in a lot of acute hospitals as well as some nursing homes over the years where nursing assistants, phlebotomists and even the maintenance staff and kitchen assistants were able to get help with their tuition costs through the facility's tuition assistance program. It all depends on what the facility offers and the rules they impose on it. Tuition assistance is a benefit extended to employees just as medical insurance, dental insurance are other benefits.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

OP: I agree with the above. Most students who are non-employees take money and end up on the WORSE floors available with the highest turn over rates (did I mention that the money does not cover all of the expenses as someone else points out? It only covers tuition). The one's who are employees seem to get a better contract however I plan to take money to cover my MSN tuition rather then ADN or BSN. This way I will have worked for the hospital in question for at least 1 year as an RN and I can choose which floor I wish to work!

BTW, I noticed no one mentioned that some students take money and do not graduate!! In fact, not everyone who attends nursing school graduates because a large portion flunk out. Thus, taking money before you graduate can cause financial hardship if you are unable to complete your degree. There are people on here who have posted such scenarios which you may wish to read before signing any contracts. GL.

ann945n, RN · Jul 20, 2007

I've heard of it, it's pretty common. However, you should approach this type of arrangement VERY CAREFULLY.
The pro side of this is that the tuition/books/etc is either completely or mostly paid for by the facility, leaving the student with little or no debt. Sounds great, right? The con side is that upon graduation, when other new grads are comparing lots of different offers in their fields of interest, your niece will be locked into whatever arrangement she made years before (and may no longer want). Hospitals that contract for this will expect her to take the shift(s) they need her for, and not necessarily what she wants. She will be expected to work whatever units they want her to work, again it's not her decision where that will be. She will get whatever the compensation is that she's agreed to at the time of the contract, not whatever might be offered at the time of graduation for her peers. She might find out during her clinicals that the hospital she's contracted with is NOT where she wants to work, either because of working conditions, facility limitations, social imbalances, whatever. And none of that will matter in the end because she either has to work for them for several years or pay back a large sum of money.
If she has inside knowledge of a particular facility and is absolutely sure she DOES want to work there, wherever they stick her for whatever hours are available, then it might be a good plan. If any of those things are out of alignment, well....I'd suggest alternatives like student loans, grants, scholarships, intern programs, part-time jobs, ANYTHING to keep her a free agent.
Good luck!

I totally agree here, I would discourage your neice from taking such an offer. It would be better to take out a loan or get many scholarships and just pay it off in the end over the course of a few years. That sacrifice would surely be less then being locked into a job for 2-4 years where the employeer holds all the cards.