HHS Announces $13.4 Million in Financial Assistance to Support Nurses

HHS Deputy Secretary Bill Corr today announced the release of $13.4 million for loan repayments to nurses who agree to practice in facilities with critical shortages and for schools of nursing to provide loans to students who will become nurse faculty. The funds were made
available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed Feb. 17, 2009, by President Obama.

"The need for more nurses is great. Over the next decade, nurse retirements and an aging U.S. population, among other factors, will create the need for hundreds of thousands of new nurses," Deputy Secretary Corr said. "The awards from these two HRSA programs will help us meet projected demand for their services."

The awards come from two programs administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): the Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program and the Nurse Faculty Loan Program.

* Funding announced today under the Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP) totals $8.1 million. Those funds, awarded competitively, will help 100 registered nurses pay their nursing education debts. The program repays 60 percent of the loan balance of registered nurses in exchange for two years of service at facilities with a critical shortage of nurses. (For a list of facilities employing the first 100 NELRP award winners from ARRA funds, see the attached
table.) Participants may be eligible to work a third year and receive additional repayment assistance.

* Funds announced today under the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) total $5.3 million. Those funds go to schools of nursing to support the training of 500 masters and doctoral nursing students who plan to become nurse faculty after completing their education. Following graduation, loan recipients may cancel up to 85 percent of the loan principal and interest in exchange for four years of service as a full-time nursing faculty at a school of nursing. (For a list of universities that received NFLP funds, see the attached table.)

Approximately 50,000 individuals interested in going to nursing school are turned away due to insufficient capacity at schools of nursing. The two main factors limiting the ability to train more nurses are a faculty shortage and insufficient clinical training sites.

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College-Bound Students and Parents: Time to Study Financial Aid Award Letters

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Beginning today, students who have been accepted to college and have applied for financial assistance will receive offers of aid, commonly known as financial aid award letters. Once they do, it is time to compare which award package will go farthest in the current economy.

Financial aid award letters are sent out by colleges and universities to let students accepted for admission know what types of financial assistance they are eligible to receive, in what amounts and under what terms. The financial aid options outlined may include grants, scholarships, work-study and student loans. The aid awarded depends on the institution’s cost of attendance, the availability of funds and the family financial information provided on the federal financial aid application known as the FAFSA (Federal Application for Federal Student Aid).

Many families overlook the cost of college as they select their institution, according to a national study of 1,400 undergraduate students and parents from Sallie Mae and Gallup. Four out of 10 families last academic year did not limit their search based on cost—even after reviewing financial aid packages, said the study, “How America Pays for College.”

Sallie Mae advises students and families to read the fine print in each financial aid award letter and to accept or decline the offer in advance of each school’s deadline. Sallie Mae’s free Education Investment Planner helps families compare financial aid award packages and see what portion of the school’s cost the aid offer covers. If families determine that they will need student loans to meet the cost of college, they may use the Planner to estimate monthly loan payments and to determine whether those payments would be manageable at different starting salary levels. It is free, easy to use and available to anyone online at www.SallieMae.com/plan.

As families assess financial aid offers and make their college selections, Sallie Mae encourage them to follow its “1-2-3 approach” to paying for college:

1. Find “free money” first, like grants and scholarships. Consider supplementing with current income and money saved through a tax-advantaged 529 savings plan (such as www.Upromise.com) and explore interest-free tuition payment plans (such as www.TuitionPay.com).
2. Maximize federal student loans. Consider borrowing under the federally subsidized student loan programs, which provide consumer-friendly loan rates, benefits and repayment options for students and parents. Parents and graduate/professional students can borrow up to the cost of attendance under the Parent PLUS and Graduate PLUS programs, respectively.
3. Use private student loans to fill any remaining funding gap. Applying with a creditworthy cosigner may help students qualify for approval and a better interest rate.

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