Student Loan Spinoff: How much?

shel_wny · May 21, 2004

I took out my first little student loan this semester for $1000. I took out just enough as I am also working full-time as well since I'm only going through prereqs. I freaked out about the loan but I understand that if I've got to stop working full-time once I get into the hot and heavy nursing stuff, that's just what I'll have to do! It's subsidized which means I don't have to pay interest on the money. That's pretty nice.

I'm was so shakey about the whole idea because my parents got into HUGE amounts of debt for no good reason. I can justify getting into debt for my education though. I've pounded into my head that it's different.

I'm also lucky to have a 110% supportive awesome husband and no children of my own. (He has 2 that we help support as well but they live with their mother.) I admire each and every one of you moms out there with kids and a home to take of. It gives me strength and motivation and I hope that when I am settled in and in a good financial situation years down the road, that I can create a small scholarship of some sort at my local community college to help a poor little nursie-to-be!

Shel

JenNJFLCA · May 21, 2004

That includes my first bachelors in marine bio and my 2nd bachelor's in nursing. Plus, I am paying a ton of $ in tuition out of pocket b/c it's a private school and I don't want private loans. $45000 is the max amount the gov't will let me take out for Bachelor's degrees. I am working full time thru school to be able to pay tuition. I am so burned out, but I have the summer to recover and play a little, so I think I will keep my sanity for the next 2 years......

Patrick71 · May 22, 2004

Will be 8K by the time I'm done. Worked full time through pre-reqs. Now about 3 weeks till LPN boards. 4,000 a year isn't too bad I don't think. Living poor sucks, but I don't want to be paying back the loans for years.

CaterpillarGirl · May 22, 2004

Ugh... by the time I'm done I'll probably have 35-40k in loans by the time I have my BSN. I don't like to think about it :uhoh21: . However, those loans will allow me to work less, and have more time for my daughter. As a single mom, it's even more important that I'm home.

I'm banking on the federal loan forgiveness programs. They give awards first to those with the largest amount of loans. So by that logic... rack 'em up!!

Tony35NYC · May 22, 2004

Michele,

Go ahead and take out the loan. I'm averse to borrowing money unless its a last resort, but that's just me. A student loan for nursing school is an excellent investment.

A nursing education is a very valuable thing, and if your state participates in the loan forgiveness program you may not have to pay a dime of that money back.

luckymichelle · May 22, 2004

Michele,
Go ahead and take out the loan. I'm averse to borrowing money unless its a last resort, but that's just me. A student loan for nursing school is an excellent investment.
A nursing education is a very valuable thing, and if your state participates in the loan forgiveness program you may not have to pay a dime of that money back.

Thanks for the info guys... I'm really curious about these state funded loan forgiveness programs... I ca'nt seem to find any info on them on the net... any ideas where else I can look?

Michelle

RNPATL, DNP, RN · May 23, 2004

Great thread ..... now I know I am not the only crazy fool that is in debt up to my eyeballs just to finish my education. Whew .... that is a relief! :)

gij1 · May 23, 2004

$42,000 in loans, single mom, took me yrs to get pre-reqs done then 3 yrs BSN. Consolidated, so interest rate low, payments for many years is only $125.00 per mth. My problem is that working full-time as a nurse just barely pays my rent, food, & bills. You gotta be a 2 income household to make it. Hope getting my MSN is worth additional loans. Can we hear from those who went on to grad school, was the NP or CNS worth it in the end? Is your salary much higher than RN? Would love to hear from you on the subject!

Kyriaka · May 23, 2004

Just remember school loans are "good" debt. "Bad" debt...credit cards and such.

In the end I will most likely be out $25K plus interest. But the loan interest is acceptable.

rasmu · May 23, 2004

So, here's my question, what's the normal amout of student loan debt for people in the nursing profession?
(Again, totally personal finance question, please feel free to tell me to mind my own business.)

Your question is very reasonable.

In my own case, I am a career changer. I've worked as a computer programmer for most of the past 20 years, and am going to start school full-time this Fall at the age of 40 to train as a registered nurse.

I currently owe about $35000 in student loans for a B.S. Computer Information Systems degree (got that in 1996) + graduate level studies in Computer Science (all worthless now, due to free-trade and all the computer jobs going to India)

I expect to start with an ADN, and then continue on to a B.S.N. I expect to end up with $50000 to $55000 in student loan debt (government loans + third party education loans). Since I will be about 44 years old when I am done, and will take about 25 years to pay back the debt, I expect to paying back my loans until age 69. I may have to skip the B.S.N. degree simply because of the amount of debt I will be carrying - I'll have to see. (I'm not going directly for the B.S.N. degree, because unfortunately, there are no such programs in the community where I live)

My best advice is to be careful about borrowing too much. If you can find ways of save money (like living with your parents, instead of on your own, if this is practical) try to do so. Look into scholarships as well - maybe you might get lucky. The one mistake I made when borrowing so much money for my computer degree, is that I assumed that there would always be high-paying jobs available in the computer programming field that would enable me to pay off the debt, in short order. I guessed wrong. I don't want to be a doomsayer, but be careful about taking on debt, you never know what the future may hold.

One final warning is to remember that student loans cannot be discharged through bankruptcy, except in rare cases.

PCGrad06 · May 23, 2004

I take out loans. However, in the state of KY they forgive 20% of the balance for each year you work in the state. Plus there is no interest on it at all! So the way I see it I get the money I need and then work at a job I love and with each year of work besides the raise at work I can check off another 20% of the loans total. FREE MONEY. Anyone else living in and going to work in KY as an RN needs to check out this web site www.studentloanpeople.com (This is in addition to the Pell and Cap etc. grants!)

:balloons:

Trauma Columnist · May 23, 2004

I worked fulltime while in LPN school, LPN to ADN bridge, BSN completion and now MSN. I also currently have 20K in student loans for the BSN completion program and will have another $18K for the MSN program. Like another poster stated, though, the rewards are well-worth the money. I plan to just put on the hold the idea of getting a new truck. Oh well! My degree is gonna take me a lot further (fingers crossed) then my truck - at least with gas prices at $2.09/gallon.