[ifyouwereme]

I've been browsing for awhile, but this is my first post. I was recently accepted to Samuel Merritt College's accelerated BSN program and am having second thoughts about the high tuition. I would love to hear from graduates of the program. Did you feel you graduated clinically prepared? Was it worth the money, or do you now wish you had matriculated elsewhere? The thought of borrowing that much money (even more to live off of) frightens me. I am in my mid 30s, no kids.

I am seriously considering declining the offer and applying elsewhere, even though I know that might mean 1-2 year waitlists in California. I am ok with an ASN for the time being and would happily enroll in an ASN-MSN program when the time was right. Any advice?

[soon2pass]

I paid that much for SLU ABSN. The program was intense but you finish in one year. As far as paying back loans, there are several options for graduated payments like the income based payments. Make sure you check into there NCLEX pass/fail ratio and what type of NCLEX preparation the offer. Some programs teach you the skills you need for nursing, then you have to go through a program in order to pass NCLEX. There are many choices out there so select the one that best suit YOU and your family! Good Luck!!

[TheCommuter]

You're in California, and you can expect to earn the $47,000 back in 7 or 8 months of working as an RN at some facilities. After all, RNs in the Golden State tend to be well-compensated before you take the cost of living into account. It is not as if you are plopping $47,000 into a new car that will lose value over the years. The money will be well-spent on an education that will gain in value every year, and will enable you to earn many times above and beyond that initial investment. My advice is to go for it. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

[sunnyjohn]

1. How sure are you that you will gain acceptance to another school?

2. How confident are you that the California waitl ist will only be 1- years?

3. Are you able to put of RN school for those 2 years?




30 and without kids, would I do it? Yes. I am VERY frugal and given my spending habits and financial discipline, barring a catastrophe, I know I could pay off that kind of education debt in less than 4 years.

My advice is to work out a rudimentary personal accelerated re-payment plan BEFORE you even get the loan. Get average nursing salary amounts and cost of living for your area. Oncce you graduate DON'T go spending crazy just because you pay bracket changes.

Make a commitment to live below your means once the RN paycheck kicks in in an all out effort to pay off the loan.

Search around for scholarships. I bet if you checked out FastWeb or the other sites you might be able to cut down the amount you have to borrow.

[ifyouwereme]

Thank you my people. Here I was thinking that I needed to pay it of in 2 years or less...I too, am frugal and am allergic to debt. I guess I am being too unreasonable.

To answer your question, I am 90% sure that I could get into an out-of-state school--my mom teaches there, there is no lottery, I have a 4.0, etc, but as far as California schools--well that's a shot in the dark and then some.

I think you guys are right and I know what I need to do, just SURRENDER!!!! Serenity now! : dance:

[♪♫ in my ♥]

Well, I don't know if I'd be willing to spend that much money to become a nurse. If I were working at a decent salary, I'd probably stand by and go after one of the CC programs or the ABSN/DEMSN programs at the state schools.

Did you apply to any of the state schools or only to Merritt?

Are you admitted to the program in Oakland or the one in Sac?

[turbohound]

ifyouwereme,

Don't forget that many hospitals offer $5-10k/yr in loan repayment as an employment incentive for new nurses. So even if you take out the loans, chances are good that you won't have to pay them back, as your employer will pick them up for you. So it ends up being free money to you

[blkgrlwithwings]

I'm in the same boat, but do hospitals really offer $10,000/yr? Is it renewable? I'm worried myself. Is SMC really worth it? Or should I wait 6mths to one year?

[wildchipmunk]

If I were you YES. If you wait for a cheaper program you could've paid off the loan working with a BSN in the same time. It makes financial sense as well as making good use of your time.

Samuel Merritt's BSN is fully accredited by CCNE which is very important:

http://www.samuelmerritt.edu/academi..._accreditation

Many accelerated BSN programs are not accredited by CCNE. This is a problem later on when trying to work for a magnet hospital or applying to graduate programs. So I'd say GO FOR IT!!!

Best of luck to you

[jjjoy]

Originally Posted by blkgrlwithwings

I'm in the same boat, but do hospitals really offer $10,000/yr? Is it renewable? I'm worried myself. Is SMC really worth it? Or should I wait 6mths to one year?

Ask at places you think you'd like to work and find out what if they offer loan repayment. It varies a lot from place to place so you can't just assume it will be available for you. Also find out what all the ramifications are (eg if you leave before 2 or 3 years will you have to pay them back?). Good luck to you! You're going to get there one way or another!