Health Care Grants

Applying for student grants is one of the smartest and easiest ways to finance your health care education. The process is easy, and the U.S. Department of Education will be providing over 80 billion dollars in financial aid this year to students, so the payoffs can be plentiful for those who qualify. Here's another bonus: Financial aid grants, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid. Student grants are essentially free money earmarked for your health care education.

• Federal Pell Grant: Pell Grants are generally reserved for undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's or a professional degree. They are the foundation of federal financial aid, to which aid from other sources (federal and non-federal) can be added. The amount each student is eligible for changes annually and depends on a variety of individual factors, including need, school costs and full-time or part-time status.
   
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG): The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program is designed for undergraduates who demonstrate exceptional financial need. Recipients of the Pell Grant with the lowest expected family contributions (EFCs) as outlined on the FAFSA application are first in line for these education grants.
   
• Academic Competitiveness Grant: This two-year student grant, which provides aid through the freshman and sophomore years of undergraduate study, is available to full-time students who are eligible for a Pell Grant and have successfully graduated from a "rigorous high school program." This broadly refers to students who have excelled in programs such as the State Scholars Program, the State Scholars Initiative, and Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses.

While federal grants are a good jumping off point, there are many grants available for tenacious students who know where and how to look.

 Some grants are geared specifically towards minority students or women. Other student grants, known as merit awards or merit scholarships, are awarded on the basis of academic achievement or from a department based on an individual's field of study. Some merit awards are reserved for students whose families demonstrate financial need; others are bestowed regardless of family finances.

You'll want to investigate the types of grants offered by each health care college or university you are applying to.