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Types of Financial Aid

Money to pay for your education can come from a variety of sources making up a “package” of financial aid. Some financial aid needs to be repaid and some aid is a gift that does not require repayment. Financial aid comes from federal sources, state sources and private sources. Financial aid assistance is competitive, and requires carefully review and timely submission of all qualifying documentation in order to receive a financial aid package that will support your desire to become a college student.

Financial aid can be distributed as:
  • Scholarship award: scholarship awards are money that you don’t have to pay back or earn. Sources include alumni gifts, general source funds, and private sources.
  • HIM specific scholarships: Each state has an association of health information professionals. These state associations frequently fund annual scholarships for HIM students enrolled in a program in their state. Additionally, a number of hospitals fund scholarships to either health information management students or allied health students. These scholarships are typically provided by the Auxiliary Volunteers at each hospital. You may wish to visit this section of a hospital’s website to see if they mention funding scholarships for allied health students.
  • The FORE Foundation of AHIMA awards numerous scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in accredited HIM degree programs. For full instructions for applying visit: http://www.ahima.org/fore/student/programs.asp.
  • Grants: the Federal Pell Grant Program or the National Merit or Achievement Program are examples
  • Loans: Loans need to be paid back. Taking out a loan for a college degree is a personal investment in yourself and your future earnings in the workforce. Loans are based on financial need or not. When you're considering loans with different interest rates and repayment terms, it might help to use the online repayment calculator offered by the U.S. Department of Education.
    • The needs-based loan will have a lower interest rate at pay back and will postpone the accrual of interest while you are in school.
    • Loans not based on need are available to all students and are offered from federal and private sources. Students do not need to make payments on the loan while attending at least part-time as a student. Upon graduation, the loan repayment begins (usually with the loan interest accruing during the time you were in school).
  • Campus jobs: working part time on campus where the position is acquired as a portion of the financial aid package. On-campus work is subject to the minimum wage of $8.75 per hour. If you are especially strong in a given subject area (anatomy for example) you can find mentoring jobs on campus at higher per hour rates ($20 - $25 per hour).
  • Off-campus jobs: If your financial aid package includes Federal Work-Study eligibility amounts listed in your aid statement, you may earn up to that amount at off-campus community service jobs.
    • Employer credit: If you are currently employed, you may qualify for tuition reimbursement by your employer if you are seeking a degree from an accredited institution. Please speak with the human resource representative to find out if you qualify for an annual stipend to help with your educational expenses.