ADVICE NEEDED! Fall Semester Dilema

U.S.A. Maryland

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Hey guys!

I'm in dire need of some advice. So I applied to 3 BSN programs (University of Maryland, Towson University and Salisbury University) and I only got into Towson and was waitlisted at the others. I was particularly disappointed with University of Maryland because that was my first choice school, however, since Towson was the only school that said yes, I went ahead and paid the deposit. My problem is this, I was accepted into Towson's program in Hagerstown, MD and unfortunately they do not offer housing. I will be depending heavily on financial aid (aka federal loans) to pay for school but the financial aid I was given isn't going to cover housing at all, which means I will have to find my own apartment. I refuse to take out a private loan to pay for an apartment (I already owe soooo much from my first degree plus my credit sucks!) and I don't know if #1 there are any job prospects in Hagerstown or #2 if I'll even have the time to work to pay for rent and food.

To make the situation even more annoying, I am missing 2 classes for Towson that no one else is requiring, which means $800 will have to be spent to take summer classes (less money saved up for rent). So my question is, what should I do???? I have been wrapping my head around this situation for days now and it's stressing me out!! Should I go to Towson or should I just forget the fall semester and just start all over again for the spring semester? Has anyone else been in a situation like this, how did you pay for housing?

While I understand not wanting to take out additional loans, the thought of more debt is definitely scary, consider this perspective.

Would the loan amount you would be taking exceed the increased income you would earn by having your nursing degree sooner. I'll give you an example.

Lets say you make $20,000 a year now and would continue to make that while saving up or applying to another school. Even if you need $20,000 for room and board loans for that time period, the increased income you would earn as a nurse would easily exceed the principal and interest on the loan.

This logic does not apply if you currently make as much or more as you would as a nurse, but if nursing will increase your income consider this. Personally I am taking housing loans in order to get my degree sooner, and with a higher GPA.

YMMV and good luck with whatever you choose,

~MC

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Merge two threads

While I understand not wanting to take out additional loans, the thought of more debt is definitely scary, consider this perspective.

Would the loan amount you would be taking exceed the increased income you would earn by having your nursing degree sooner. I'll give you an example.

Lets say you make $20,000 a year now and would continue to make that while saving up or applying to another school. Even if you need $20,000 for room and board loans for that time period, the increased income you would earn as a nurse would easily exceed the principal and interest on the loan.

This logic does not apply if you currently make as much or more as you would as a nurse, but if nursing will increase your income consider this. Personally I am taking housing loans in order to get my degree sooner, and with a higher GPA.

YMMV and good luck with whatever you choose,

~MC

I get what you're saying, however, my issue with taking out loans for nursing school is adding more debt to the outstanding debt I've already accumulated from my first degree. I went to the George Washington University and the tuition rate at the time was 50K/year (so you could imagine how much I owe). Part of my quest to get my BSN is to go to an affordable yet credible program, which is why I'm staying in state. I would rather wait a semester and reapply than borrow 20K from a private bank with crappy interest rates just to pay for rent. And while I know eventually I will make a decent salary as a nurse, especially if I succeed in becoming a CRNA, it's not only nursing school loans I have to consider repaying.

Hey PinkEagle,

I am sorry that you are in such a tough situation. At least you are waitlisted at UMSON so you still have a chance of being accepted. I am afraid of debt so take my advice with a grain of salt. If I were you, I would wait it out until the spring. I mean there is really not much difference between september and january anyway. During this time you can retake your teas (if you need to improve it), you can take other courses to raise your gpa, volunteer at hospitals and work more hours to save money. All of these will increase your chances and you'll have the advantage that less people apply for the spring. Take some time to think about it, but try to make your decision early so a person who is waitlisted at Towson can have your position in case that is what you decide. I hope everything works out!

When you applied to Towson's nursing program did you know it was at the Hagerstown campus? I know Towson also offers their nursing program at their main (Baltimore) campus- could you potentially reach out to the Dean/Financial aid office/admission office/etc and explain your situation and see if you can switch into the Baltimore campus (if that is closer to you)

I thoroughly asked about switching campuses or possibly deferring a semester so save up money and I was vehemently denied both! So, I just decided to decline my acceptance and I will try again for the Towson campus for Spring 2015, if UMD or Salisbury doesn't accept me. I was initially super excited about the opportunity but it ended up being a terrible option for me financially.

Yeah...they don't budge on that stuff, unfortunately. I guess because they never know who will apply next semester, and they want the class to be the most competitive applicants they can have. And as far as switching campuses, it would defeat the point of having 2 pools of applicants who are judged separately if they let people switch campuses. The main campus program is more desirable, which is why more people apply, which is why it's more competitive...if they let people switch campuses, everyone would apply to Hagerstown and try to switch to Towson, and they'd have a hell of a time sorting out who got to switch. Got my fingers crossed for you at UMB or Salisbury!

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