Nursing is a very specialized job that needs detailed knowledge and training. As far as there is sickness, there will never be a dearth for nursing jobs. Getting a nursing job without the right kind of education is impossible. Students aspiring to become nurses can study various courses in nursing science followed by internship. There are many colleges that offer courses in nursing and most of them can be quite expensive. Thanks to the total commitment required to this field and the expensive education, not many students have opted for this field. This has created a big crevice in the bridge of need and supply due to which nursing jobs are the most in-demand, highly paid and most sought after profession now. To ease the burden of education and to encourage more people to take up this profession, federal government has introduced many financial plans like subsidized loans, loan forgiveness programs etc.
There are numerous nursing student loans that can be availed and with a little research you can find one that has low interest rates, flexible loan repayment options and even forgiveness programs for nurses.
- You can use it to pay for the tuition, buying books, travel, room and boarding
- You don’t need to repay the loan till you have finished graduation
- And most importantly, many lenders will provide for reduction on principal amount upon successful graduation
- The interest will accrue when your payments are being postponed and will be added to the principal loan amount till such time the repayment begins.
- To avail any incentive, proof of graduation should be submitted
- Federal government
- State governments and
- Private student loan lenders
Nursing loans through Federal government
This undoubtedly will be the best low interest, risk free and safe option for availing nursing student loans. However they are not so easily available. There are many criteria that you need to meet to be eligible for this kind of loans.
The Federal government provides long term loans under various schemes and for different levels of education. Loans for undergraduates in nursing are sanctioned under the following schemes
- Stafford Loans
Loan for graduate students in nursing include the above schemes as well as the PLUS loans for graduates and professionals.
Your first step while applying for loans should be to contact your nursing school to check out what program you will be eligible for under the federal student loan scheme. There are two types of federal student loans the Direct Loan Program sanctioned by the Department of Education and the Federal Family Education Loan Program or the FFELP.
Filing FAFSA for Federal loans
To apply for any type of federal loan, you need to fill out the FAFSA or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This can be done either online or printed, filled and mailed to the Department of Education. These applications have deadlines and any application sent after the due date will not be accepted. If you fail to submit the FAFSA application on time, you will not only be losing out on the most practical and affordable source of nursing student loan but also be missing out on very good opportunities of loan repayment program or nursing loan forgiveness program. FAFSA is not just the first step but the most vital step in applying for nursing student loans.
Stafford Loan for Nursing Education
Stafford Loans for nurses is available at discounted interest rates through student loan lenders. These lenders have a partnership with the state government for allocating loans under the state-based student loan programs. These loans apart from having the standard Stafford loan guarantees also have other enticing features like incentives, special favors etc. The best way to apply for payday loans Vermont these would be through FFELP lenders; however you need to be careful who you go through these as you are bound to come across a jumble of federal loan lenders as well as private loan lenders.