1st semester book costs

Nursing Students General Students

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OUCH!! :eek:

Just ordered my books for first semester (junior year). Came out to $661, saves $88 by getting them through amazon, and that was buying them new at amazon vs used at bookstore. Bonus was that if you have an .edu email address you can get a free year of amazon prime, and get free 2 day shipping.

So what did everyone else pay. :D

Specializes in ICU.
It sounds like a lot of money up front, but when I graduate I will have my AS in Nursing.

Now lets look at this rationally. I do not have to pay for any books. I do not have to pay for any uniforms. I do not pay for the state test, the school covers that cost for me, plus they are a qualified testing site so I do not even have to drive to get to the RN test. I do not have to pay for and lab fees and I do not have to pay for any transportation cost to get to and from the hospital where my clinical will be at. Yes it is a private school so it is a bit more expensive.

But the local community college that offers the same two year AS program is 14,000 for the tuition of the whole program, roughly about $3,600 total for the books for the program. (that is an average amount it could be more depending on the cost of the books) there is the cost of uniforms which runs about $20 to $30 a pair that you have to buy. Then there are the lab fees which are roughly about $25 per class that you have to do labs for. And I do not know what the going rate for the state test are currently, but I know that for the CNA test (which is a much cheaper test, it cost $120 to take it and that does not include the fact that I would have to travel over three hours to take the RN test because the community college does not offer it and the closest test site is 3 hours away. Then there is the cost of gas for the car to get back and forth to and from clinical.

If you look at them in comparison it only makes sense to go to a school that is all inclusive. Plus let us not over look the fact that unlike some students, I did not have to wait on a waiting list. I did not have to take my pre-reqs first then hope that I got into the nursing program. I do not know anything about the ADN, but I can tell you that I would rather pay a little more for my AS degree than the typical student if it means that there are no surprises later on down the line. I am a single mother, I can budget for a college where everything is included, but I cannot budget if I do not even know how much the books for a specific semester is going to cost. Yeah you may think it is a lot of money, and you might not think it is worth the cost, and hey there is a message therapy class at my school so I can get free back rubs, but to me it is better than what traditional students are putting up with. I have gone to a traditional school and had to drop out because my books one semester cost over $300 which may not seem like a lot to a person who spends that much on a stethoscope, but to me that was too much to come up with. I do not want my nursing degree to end because I lack the funds to pay for it.

An AS in Nursing and an ADN are the same thing, darlin. For that kind of money, you ought to be receiving a BSN!

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An AS in Nursing and an ADN are the same thing, darlin. For that kind of money, you ought to be receiving a BSN!

Thank you for clearing that up for me. As for what I pay for school, I guess it is my decision. I am sorry that people seem to have a problem with me paying so much for my nursing degree. To me it is worth it.

However, I can say this I think what we pay for our tuition is different depending on what type of school we attend and what area of the country we are attending said school. However, if I were to go out and buy a $300 stethoscope I expect it to take the heart rate, blood pressure, and breath sounds on its own and also log it into the patients records for me. I spent $20 on my stethoscope, and though I will upgrade it once I am done with nursing school I have not noticed where it is any less effective than the $300 ones. I listened to both in the store before I bought one, and to me (and of course I am untrained so this opinion could change once I am done with all of my schooling, but I have worked as a CNA and liked my $20 stethoscope just fine) it is just as good. I see no reason to go into debt over a piece of equipment that can be lost or broken when a cheaper one will do. Again I understand that my views might change once I graduate but for now I do not see where that kind of expense is needed.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Oncology.

I'm ordering my books from Amazon too. I'll only be saving roughly $75.00, but I guess it's better than nothing!

In all honesty, my book costs wouldn't be so high if I didn't have to pay $200 for a freaking PDA download and Nursing Kit bundle (The kits haven't come in yet, so I don't even know what's in it! :rolleyes:)

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Specializes in Progressive, Intermediate Care, and Stepdown.

Around 300-400. I bought mine 4 months early. XD

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I'm attending a University so I wish my tuition was ALOT lower, but unfortunately it's not. My books for just this semester are 1400! I about choked when I found this out not only because they were 1400, but because I also have a family with 2 kids at home and that is alot to have to either come up with or put on a loan with the rest of my student bills :eek:. I won't even get into how much my tuition is!

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About $600, which seems just fine to me compared to the price of my pre-req textbooks and my daughter's freshman year texts. Even better since it represents the bulk of my book costs for the entire program.

I didn't shop for any discounts, though. We have a locally owned bookstore in our neck of the woods, and I'm willing to pay a little extra to keep them in business.

Dina

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Specializes in Critical Care (ICU/CVICU).
An AS in Nursing and an ADN are the same thing, darlin. For that kind of money, you ought to be receiving a BSN!

I can't help but to agree with this, but if it equals less inconvenience for you, that's great!

I'm getting my BSN and since I got scholarships in high school, used some of it to go to community college for my basics, used the rest of it to begin my 1st year of my BSN program, and worked as an RA for free housing that 1st year. NOW my scholarship money has finally run out! Looks like my entire journey to get my BSN might cost me less than 14,000 out-of pocket (for a total of being in school 5 years). Not too shabby!

As far as books are concerned, I NEVER go to the bookstore...borederline thieves if you ask me!! I always borrow from the library, from an old student, rent or buy from amazon (in that exact order). And my school really works with us by using the same books for multiple classes, not requiring we buy study guides, etc. So I usually spend between 0-100 dollars.

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Sounds like the main difference in the pricey school is not waiting to get in. Taking pre-requisites while waiting to get in helps us to decide whether we really want to be in this profession. (or at least we get to think about it for awhile) Such a big financial investment is obviously not really coming out of "froggers" pocket. Yes it sounds good to know what your costs are upfront but Apollo and other such schools are charging way too much for what you are going to get. This is not a time economically to be collecting debt. Please if you haven't started school yet and have more pre-req's then take them and don't burden yourself with debt the equivalent of a Doctor. (I know a doctor's debt is double but so might be the pay)

BTW: in the last 2 years of taking my pre-reqs there are very few of us who really stuck it out and decided we wanted this goal of becoming an RN.

Also: our ears will learn to hear more sounds and we will all probably be buying high end stethoscopes at the conferences we attend.

Sorry- I just hate to see someone waste money when it could be put to getting a BSN not just an ADN or AS.

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That's insane. You know what I always did--I went on amazon and ordered 1 edition before the latest. It saved me hundreds of dollars. Most of the time the course textbooks are on reserve, and really, do you think kidney anatomy has changed that much? The only possible exception might be a book like pharmacology, but even then, an older edition combined with notes you take in class about newer meds should serve you well. Free yourself from unethical textbook publishing tyrants! (On that note, also free yourself from the endless amounts of crap published every year as "literature" or "fiction." Go read the good stuff.)

Wow, my school gave us not only ISBN numbers but which editions to buy and what year it was printed along with the publisher. Our syllabus tells us by page number, jumps around; our first readings are from pages in the 600s, other books start on page 10, etc., and then other reading assignments are just a whole chapter, but I sure wasn't gonna chance wondering what the heck I'm supposed to be reading if I don't have the same page numbers. Ya'll are brave!

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Ah, well, my books and tuition for my entire program will be around $5,000. Maybe.

Yeah, same here. I think it's about $6000 for 2 years of classes and then $2000 books for those 2 years. Geez, I'll count my blessings. By the time I spend $50,000, I'll have my Bachelor's (plus the 2 years of pre-reqs I just took, so 6 years of school), and the only reason 6 years will cost me that much is cause I have to get student loans to supplement my income, newly single mom with two kids. I can't imagine spending that much for a program unless it's my Nurse Practitioner or CRNA or something. I am very thankful I spent $750 total this first semester, wow.

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I bought a lot of my books used, or were given nursing books from friends who recently graduated... for this semester, my total cost of classes was 1,466, and my book fees were only 150... yahoo! I am not happy about the cost of tuition though.

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It sounds like a lot of money up front, but when I graduate I will have my AS in Nursing.

Now lets look at this rationally. I do not have to pay for any books. I do not have to pay for any uniforms. I do not pay for the state test, the school covers that cost for me, plus they are a qualified testing site so I do not even have to drive to get to the RN test. I do not have to pay for and lab fees and I do not have to pay for any transportation cost to get to and from the hospital where my clinical will be at. Yes it is a private school so it is a bit more expensive.

But the local community college that offers the same two year AS program is 14,000 for the tuition of the whole program, roughly about $3,600 total for the books for the program. (that is an average amount it could be more depending on the cost of the books) there is the cost of uniforms which runs about $20 to $30 a pair that you have to buy. Then there are the lab fees which are roughly about $25 per class that you have to do labs for. And I do not know what the going rate for the state test are currently, but I know that for the CNA test (which is a much cheaper test, it cost $120 to take it and that does not include the fact that I would have to travel over three hours to take the RN test because the community college does not offer it and the closest test site is 3 hours away. Then there is the cost of gas for the car to get back and forth to and from clinical.

If you look at them in comparison it only makes sense to go to a school that is all inclusive. Plus let us not over look the fact that unlike some students, I did not have to wait on a waiting list. I did not have to take my pre-reqs first then hope that I got into the nursing program. I do not know anything about the ADN, but I can tell you that I would rather pay a little more for my AS degree than the typical student if it means that there are no surprises later on down the line. I am a single mother, I can budget for a college where everything is included, but I cannot budget if I do not even know how much the books for a specific semester is going to cost. Yeah you may think it is a lot of money, and you might not think it is worth the cost, and hey there is a message therapy class at my school so I can get free back rubs, but to me it is better than what traditional students are putting up with. I have gone to a traditional school and had to drop out because my books one semester cost over $300 which may not seem like a lot to a person who spends that much on a stethoscope, but to me that was too much to come up with. I do not want my nursing degree to end because I lack the funds to pay for it.

I didn't even know schools could cost that much. Like I posted before, with my BSN from a 4-year college plus my completed 2 years of prereqs, I will have spent likely way less than $50,000 (and the only reason it will be that much is my dreaded student loans to help me support 2 kids) and I'll have my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing. We are accepted by grades, not a waiting list, not even an entrance exam, so I didn't have to wait at all. Our NCLEX fee is included in our tuition, and we don't have any lab fees. I don't mind driving to clinical sites cause that's where I'll be meeting people and getting my foot in the door; and the real plus, I got to pick exactly where I wanted to be this first semester, and in all subsequent semesters, we get to pick our hospital. I just don't see the plus side of 50k for a 2-year degree.

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