Nurse Corps Repayment Program

[Cg44215]

Hello,

Please forgive me if this has been discussed elsewhere, but I am new at this.

I am entering my final year of nursing school. I should have my BSN in May. I am interested in loan repayment programs and came across the Nurse Corps repayment program. I began researching it, but the information overload was too great and I got lost in all the red tape.

Is there anyone out there who has gone through the application process and can help streamline things for me? Do I apply now while I am still in school, or do I have to wait to apply until I have started working at a facility in a shortage area? How do I tell if the loans I have are all eligible for repayment (I have some public and some private loans)?

I would appreciate any guidance to help cut through the red tape.

Thanks for your time.

[DowntheRiver]

Good luck applying. You can go ahead and get a nursing job in public service. Your debt to income ratio has to be pretty high to even be considered for the program. Mine was 90% and I was in a shortage area but wasn't even considered. The only person I know who was approved this last cycle had a site score of 20 and a debt to income ratio of 140%.

But, if you do go to work for the state, see if your state has a loan payoff for nurses. Here in Florida they do - $4,000/year up to 4 years max.

[DowntheRiver]

Also, that application is long to weed out those that really care. If you really want it you'll spend the time on it. But I will tell you that A LOT of people want it! APRNs seem to have better luck with loan forgiveness through that program more than RNs.

[Cg44215]

Thanks for the information. The amount of red tape even finding out how to qualify to apply gave me the feeling it would be a long shot. But, if I'm reading things right, I already live in a shortage area, and there are some facilities in my town that would qualify. I figure worst case scenario, I could work at one of these places and save money by not having to move in the meantime. And best case scenario, if this long shot pays off it will be worth it. I'm not very hopeful, but applying will cost me nothing but time, so why not.

Thanks again, and best of luck to you.

[RNbubu]

So hard to get it! And as someone already said, the application is really long. I put in a lot of time into it. My debt to income ratio is high. I have worked on a qualified site for over 3 years. Every year I try and never got it. The closest I got was an "alternate" in case someone decided last min they wouldn't want the commitment. They have really detailed instructions online on how to fill out the application and there is also a number you can call to clarify any questions. Good luck!