Health care isn’t just about doctors and nurses. There are a number of other popular fields to study, and to do that you’ll need health care scholarships. This includes fields like physical therapy, physician’s assistants and paramedics. There are many diverse programs, from one-year certificate programs to master’s and professional degrees, that can help you achieve your career goals, and there are many financial aid options available.
- Look into sponsored scholarships
Because of the heavy demand for healthcare professionals, many employees like hospitals, medical centers, and other medical foundations offer programs for both current employees and prospective employees. This can range from small awards of $500 for books to full tuition scholarships. In exchange for the extra money for college, award recipients agree to work for the organization for a specified amount of time after graduation (or in some cases, during college itself). This can mean both not only help paying for college, but a guaranteed job after you graduate! However, these awards often come with GPA stipulations that have minimums to keep your scholarship, so make sure that you keep your grades up!
- Ask about government money
As you know by now, health care jobs are in high demand in any economy. Not only do private organizations want to draw bright and talented people into the health care job market, but government agencies also want to make it easier for students to pay for educational programs that can help them become the medical professionals that the country needs.
These programs are usually run on a state-by-state basis; California, for example, runs the Health Professions Education Foundation, which offers scholarships for study at California schools, as well as loan repayment.
In addition to these local programs, the U.S. Health and Human Services Administration sponsors a national program that reimburses tuition and provides scholarships to health care professionals serving one of the designated “shortage-areas” (doctors, dentists, family nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physicians assistants). The generous scholarship program includes tuition and stipends, and scholars commit to placements in high-need areas of California once they complete their training.
There are so many ways for you to find money for your health care and health professions studies. You can find out more about these opportunities in the College Scholarship Section of this website, as well as the financial aid office of your school.
