$100,000 in student loan debt?

Nurses General Nursing

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I keep reading about new nurses saddled with $100,000 worth of student loan debt. I'm curious about this. Are these students using their loans to live off of while they attend school or are they attending very expensive schools? You could almost buy a house for that amount. How common is that level of debt?

Specializes in Cardiac.
Home as in what...a mortgage? Isnt that is still a debt? Its money you owe the bank for the house.

Yet no one is criticizing people for taking out a mortgage are they? I wonder why?

The home is tangible. They home can be SOLD. Lol, you really don't understand that? I guess you needed more education to understand the difference.

I have equity in the home. The home really exists! I could NOT get the exact same home at a community college for 3 thousand, nor could I get the EXACT same home at the university for 20 thousand.

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Still $500 LESS. And that's just a loan payment. No thanks.

So you'd rather making $1000 than $1500 a month? You asked about the financial benefit to student loans and that would be it. Now, if you are trying to imply that one would be better off financially with no debt and pocketing that $500 then I'd agree. However, you asked how a student loan could ever be a benefit and my point was illustrating that even with a $500 a month payment a person would still be better off financially than if they hadn't attended school.

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Specializes in L&D/Maternity nursing.
The home is tangible. They home can be SOLD. Lol, you really don't understand that? I guess you needed more education to not understand the difference.

I have equity in the home. The home really exists! I could NOT get the exact same home at a community college for 3 thousand, nor could I get the EXACT same home at the university for 20 thousand.

In these times, home values have dropped. So lets say you or your spouse lost your job (hey where I am at, even RNs are being laid off) then what? Will you still be able to afford your mortgage payment? Will you still get what you paid for that house of yours, or would you lose money? For many people, its the latter. They owe more than their home is currently worth.

A house isnt necessarily forever, but your education is. That education bought you a skill set and that is irreplaceable.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
\ would still be better off financially than if they hadn't attended school.

A person would be better off if they didn't spend $100,000 on school!

A person would be better off being reasonable about debt, and school loans!

NOBODY said to not attend school! Nobody said absolutely don't take out student loans. We said, 100,000 for a nursing degree is absurd!

You can keep ignoring that fact that this was all mentioned several times. That's fine.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
In these times, home values have dropped. So lets say you or your spouse lost your job (hey where I am at, even RNs are being laid off) then what? Will you still be able to afford your mortgage payment?

Yes, matter of fact, I can pay my own mortgage without my husband.

A house isnt necessarily forever, but your education is. That education bought you a skill set and that is irreplaceable.

I agree, my education is irreplaceable. Which is why I did it debt free. And it can be done is 1000 different ways without going 100,000 dollars in debt over it.

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Specializes in L&D/Maternity nursing.

Well then I am happy for you. And I wish you well and hope that nothing bad ever happens to you and your family where it would put you in a hard spot financially and would jeopardize that mortgage payment that you are currently able to pay.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Well then I am happy for you. And I wish you well and hope that nothing bad ever happens to you and your family where it would put you in a hard spot financially and would jeopardize that mortgage payment that you are currently able to pay.

Well, I guess I could live my life in fear of "losing someone' or 'something' so that I couldn't make my mortgage payments. I guess you could call that some way to live in this world! But, I choose to live a different life, free from fear mongering.

I cringe at the thought of my money going to pay someone elses mortgage, or rent. I pay for my home. And there's no place like home.

In this market, it's silly to not buy! But, people can continue to live in fear of this, or fear of that. If you call that living. Or, you can live to pay a school debt. Whatever.

I can make my own payments, with money to spare. My husband's (also, no school debt) salary is all free and clear. Fantastic.

I think we'll be alright.

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Well, we purchased our first car outright, and our second car will be paid off in under 3 years total at 1.9% interest.

I think I'm doing alrgiht.

But, you don't even work as a nurse. You aren't even an RN. So what did your education really buy you?

My post wasn't meant to imply you aren't doing fine, merely to point out the differences in how we think. I'm just personally averse to purchasing a car and all the money that entails because I find it unnecessary for me. I wasn't trying to imply you were irresponsible for doing it, just that for me it would be.

As to my education, I'm not sure I get what you are asking? Why did I get a BSN? Or are you trying to imply my education is worthless because I chose not to use it? Cause it's still there. I will always have that degree regardless of what other career choices I make. It doesn't have an expiration date :chuckle

You can experience dorm life and frat parties without saddling yourself with years worth of debt though. I can't imagine being 40 still paying off my education...but, hey, you got to go to some frat parties that you won't even remember! :up:[/quote']

You certainly can, and for some people I'm sure that their local college offers those things. My local college didn't but even if it had, I still wouldn't have gone there ;)

I'm sure the frat parties I won't even remember is meant to be a jibe, but I assure you I most certainly do remember the parties in college and have tons of pics that still make me laugh! Plenty of great memories there.

I guess I don't get why people would be so upset over my enjoying my college experience and feeling I got my moneys worth. I'm not suggesting it was better than anyone else's, just that it was better for me.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I've qualified for all I ever needed in federal aid to cover my tuition costs. Its based on need. If you can demonstrate a need for it, chances are you will qualify.

Is BK=bankrupt? I am sorry, I am not sure what that meant but hopefully that is right. Going bankrupt is not going to wipe out your student loan debt...at least not what is owed federally. That debt is there to stay until the moment you can pay it off. What WILL happen though is that they will work with you should you face such a situation, and help lower your payments for x amount of time, or defer them til you get back on better financial footing. Its all about I help you, you help me mentality, which IMO, is a good thing. Furthering ones education not only helps the individual, but has the impact to benefit society as a whole. The lenders lend because they expect and will get a return on that investment.

And $1400/mo in payments is a bit much and I really think its an assumption being made. There is this little thing called consolidation that can make your payments half that. You consolidate where you can, lock in low interest rates (for example, my undergrad loans I locked in a 2% interest rate which is next to nothing). Like I said before, I think most people weigh in the pros and cons of borrowing before they do so. The example of a few peoples idiotic mistakes is not by a long shot the norm, I assure you of this.

Also, you cant say that this nurse or this teacher could get their degree for $x. This varies regionally and CC or Public Universities, their tuition and COL are not the same, so in essence you are comparing apples to oranges here. So no, some people cannot get that nursing degree or teaching degree for $15k. For some, its much more costly than that.

Being "smart" about your debt it all relative to your particular situation. If you have a plan on how to tackle and pay back that debt, regardless how much it is, then thats all that matters. Who are we to judge anyone?

Yes BK is Bankrupt and had you read what I said, I stated that those going with PRIVATE School loans can go BK not the federal part but there is more than federal loans going on if someone has 150 thousand dollars debt on a Undergrad Degree. The limits on the federal loans won't allow that much on that type of degree, so they must be getting other types of loans which is no different than Credit Cards and can be filed with BK. I understand tuition varies but my comment is still very much valid. People don't HAVE to incur a 150 thousand dollar debt for a BSN. They can go a cheaper route, PERIOD! We live a life full of choices, the choice to take a cheaper route is always there whether or not that is what someone chooses to do is entirely different.

150,000 dollars, paid off at 10 years which I can't remember but I think that is the repayment term on most of the Student loans at 4% interest is 1518.68 A MONTH for 15 years it is 1109.53 at 3% interest it is 1448.14 @ 10 years and 1035.87 @ 15 years, I believe I read the average right now is 5% which is not what I did these figures out. So I think my figures were VERY realistic.

I am not judging anyone, although I can't stand when that is said sometimes, everyone judges, if you say you never judge anyone, you are lying. It's human nature to judge. But regardless, in this case I am not judging, I am giving my opinions on the topic at hand. So who are you to judge MY opinion??

Let's face it, being smart about your debt is to have NO debt at all.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
You can get your student loans (same laws apply to federal and private) included in BK but it's not easy. You basically have to prove that you can not now and will pretty much never be able to afford to pay that money back. Usually that's a result of an accident or illness but it varies depending on the court.

The housing and credit card thing isn't meant to bash folks who are in those situations, I feel bad for them. However, choosing to further your education even if going in debt to do it offers a financial benefit. What benefit is there to charging up credit cards? Unless you are working to establish credit, there's zero benefit to you (and even if that is your goal you don't run up more than you can pay!). Buying a house might be a smart financial decision but not always! People gambled on the housing bubble, agreed to 100% financing (100%!!!) and signed off on ARMs without thinking about the consequences and are now ruining their credit in BK and forclosure without any benefits to them at all. It's sad and I honestly do understand how people end up there but it's also irresponsible.

I'm not suggesting everyone should rush right out and get 100k in student loans for a BSN. My degree didn't cost that much and I lived off loans while getting my BSN. I do however, understand how people can accumulate that much in student loan debt and I don't think you have to be irresponsible for it to happen.

Borrowing money to pay for something doesn't automatically make a person irresponsible. Or are you suggesting we just do away with all loans for everyone? I made a decision on how I'd get through college and I've taken full responsiblity for that decision (and the resulting debt!), what's irresponsible about that?

I feel as if I am doing this :banghead::banghead: so I am going to only make one point, if education loans are so worth their weight in gold, so to speak, people wouldn't be going back to college to get other degrees because their first degree wasn't working out. Say they spent 60 thousand on their first degree and then got out in the market and realized it's not getting them jobs, like the one girl saying her Theater degree has been worthless. Obviously that isn't a case where any kind of education is good and the money not a waist. That degree served her no purpose but to go back to school and get into the hole even further to obtain a degree that will actually be beneficial. It's not always a financial benefit.

I will never be convinced either that there is any kind of financial benefit to spending 150 thousand on a BSN or ADN an MD maybe a CRNA maybe.

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I know, thats why I deleted it, but.......it posted it with and without the edit. Dont ask me why.

Here, you want data. I'll give you a little project to do. Most of us have done it already, I imagine you have to and are "forgetting" what you already know.

Call a few friend nurses who have ADNs that also live in the same area. Ask them what they started off at. You'll be surprised how little difference there is. After, oh....about three years, there is ZERO difference if the facility uses performance based evaluation/raises. Given enough time, good ADNs are make the same as good BSNs and bad ADNs lack the same increases that bad BSNs lack.

I get this from all the BSN nurses who tell me not to go back for "the money", its not a significant raise. Thats why I waited until I was done travel nursing to start looking into getting mine. I still want it despite the lack of career advancement it offers (you need a MSN to move into admin. if thats your goal), but I'm going to let my hospital pay for it. Thats the difference...............I am not being reckless by taking my time and not taking on unecessary debt.

My Post:

Option 1:

Chemistry major waits a year/gets off waiting list making 40K, then dosent work- but dosent take loans for two years while in nursing school- zero debt!

Year 1:+40

Year 2:-

Year 3:-

Year 4:+60

Year 5: +60

5 years has made 160K

Option 2:

Chemistry major goes straight into accelerated program takes out 35K in loans

Year 1:-35K

Year 2:+60

Year 3:+60

Year 4:+60

Year 5:+60

5 years had made 205K

I never once said anything about a BSN making more than an ADN. I pointed out the long run advantage of a accelerated BSN over a debt free ADN.

Sorry but once again my post does not fit the point you are trying to make.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
That statement sums up our differences perfectly! My education wasn't about getting just a BSN. I choose my school with more than my degree in mind and was happy to pay for it. For people who only care about being an RN, I get that the local community college and living at home with your parents while working weekends at the diner is a great way to go! If being an RN had been my only goal with regards to college then perhaps I'd have taken that path as well.

WOW so many assumptions with that. I am a married, live in home NOT with my parents and have 4 children, I will get my BSN as well and I won't spend not even 1/3 of 100,000 dollars. :) Most of my friends I know that are getting their nursing degree are not living at home with mom and dad either while working weekends. That is a very naive assumption you made on CC students.

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