Free Education as a Company Benefit When Your Company is a College
As we discussed in the last chapter there are employers that will provide its employees with a certain amount of reimbursement for college tuition. However, a well guarded secret is, many times at a college one of the employee benefits is being able to attend tuition free. This comes in various names such as tuition waiver, employee waiver, tuition reduction and tuition remission. The important thing to ask when considering these benefits in terms of free education is will they allow you to earn a degree while working flexible hours on the job.
There was a time when I did not know about the secret of working at a college to attend it as a student and receive a free education. Let me share with you how I found out about this aspect of free college. I was planning on attending a Career-Focused college and I made the necessary visit to the financial aid office to determine how I would finance my education.
The Financial Aid officer was running down the list of all the different options I was qualified to receive in order to finance my new career in Business Administration. She was friendly, knowledgeable and very talkative, that is until we got to a part in our conversation where I asked her about her being a student.
It wasn’t being a student that she had a problem talking about. It was when I asked her about how working at the college affected her in terms of grants loans and other types of financial aid she was entitled to.
I was really curious and kept on pursuing the question until I got her to admit in a whisper that she was actually attending school and earning her degree tuition free.
It was then that I decided I would do the same. I was bound and determined to get myself hired at a college and thus be entitled to earn a degree for free.
I eventually did get hired at a college and after the 90 day probationary period I did indeed become eligible for free college. In the 3 years I have been working there I have seen many come in to work for my company and also take advantage of this going to college for free.
Why is it often a well-guarded secret that private and career focused colleges give a free education to their staff? One reason they do not publicize it much is the fact that a private career based college is also in most cases a “Career-Focused” college. They make their profit from the income they receive from students who attend their campus. You can understand why they save the information about free education for their loyal employees who they want to keep on the job with this extra great company perk. While recruiting new students a Career-Focused college wants the new students to focus on financing their tuition by way of student loans, grants, and private loans etc. and not on “getting a job at the college to go to school for free.”
The benefits of a free education at the college where you work are obvious, in addition to the regular medical and dental provisions, you can set your self up in a position to receive a quality education close enough to walk to. Think about the many who leave their traditional jobs and then drive a little or a lot depending on the location between school and work. If you worked at the school in the first place then that wouldn’t ever be an issue. Also, working for a school and becoming eligible for an employee tuition waiver will even allow you in many cases to receive your training online if this is provided by your school.
Even many traditional colleges and universities recognize tuition wavers to be a valuable benefit and offer a variety of such benefits to their staff. Such institutions believe in showing their commitment to higher education and thus programs that promote employees continued education are encouraged and strongly supported!
What if you need a degree to get a job at a college in the first place? Don’t let college employment requiring a degree discourage you. Many colleges have certain entry level positions that may be attainable without having a degree. However, even in schools where an Associates or Bachelors degree is a requirement, a tuition waivers benefit can still help you to attain a higher degree, if offered at the particular college. Yes, you can do what it takes to earn an AA degree at a local city college then go on and earn a Masters or Doctorate degree tuition free at the college of your choice.
A search online will give you plenty of colleges who are hiring as well as a list of benefits, which can be found on their websites. Don’t assume if the benefit of a free education is not mentioned they do not offer it. You might have to do a little undercover investigation to find out all the facts from people you know or “meet” who work for the college you are interested in.
Obviously the value of obtaining your education for free at your place of employment has numerous benefits. Not only do you have a paying job with all of the other benefits that go along with it, but also you’ll be increasing your knowledge and receiving college credits for it at the same time. You will also be in the powerful position of putting yourself in line for promotions and even a career change if you so choose.
Believe me, going to college for free by working at a college is a real possibility and it is being done by thousands of savvy student/employees worldwide.
What about the question asked in the last chapter?
Should you put the cart before the horse or the horse before the cart?
What we mean by this question is this; should you get a job with a college you want to attend before becoming a student there or should you become a student first?
Your personal circumstances dictate your answer to this question.
You must keep in mind that even if you are a student at a private or career focused college the fact that you attend that college does not guarantee that you can get and keep a job there.
On the other hand if a college does offer a free education to its employees and you are an employee you will get that free education if you so desire.
If you qualify for a student loan or have other means to pay for your first few months at the college while you are attempting to get hired and that is how you feel comfortable doing it by all means get enrolled, start school and apply for a job at your convenience.
On the other hand if you don’t want to start off your college career in debt and you don’t have other means to pay secure a job with the college first and after you are hired “take advantage” of that perk you are really after. Depending on the policy of your target college you may or may not want to mention your desire for a free education on the job application and the subsequent job interview. However if the interviewer emphasizes a free education as a company benefit you might want to eagerly show interest in going to school for free.
Just be cautious and carefully weigh your discussion about free education just the same as you prepare your other words regarding your interview.
If you don’t get hired do not lose heart. There is probably more than one private college where you can work depending on where you live. At the end of this report is a list of private colleges. This list is by no means a complete list of every college. Do a web search for “private college” “career focused college” and similar search terms and you will find that there are hundreds of such institutions.
If you really can’t find a local college that meets your needs, consider relocating. You will find students from all over the world moving thousands of miles just to attend private colleges. Do not rule out relocating to get a free education.
Looking past graduation day; what now? Read on.
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