Education Loans

LuvsOB · Sep 16, 2003

I say go for it. You have to follow your dreams. Many hospitals offer tuition assistance and/or loan repayment options. Also you could look into the national health service corp when it's time to go into the crna program. Where I work they are looking for nurses who want to go to crna school. There are so many options and choices out there so go for what you want. After all it's only money!

RNMBA · Sep 16, 2003

I can't think of a single reason to assume that much debt for a BSN.

You can get a BSN from many schools around the country for far less money and I promise that you won't be able to tell the difference 6 months after graduation.

You also need to research the educational costs associated with your plan. Your projected $40,000 cost for CRNA school will cover the educational costs but not living expenses for the full run of the program. Working through a BSN program is fairly easy, working through a CRNA program is next to impossible.

Save your money (and your credit score) for a good CRNA program. Your return on investment will be much higher.

sweetdreams · Sep 16, 2003

I agree with RNMBA

"You can get a BSN from many schools around the country for far less money and I promise that you won't be able to tell the difference 6 months after graduation."

Some of the most knowledgable nurses I've worked with got their education at community colleges. I feel that the goal of most schools is just to teach you how to pass boards. The real nursing has to be learned on the job. The factors I would look at in choosing a nursing school are

1 What is the board pasage rate. ( All that education is worthless if at the end of school you can't get your licence)

2 Is the location convenient for you

3 Where are the clinical sites

4 Cost; no need to spend more than you need to

RNMBA has another good point in that working is possible during your undergrad program. I worked ICU and it helped tremendously.

colleen10 · Sep 16, 2003

I attended PSU for a BS in Ag. Science and am now at CC for my ASN. I assumed about $17,000.00 in Student Loan debt from PSU and by the time I am done with my ASN just 1-2 thousand more.

As someone who has Student Loan Debt the only reason I can see anyone putting themselves into that much debt is if they are going into a field where they will make an excellent salary (such as a lawyer). Otherwise, I do not feel it is worth it at all.

My $17,000.00 loan seems like a meer pitance next to your $200,000.00 but let me tell you, it is a struggle to make that payment each month. I have been paying it off for about 2 years now and have about 8 more to go. I can't wait for the day that I am done paying it.

Hind sight is 20-20. I wish someone would have told me when I was 18 that when I graduated college I would be making so much per month in salary and my Student Loan payments would be so much per month. Then, perhaps I could have put it into perspective and found another way, other than taking loans, to pay for it.

I think you should really look at the numbers. How much in loans you will be taking out, compiled interest, how much your Student Loan payments will be each month and what an average salary for a CRNA is. Then see if you will be able to live a decent lifestyle on what you have left over.

wildcard · Sep 16, 2003

A loan like that is like buying a house... You could be paying over $1000 a month for the next 30 years. That means you can't afford to pay that much for your house, your car, your clothes, your kids when you have them, your kids education.... I would definatly suggest finding a less expensive way to get your BSN... If you can get $190,000 in scholarships and grants then go for it. You will find much better things to spend all that dough on later and you will still have your BSN/CRNA.

If you are going to spend that much on an education you should go to medical school and become a doctor.

Sincerely,

Wild

Erin Go Braugh · Sep 16, 2003

My advice to you: go to school, get your R.N. @ a Community College/Vocational School, then get your BSN from an accredited institution. There's no way you should have to go into that much debt for a BSN. You'll also obtain clinical experience much quicker and feel like a "real nurse" & that will help you as you finish your journey into BSN land.

bellasalsera · Sep 16, 2003

I agree that this is way too much debt to graduate with. Even if nursing is your dream, you will be miserable with so much debt. I followed my heart straight out of high school (not nursing, but business) and ended up with about 50K in student loans. My first job paid about 50K, and the first 6 years after graduating were miserable. I couldn't afford a decent apartment, new clothes, a car, vacations, or evening fun evenings out with my friends. Finally, my poor grandmother had to bail me out. Had she not, I would still be struggling, 7 years later. I really wish someone had spoken to me back then about the practicalities of life. We should all do things we love, but this has to be balanced with making a decent living. Remember, as a nurse you will not be good to your patients if you are burnt-out and tired.

And remember--you are young right now, and as time passes, you may discover that you have other interests. You may one day want to pursue another career or simpky take time off, and if you are saddled with tonnes of debt, you won't be able to do that. That's what happened to me--I knew 4 years ago that I wanted to be a nurse, but it took me this long to get to a place where I could afford to even consider school.

Life is for living!! Enjoy it! Find a less expensive program and avoid all the debt. You can then share that happiness with your patients.

MJB · Sep 17, 2003

Thanks everybody for your responses.

All of my life, I went to different schools, and I really know the difference between bad school and good schools, private and public. Education is very important to me because of the environment, the opportunity, and the general experience. I would hate to spend 4 years of a miserable college experience.

How different is a BSN program? Are all of your classes mostly math and science? If not most-- are they all? What was the environment that you worked under? Was it important for you to have a good college experience?

Todd SPN · Sep 17, 2003

After reading your post, the first thing that popped into my mind was: There is no way I would marry someone that was 200k in debt for educational loans. Something to consider.

Cynthiann · Sep 17, 2003

Everyone is looking at your situation from a pratical view. It's a pain to pay on student loans. With so many colleges so much cheaper, no kind of college experience is worth $200K of debt. Plus it won't be just $200K in debt you have to factor in your interest that accumulates while you are in school (if you are not making payments while in school) and it will be well over $200K. With that money, I'd rather buy a house and a couple of cars (I'm in OK, so I could buy a really nice house with money to spare for $200K).

I'm going to a community college and I'm very happy with it. My 3 years of school will cost me $6-7000 total.

If you are scared of not liking one school, you can always change schools. And whose to say you won't have a miserable experience at a $40K/year school. When you say that you've went to different schools I'm assuming you are talking about elementary and/or high school to compare private and public. From what I've seen, as far as colleges go, public schools aren't bad. They are a business and if they are bad they will go out of business. Unlike a highschool, if they are bad then the people living there are out of luck.

Before you decide to spend $40K/year on school, I would suggest taking some campus tours of some colleges that are public. Then decide if it's worth paying 5-10 times more for private school. Also, if private school is that important, I've seen private schools for half that cost.