Tips to Get Money for College 10: Pay with Educational Reimbursements

Saturdays we share tips or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoid problems

Ester worked as a human resource specialist for a giant medical corporation. She went to graduate school to get a Master in Public Administration to qualify for promotions. Luckily, the corporation appreciated both Ester’s contribution—and her potential—to the company. She applied for, and received, educational reimbursement of her tuition. While she had to apply for reimbursement for each class each semester, they reimbursed for 70-80% of her tuition.

Rules Governing Education Reimbursement

Companies pay educational reimbursements to employees they believe have a future with the company. Companies perceive educational reimbursements as investments in future leaders within the company. Generally, the following guidelines exist for educational reimbursements:

• You must apply through the human resource department of the company
• Typically companies budget the money the year before and ask for estimates
• You must complete a form before the class starts to request the reimbursement
• You pay the tuition to take the class
• You take the course trying to get the best grades possible
• You submit a completion form, with a transcript of your grade, to the human resource department upon completion of the course
• The company reimburses a percentage of the cost of the course based on the grade you received

Show Your Return on Investment

Unfortunately, companies invest in fewer employees these days. In fact, many companies that used to offer educational reimbursement no longer offer them. Those companies that still offer them accept fewer applications and only from their strongest employees with the best potential.

Consequently, you must demonstrate that you will give not just a good—but a great—return on their investment. You will need to

• Show specifics, when you submit the request, how the skills you learn in each course will allow you to improve your productivity, efficiency, effectiveness or quality
• Apply the skills as you take the course and report improvements to your supervisor and to the human resource specialist
• Report your continued improvements for months after the course

Tuesday we share Equal Justice Works as a source of student financial aid for law students