Becoming a medical assistant is easier said than done because there are a number of fees involved. Luckily there is medical assistant financial aid available for interested students, and the options mentioned below are well worth looking into.
Types Of Medical Assistant Financial Aid
There are a few main types of financial aid options that you should consider; the first is a scholarship. A scholarship is a monetary amount that is given to you to pay your studies that you do not have to pay back. This is usually given as a reward for merit. On the other hand a grant, which is also a monetary amount that is given to you for your studies and does not need to be paid back, is based on your financial need. In addition there are loans, which do need to be repaid, but there are methods of repayment in place to help struggling students make their monthly payments without any trouble at all.
Where To Find Medical Assistant Scholarships And Grants
The following are the main sources for financial aid:
- All schools have their own financial aid plans if you know where to look.
- The government is often more than willing to help as many students as possible reach their educational ideals.
- American Medical Technologists.
- American Association of Medical Assistants.
- Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology.
- American Dental Assistants Association.
- Massachusetts Society of Medical Assistants.
Medical Assistant Scholarships, Loans And Grants
- FAFSA: The first thing that you need to do if you are looking for financial aid as a medical assistant trainee is to fill out a FAFSA form. This is very important. A FAFSA form will allow you to know which scholarships and grants offered by the government you are in fact eligible for. There are of course also a number of privately offered grants and scholarships, but these are not the only options and the best place to start is with the government which is, you may be surprised to hear, more than willing to help you if you really need the help. Below are some of the FAFSE options as well as some of the private options.
- Pell Grant: One of the options that you may be informed of when looking into FAFSA is the PELL grant. This is a grant that is awarded to students who fall into a certain category and who have a great enough need for the monetary aid in order to reach their educational ideals. It is not a loan so it does not have to be repaid at any point, but the maximum amount of monetary aid that you can receive in this way is $5,500. This should be more than enough for your medical assistant training fees. The exact amount of money you are given depends on your financial need, costs to attend school, status as a full-time or part-time student, and plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.
- Stafford Loans(Student Loans): Getting a loan is not always the easiest form of medical assistant financial aid, but in some cases it can actually turn out to be one of the better options that you have. For example in the case of the Stafford Loan you will be able to get a very good loan at a fixed repayment rate that will be partially subsidized. This means that the loan will be, essentially, easier for you to repay. This will relieve the financial burden that such loans normally place on the shoulders of students. It is definitely something that is well worth looking into. Visit http://www.staffordloan.com/ if you would like to find put more about this loan for medical assistant students.
- PLUS Loans(Parent Loans): Another type of loan program that a medical assistant student could benefit from is the PLUS loan. This is a type of loan that is specifically for parents to take out in order to help them pay for their child’s tuition. Generally speaking it is recommended that you look into other options first as loans require repayment. However, if you have already exhausted all of your other options then this may be the best one left open to you. These loans are easy enough to qualify for if the student is a dependent undergraduate student, if the student is enrolled at least half time, if the student is enrolled in an eligible program, and if the student is enrolled at an eligible school.
- Alice Newell Joslyn Medical Fund: This is a form of medical assistant financial aid that is specifically aimed at helping Latino students get into the medical profession if they so desire and is therefore a great option to consider if you are a Latino who wants to become a medical assistant. To be eligible for this scholarship the applicants must wish to attain a medical assistant credential or attend a college or university to achieve a Bachelor of Science or graduate degree in the health industry. On a yearly basis a beneficiary of this scholarship could earn anything from $500 to $2000 a year, but this is contingent n the fact that the applicant lives or attends high school or college in San Diego, California. To find out more visit Becafoundation.org.
- JCAHPO Program Scholarships: These are scholarships that are offered by The Education and Research Foundation division of the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). These scholarships are specifically given out to students who are interested in ophthalmic training. It is possible to be a medical assistant in the ophthalmic industry. This is a job that related to the eye and the diseases of the eye, and there are plenty of openings for medical assistants interested in a career in this direction. The award that you will be given to help you with your training is $500. In order to qualify for this scholarship you will have to be selected by your school. Your school will essentially need to apply for you.
- JAS/Oral-B Education Scholarship Program: This is a scholarship program that is offered to those students who want to become medical assistants in the area of dentistry. The JAS in the name stands for Juliette A. Southard, the founder of the American Dentist Assistant’s Association. This is perfect for any student who wants to focus on dentistry throughout their career as a medical assistant and it is a very worthy path to pursue. There are a number of requirements that you will have to meet to be eligible for this scholarship. Firstly you need to be an ADAA member and hold a high school diploma, GED or be 18 years of age Keep in mind that the total amount of the award is $750. For more information you can visit the website at http://dentalassistant.org/.
- Maxine Williams Scholarship: This is a great scholarship that offers an award of $1000 to eligible candidates. The candidate has to be attending a school that has been approved by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs in order to qualify for this particular form of medical assistant financial aid. It is not enough to simply be enrolled at the school: you also need to have already completed at least a semester of tuition at that school in order to be eligible for the scholarship option. You will have to go through your school in order to get this scholarship, specifically through your school’s financial aid administrator or financial aid administrative offices. Among the other requirements for this scholarship is the requirement that you maintain a good GPA.
- School Scholarships and Other Financial Assistance: It is absolutely essential that you go through your school’s financial aid offices when looking for a way to fund your studies. Apart from the numerous scholarships listed above there are also several options that are offered by specific schools. In addition there are also a number of scholarships, such as the Pell grant, that you will be able to find out more about through your school. A lot of these scholarships cannot be applied for in person and have to be applied for on your behalf by the administration of your school. Just make sure that you stick to the scholarship and grant options that you can verify as legitimate because, sadly, there are plenty of scams out there. Remember that you will never have to pay money for information about a genuine scholarship opportunity.
Now that you have a working idea of what financial aid options are available t you as a medical assistant you should be in a much better position to make a good decision about which school or program you would like to attend to train in. remember that you do not need to settle for the cheapest option because there are a number of medical assistant scholarships available to you should you need them and it is therefore your responsibility to look into these options so that you can guarantee that you will give yourself the best education possible.