Second Bachelor's Degree & Student Loans...

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi,

I'm a Second Degree Pre-Nursing Student...and I was wondering have any of you other second degree student nurses or nurses...had any problem getting federal student loans simply because you already have a bachelor's degree? I'm aware that the limit on federal loans is around 46000/max for undergraduate studies...which I have not passed...however I keep receiving letters from my financial aid dept saying that my award is pending review b/c of my pre-nursing status and that fact that I'm considered a Senior...seeing that this is my second degree and I have like 130 credit hours....Could the problem be the fact that I'm going to the same University that I went for my First Bachelor's Degree and they are confused about my status?

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Hi there,

It was not a problem for me when I took pre-req classes as a 2nd degree pre-nursing student and it was at the same school I received my first degree. I only took out a few thousands dollars in loans but had much more than that available to me. I am sure it will be clarified soon. :)

Good luck!

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I went to the same University, and I had no problem getting loans. Now I am coming up on my last year & am reaching that $46000 max. :( They call me a Postbaccalaurate student. Most of the time they don't know what to do with me. :) But, it has helped me when I go to register! They say, "no, you can't register for that." And I say, but I'm a post-bac." Poof! Those are the magic words. No pre-reqs required!

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46,000 max? I was told it is 23,000? They turned me down. I just wanted 10 to 12 for LPN and to pay tuition, books, and such. Why was I turned down? I had about 18,000 in my first degree? Something isn't right here for me.

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23000 is the max you can get for unsubsidized loan(the interest is put on hold until graduation)...46000 is the max for subsidized/unsubsidized you can get for federal loans all together...However this is if you are an independent student..if you dependent than I think it is like 27000.

46,000 max? I was told it is 23,000? They turned me down. I just wanted 10 to 12 for LPN and to pay tuition, books, and such. Why was I turned down? I had about 18,000 in my first degree? Something isn't right here for me.
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I, too, was a 2nd degree student. I never took out loans for my first degree though. It was paid for out-of-pocket. However, I did take out loans for my nursing degree. I went to a different school for this degree. Since I didn't have most of the prerequisites finished when I started the program I was classified as a Sophomore upon entry. I never had any problems with financial aid in regards to not being able to receive aid as a 2nd degree student.

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Specializes in NICU.

Give Sallie Mae a try if all else fails - their interest rate is pretty low, and most hospitals will pay off some/all of your loans anyway. Hey I owe them 56K right now, and I've been in school for less than a week!

I'm also 2nd Bachelors, BTW

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Specializes in OB, lactation.

I am a second bachelor's student, I've been getting a mix of subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans since I started the nursing program. I've never had a problem.

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
46,000 max? I was told it is 23,000? They turned me down. I just wanted 10 to 12 for LPN and to pay tuition, books, and such. Why was I turned down? I had about 18,000 in my first degree? Something isn't right here for me.

23k may be the max for a 2 year school. I started out at a 4 year school and graduated last year with my BA. THis fall I decided I wanted to pursue nursing and needed ap and micro...i enrolled in the Community college in my city and i had a hard time getting fin aid, they said i was over my limit for a 2 year school. Also...once i had my BA i was not eligible for any more aid as in grants...only loans and i was at my limit for the bachelors level...i am now in a masters program and i am eligible for only loans as well but the limit for loans is higher for the MN/MSN level.. (guess grad students cant get grants). id make an appt with your fin aid couselor...they should be able to straighten things out!gl ; 0)

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Specializes in Rural Health.

The problem I'm having with student aid of any type has nothing to do with previous student loan, etc...it's the amount of hours I have completed. I graduated with an AS/BS in 96 and a A/A in 94 and I've take classes off an on the last 9 years (obviously my bad now) and have accumulated over 168 hours. The cut off for federal aid of any type is 120 hours. Then I run into the problem that most of the private stuff I've checked into required the FAFSA to be filled out and you have to be at least eligible for student aid of some type (which again, I'm not because of the amount of hours I've completed).

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

I have 3 degrees and Ive never taken out a loan.

I did it the old fashioned way, I worked my way through

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Kaiser loans a forgivable loan of about 5,000 a semester. When I say forgiveable, I mean they will pay of your debt if you work for them for X time. That's what most of the students are doing in my program that have this problem

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