FedEx offers tuition reimbursement for students working for them. I wish I knew this, before I made the decision to drive for Amazon seven years in order to pay for Surgical Technology school. I remember when I used to drive those big Amazon prime vans as a delivery man. It was the one of the hardest jobs I ever did while I was in school and there was no tuition assistance option.
Although I used the wages from the Amazon job to sponsor way through a surgical technology program in college, I expected Amazon to have had a tuition assistance program. I used to think it is because I was driving through a third-party company for Amazon, but I wore Amazon clothes and drive blue vans with their logo. I could not help but feel the commerce giant does not care about its driver then.
On the other hand, FedEx has the back of their employees unlike Amazon those two years I worked for it. In fact, FedEx Tuition reimbursement can cut your student debt almost to zero with the right programs. This is what is amazing about using a FedEx job to pay your way through college.
Compared to the behemoth, Amazon, it is helping young working class adults complete college. On this article, I will spill everything I think you should know about using a FedEx tuition assistance program for college.
How Does FedEx Tuition Reimbursement Work
As a young working class adult working for FedEx, the company can reimburse your college tuition when you are not a seasonal worker. Simply put, working as a part-time or full time employee gets you the financial assistance we need to graduate college debt free.
How does this work, my good reader?
Well, Fedex tuition assistance is up to $5,250 a year. This is the maximum we can get without it being taxed by the IRS. I talked about this on Is Tuition Reimbursement Taxable- A Working Class Perspective. Anything more than $5,250 a year invites the IRS, because it sees the money as an income.
I like FedEx for capping the college assistance right on the sweet spot. If you go to a community college, I think that amount is enough to knock out debts for two semesters a year. Not sure how it is in your state, but in Texas community colleges, that is enough for full time classes in two semesters.
Finally, you are expected to pay for the tuition upfront. Then, submit your grades at the end of the semester to FedEx department. If you meet the eligibility for a tuition to be reimbursed, then you will get your money back.
What Else To Know About FedEx Educational Assistance Program?
FedEx offers two kinds of tuition assistance. We either get to get our tuition reimbursed after a semester is over, or we qualify to go to HBCU college through FedEx HBCU scholarship program. HBCU is historically black colleges by the way. Not sure whether you know about it, but I figured I would make that clear.
The FedEx HBCU scholarship is offered through the following below:
- UNCF / FedEx Scholarship: You can get up to $4000 a year through this one. I will be discussing eligibility later down somewhere in this article.
- TMCF | FedEx HBCU Scholarship: This one awards you up to $9,600 a year. I do not know about you, but this amount of money is a powerhouse in knocking down college tuition.
You need to be a full time or part-time employee to qualify for either the tuition reimbursement or the scholarship. I will be talking about the eligibility next. It is not as bad as I thought it would be.
FedEx Tuition Reimbursement Requirements
So, who is eligible for FedEx tuition reimbursement?
If you are working for the company part-time or full time, you are eligible for education assistance. The job position does not really factor in the decision to assist you in college.To simplify, there is tuition reimbursement for FedEx ground. This includes package handlers and drivers.
So, how long do I have to work at Fedex to get tuition reimbursement?
We have to be working for at least 60 days from day of employment. What this means, is we qualify for the benefit 60 days after the first day we started working for the company. Comparing this to the Chipotle Tuition Assistance. I feel like a job position with FedEx is better to use for squashing student debt. Chipotle wants you working for at least 120 days or 4 months to qualify for its education benefits.
Also, we need to maintain an active employment status with FedEx at the time of reimbursement. I used to know someone who lasted in a job long enough for its tuition reimbursement and quit right after the tuition was reimbursed. Guess what happened, my good reader?
He had to refund the tuition assistance. So, please do not be that guy!
FedEx wants you to still maintain an active employment during the reimbursement. I would say to work a few months, before quitting if you had to. You could just go part-time and tend your resignation after a while.
Finally, the tuition being reimbursed to you hinges on the successful completion of your classes. You will not qualify for the tuition reimbursement, if you drop out or fail the classes you want reimbursed. I just thought you might know this, if you want FedEx to pay for college.
Who Is Eligible For FedEx HBCU Scholarships?
Students who are interested in a Business degree. Besides, this is open to senior high school and college students. There are two kinds of FedEx scholarships. The company offers UNCF/FedEx Scholarship and TMCF/FedEx HBCU Scholarship.
For young working class adults trying to qualify for these scholarships, there are different eligibility for it. What is common for the two scholarship, is it is for senior high school and college freshman. Both scholarships are for Batchelor’s degree programs.
I will discuss each one with you below.
UNCF/FedEx Scholarship Requirements
What I want you to know about the UNCF/FedEx scholarship is you can get paid up to $4000 per year. You have to meet the following criteria below:
- You need at least 3.00 GPA
- Applicants need to reside in the United States of America
- The intended university or college has to be an HBCU or a UNCF member.
- Must be a high school senior or a college freshman
- The degree must be a four year degree, simply known as Batchelor’s degree
- You must be a U.S citizen, permanent or National.
Once you meet the above requirements, you still have to prove financial needs. This is because this scholarship is need-based. To simplify it for you, it is for people who really need the money.
TMCF/FedEx HBCU Scholarship Eligibility
To qualify for this one, the requirements are not so different from the UNCF/FedEx scholarship. The one difference is the academic qualifications. I like this one better, because it is the better of the two scholarships. It can pay you up to $9600 per year when you qualify for it.
Here is what I want you to know about the eligibility.
- You have to be a college undergraduate. This is regardless of whether you are a college freshman, sophomore, junior or senior.
- This scholarship only pays for Business majors.
- Also, the GPA requirement for this scholarship is at least 2.75. This is better than the 3.00 GPA minimum requirement of the UNCF/FedEx scholarship.
- Must be a U.S citizen or permanent resident.
This is also a need-based scholarship. Personally, I think all of the two FedEx scholarships are all need-based. You have to be able to demonstrate you need the money to qualify. This is despite qualifying in the other criteria.
The Process To Apply For FedEx Tuition Assistance
FedEx pays for college for part-time or full time workers. Seasonal workers will not be eligible for it. Once you get in as either a part-time or full time worker, this is how I want you to go about applying for FedEx tuition assistance.
- Firstly, contact the HR to determine your eligibility. I will probably do this after 60 days of employment.
- Then, you will get approved when your program is accepted as meeting eligibility.
- Register and start your classes for the semester.
- Pay for tuition upfront. This includes any other college expenses including books. It may require you paying out of pocket or getting a federal student loan to able to do it. I wrote a guide about which student loan is best for you. That way, you are getting one which will not put you in much debt.
- Upon successful completion of your classes, submit your tuition receipt and academic documentation to HR for review.
- If it is approved, you get your tuition reimbursed back to you by FedEx. Now, I do not want you getting all excited about getting your whole money back if you paid more than $5,250 per year. You only get up to $5,250 for college assistance from FedEx.
The above is how I would go about it. I heard the managers and supervisors at FedEx are great at helping you set this up. It might be better to go through them. If they are not of any help for you, you can just call HR directly and have them walk you through the application process online at Edcor. Edcor is the platform the company uses for college assistance. It is like Chipotle’s Guild platform.
When Can I Apply For FedEx Tuition Reimbursement?
To qualify for FedEx educational assistance program, we have to work for the company for at least 60 days. This is when this educational benefit opens for anyone who just started working for the company. So, when can you apply for FedEx education assistance, my dear reader?
You can apply for the tuition assistance no less than 75 days after your classes start. FedEx says it takes about 4 to 5 business days to get approved. But, I have heard different accounts from workers.
Some people confirmed it, while others say it might take a week or more for you to get approved. Personally, I want you to call HR and confirm yourself. This is because experiences may vary based on what was going with HR during application time, when someone submits a FedEx college tuition assistance. You know how HR is with bureaucracy process.
How Long Does FedEx Take To Reimburse Tuition?
Once you submit the documents I mentioned earlier at the end of the semester, FedEx will reimburse your tuition in two to four weeks. I do not know whether you remember the documents I mentioned you have to submit at the end of the semester.
Let me reiterate them again below.
- Official academic transcript
- The receipt of tuition payment
- A record of your semester tuition prior to payment. I supposed this is to confirm what you actually paid, was the term tuition as it is.
I want you to submit these documents as soon as you are able to do it. If you are like me who likes to do things last minute, you can submit them up to 60 days after semester end. But, let us not wait till the last minute to do it.
I want you submitting everything on the week your semester ends. That way, the tuition reimbursement will not take a long time to get reimbursed to you. Also, it gives you ample time to correct mistakes. That is just my two cents on that.
What Grades Qualify For Fedex Educational Assistance Program
You already know. A and B students will definitely get their tuitions reimbursed. But do not be disheartened, my good reader.
Wait for it.
The same courtesy is extended to C and D students too. This is especially for C students. I recommend you try your very best to get a C. At my age right now, I say grades are overrated because it does not determine whether someone is going to be good or not.
Do you believe that too?
Well, FedEx has a different perspective. If you want it paying for your college, you have to following the Fedex tuition assistance policy. So, I still want you to aim for A grade.
If you are going to fail, please fall on C. I want my audience graduating college with as close to $0 debt as possible. It is my way to building followers to help me throw a giant middle finger to the system meant to keep us in debt and poverty.
Alternatives To FedEx College Tuition Assistance
There are alternatives to FedEx college tuition assistance. Many companies offer better than what FedEx does. I mentioned Chipotle being one of them.
With Chipotle, we either get Chipotle pay 100% of our tuition for industry-related majors. Or, we just qualify for the $5,250 tuition assistance. As you can see, it is not bad at all.
So, here is what I am going to do for the next twelve months.
I am going to slowly write guides about companies you can work for, who will either squash your student debts or bring it close to $0. I want you to come back once a week or a month to WeeklyBagel to see which company’s guide to squashing college debt I have written.
If you are looking for other ways to graduate college debt free, I wrote a practical guide on how to graduate college debt free. I want you to check it out. You may qualify for some of the things I lay there.
On the whole, this is all you need to know about FedEx paying for you to go to college. You could do me a favor by sharing this article with young working class adult who wants to graduate college debt free. I did it three times and I am rooting for you all.
What I Like About the Chipotle Tuition Reimbursement