Mar 16, 2004, 04:05 AM
Updated
Mar 16, 2004 at 04:14 AM by rockabye06
At Rush Univ. in Chicago, IL, we are on the quarter system. The program totals 27 months or 9 quarters. The cost per quarter hour is $494 if part-time or $5620 per quarter if full time (12 hours or greater). The program requires a minimum of 78 quarter hours for completion of the MSN degree. However, this quote is for the 2003-2004 school year. Tuition costs for 2004-2005 are not published yet and it is highly likely that they will increase. The cost of attending this nurse anesthesia school is not as easily calculated as one might think, however. This is due to the fact that every person completes the degree requirements differently. For example, if one quarter you have 11 credits, the cost would be $5434 (11 X 494). Another quarter, you might have 17 credits and the cost would be $5620, the cost for one quarter at full time rate. Many, if not most, students choose to take many of the core courses (about 12 courses) prior to officially beginning the program, even if not yet accepted. By doing this, the academic load can be lightened substantially during the 27-month program, but the cost may be increased due to a la carte pricing ($494 per quarter hour). One way around this is by working at Rush while taking classes, which many choose to do. By working part-time or greater (at least 20 hours/wk), Rush pays for up to 6 quarter hours (approximately 2 classes) per quarter. The only catch is that this is technically considered income and the medical center deducts taxes from the cost of tuition. Further complicating this issue is the fact that during the final 15 months of this program (the residency), usually students are eligible to receive a monthly stipend of approximately $500-$600.
If a student was to go through the entire program of study in 27 months (not taking any of the core courses ahead of time as described above) according to the "Sample Program of Study" as listed in Rush's website, the cost would be as follows:
Quarter 1 Summer year 1 19 credit hours $5620
Quarter 2 Fall year 1 15 credit hours $5620
Quarter 3 Winter year 1 17 credit hours $5620
Quarter 4 Spring year 1 16 credit hours $5620
Residency
Quarter 5 Summer year 2 2 credit hours $988
Quarter 6 Fall year 2 2 credit hours $988
Quarter 7 Winter year 2 1 credit hour $494
Quarter 8 Spring year 2 1 credit hour $494
Quarter 9 Summer year 3 1 credit hour $494
TOTAL 27 months *75 credit hours **$25938
* also required is graduate level statistics course, bringing total credits required to 78. This would incur additional tuition costs.
** These costs are tuition costs only. Book costs are additional. To my knowledge, there are no other hidden "fees", lab fees, or any other type of administrative or institutional fees.
Again, the above costs are completely hypothetical as the sample program of study is usually not the norm and therefore costs would be different.
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