Hawai'i Island Area Health Education Center
Scholarships Guide
For need-based financial aid, including student loans, grants and work-study, students must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. No matter how many schools you are applying to, you only need to fill out one FAFSA application and list the schools you want your FAFSA information to go to.
The FAFSA is available starting January 1 for the upcoming year and should be completed as soon as possible if you are planning to enroll in college that fall. Keep in mind you have to fill out and submit your FAFSA application every year while you are in school. You should fill out the application regardless of your financial situation, as most students qualify for some form of assistance.
For more details visit each college’s financial aid office website, where you can get more information about deadlines and specific opportunities available at that college or university. It is important to note that there will most likely be a separate scholarship application for each scholarship that you want to apply for.
Also, the scholarship application might be due earlier than the general admissions deadlines. You can find scholarship opportunities at the school you want to attend or from other local charitable organizations, civic groups, and area foundations.
The Hawai‘i/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center is pleased to announce the Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program (HELP), funded by the Hawai‘i State Legislature. HELP provides qualified educational loan debt repayment to health professionals licensed, or otherwise certified, to practice in and provide care to patients in Hawai‘i. The Internal Revenue Service defines Qualified Educational Loans under 26 USC 221(d)(1). The State expects HELP to help improve the number of providers in medically underserved areas of Hawai‘i, as well as improve the recruitment and retention of healthcare workers caring for the people of Hawai‘i by lessening the burden of large educational debt.
The Hawai'i/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center is pleased to announce the first ever Hawaiʻi Outreach for Medical Education in Rural Under-resourced Neighborhoods (HOME RUN) education award program that will pay tuition in healthcare training in exchange for your commitment to work in rural Hawaii full time (at least 36 hours a week) for five years following graduation from your health professions training program.
To qualify for HOME RUN, applicants must be in good standing with at least a C average in a healthcare education training program (all clinical and health IT professions) that will result in you becoming a healthcare professional who is licensed or otherwise certified to practice in Hawai'i. You will be required to provide or support high quality effective value based patient care to human patients living in rural Hawai'i (as defined by HI Revised Statutes §1B-1). If you are awarded, you will have to commit to working in rural Hawaii for five years after graduation. You may change your place of employment as long as it remains in rural Hawaii.
Communities and medical organizations often provide scholarships to local students. Check with your high
school guidance counselor, your AHEC office (www.ahec.hawaii.edu) and your college financial aid office for more information about how to apply for scholarships.
There are two additional scholarships for some health professions training programs: 1) National Health Service Corps, www.nhsc.hrsa.gov, which will pay for training in exchange for your commitment to serve in an area of need, and 2) the Native Hawaian Health Scholarship Program for primary care and behavioral health professionals in Hawai`i (primary care physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers) who will practice in an area of need in Hawai`i. The scholarship will pay back part or all of your loans depending on how long you work in the area of need. Visit www.ahec.hawaii.edu for more information.
For a great overview of how to finance your education, visit www.moneygeek.com/education/college/ to explore resources about student loans, work-study options, grants & scholarships, loan repayment, and more.
