Health Care And Teachers: Big Areas Of Educational Interest For Texas

They love to say things come big in Texas. That also includes a big need for teachers and health care professionals. Because of this, the Lone Star State has created a number of big financial aid packages to fill this acute shortage.

For starters, there are two different programs for nursing. The first is the Professional Nursing Scholarship. It will provide up to $3,000 a year to both high school and college students, undergraduate and graduate alike, as long as they go to a Texas-based college on at least a half-time basis. The course load must lead to a licensed nursing position. There is also the Vocational Nursing Scholarship. This one contributes $1,500 and is aimed at undergrads only as long as they are on a program for vocational nursing position.

As many health care shortages are in extremely rural areas, Texas created the Rural Emergency Medical Services Scholarship Incentive Program. It's a matching scholarship fund (up to $2,000) that asks its recipients, upon graduating, to practice in these regions, especially if they are studying to become EMS professionals.

There is also the Texas Health Service Corps Program. This one is aimed at medical residents and fourth-year medical students. This is actually a stipend designed to encourage fourth-year medical students and post-grad residents to work in medically under-served regions within the state. It can go as high as $15,000 a year. That can go a long way toward paying for that final certification.

In regards to teaching, the first grant to apply for is the Texas Public Educational Grant. The amount of the grant varies based on your FAFSA form and what the college itself has to offer. It's open to any high school grad and is renewable. More than likely, it will not be enough, so the state also has its Teacher Loan Forgiveness plan. Any teacher who works in one of their under-served districts for five years will automatically get up to $17,500 of their loan forgiven.

Texas also has a special program for military veterans. Entitled Troops To Teachers, the state will pitch in the tuition of any honorably discharged veteran. They will also help find places of employment. The program is administered through the federal Department of Education's DANTES program, as well as the state. As of 1995, this program has trained and employed over 2,000 veterans.

From there, many people do start out as Teacher's Aides. The state will help them become fully certified educators with their Educational Aide Exception Program. The program accepts any person who has been an aide for at least one year in the last five, or is working as a substitute for over 180 days over that same amount of time. The amount of the award varies, depending again on one's FAFSA application and other criteria.

So, these are the basic programs Texas has instituted in order to gain more teachers and medical professionals through traditional and online degree grant and scholarship opportunities. If you are interested in either of these paths, search online courses and on-campus offerings and then sit down with a financial aid advisor for further help.

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