I've Been Accepted!....and now I'm freaking out

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello!

I am new to allnurses.com. I've read some helpful threads and wanted to pick the brains of the RN community on here.

I recently have been accepted to Resurrection University's daytime BSN program due to begin Jan 5. (ah!)

About me:

I am one of those applicants that currently holds a non-nursing degree, so this will be my second bachelors. What I will say (and I hope there are others that can relate) I am NOT one of those applicants that had all the classes/prereqs with the excellent grades and gpa that could simply apply to any nursing program, pay a fee, whip up an essay and click submit with no hiccups. 3 years ago I decided to pursue nursing; my prereqs were either 'expired', not done or needed a higher grade. After taking classes part-time for 2.5 years, completing a CNA program (yes. Because another program required it) and running into an expensive transcript hold from my alma mater (just to name a few); I was finally able to submit my application to 2 schools this year.

I am excited about my acceptance, however my fear was/is...PAYMENT. ResU is ~12 grand a semester. Granted the program is 16 months (4 semesters) full time, but expensive is expensive. The government is giving me a pitiful 11 grand + change....to be split among the Spring and summer 2015 and I am not sure if this is absolutely all that I will get for the rest of my replay of undergrad at ResU. I am not in the military, I am not married, no kids and I do NOT have a scholarship worthy GPA (yeah, I had to really prove myself for acceptance).

I'm excited to finally get this journey started but I am absolutely petrified of how to pay for the program. And thinking about the total price point is deflecting my my excitement. My ultimate fear is the worse case scenario of not completing a program because of money.

Full-blow-feakout.

If anyone can provide advice, words of encouragement, testimonies, stories...anything; I would greatly appreciate it.

I also hope this thread will help ANYone else that maybe in similar shoes. I definitely believe with the influx of bachelor-carrying professionals pursing BS #2; they will gain some insight for this read.

Thank you for your thoughts!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Actually, I think that the obstacle course you had to negotiate - just to get into nursing school - is a real advantage for you. There's no way you could have managed to persevere without a true sense of purpose. The psychological effects of working through the mine field? You've developed resiliency... confidence in yourself and your abilities. You know that bad things happen but they're not the end of the world. You are the captain of your own soul and have learned to take responsibility for your own success rather than simply float along "hoping" to be rescued.

I can't think of a better preparation for nursing school. You've definitely got this!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Congrats for getting into NS! Nursing is my second career with my first degree being a B.A., which meant I had to take a bunch of perquisites before even applying to any ABSN programs. I graduated from a 15-month program in 2012 and it was certainly rigorous. I'm single with no kids too and I paid for my program through government loans. I never took out extra to pay for groceries or other living expenses like others did. You also learn how to sacrifice and only get what you need and not what you want. It will pay off in the end when you get a job and finally treat yourself for a change.

You could also check your school to set up payment plans. Don't forget to look at the school website for scholarships/grants, you won't know if you'll get one unless you apply.

Good luck with school! Long journey ahead but as previous poster mention, you have the fighting spirit.

Sent from iPink's phone via allnurses app

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@HouTxGuide

...ah!

Thank you so much!

I have been on such an emotional rollercoaster since the acceptance. At times, I think I'm self-sabotaging.

you're right. I have to remember the work, money and sacrifice I've inputted so far.

I'm just SO nervous and scared of the money/tuition (can't even deny it).

I suppose this is normal?

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

I had the same severe anxiety when I was accepted to the 1st program. It was so bad that I ended up declining the seat and applying to the local CC. I also have a BA and MPH and a hefty student loan burden from those degrees. I just could not justify accruing another $40k in tuition alone (not to mention the other costs associated with nursing school and life). So, I went back to the drawing board and did my homework. The ADN will cost me $6000. The RN-BSN bridge programs that I have researched average will cost about an additional $10k. So I decided to go that route. It really depends on what kind of support you have. First, you say that he gov is only giving you $11k to split between 2 semesters - where is the other $12k coming from? How are you paying rent? eating? books? Have you talked to financial aid to find out how much you have remaining to borrow? If you only have that $11k how will you afford the rest of the program? In my situation I have exactly $16k remaining in undergraduate student loans to borrow. My husband also works full time and I have a child. We are going to be scraping by and eating beans and rice for 2 years. My parents and my in-laws have also committed to helping with childcare and financial emergencies.

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I paid for my program through government loans. I never took out extra to pay for groceries or other living expenses like others did.
@iPink RN

How did you feel about borrowing money through government loans? To complete my undergraduate degree, (apparently) I had to take out a private loan for part of a semester. I've learned the hard and not-so-fun way of re-paying private loans since I've graduated. I now have to pay on this loan, monthly for at least the next 2-3 years. And they do not care that I am/will be attending school in the near future.

I obviously do not have this issue with my federal loans. I just dont want to put myself in the same situation and likely with kids and a family (in the future).

I've clearly been scared and just want to learn from my experiences.

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I had the same severe anxiety when I was accepted to the 1st program. It was so bad that I ended up declining the seat and applying to the local CC. I also have a BA and MPH and a hefty student loan burden from those degrees. I just could not justify accruing another $40k in tuition alone (not to mention the other costs associated with nursing school and life). So, I went back to the drawing board and did my homework. The ADN will cost me $6000. The RN-BSN bridge programs that I have researched average will cost about an additional $10k. So I decided to go that route. It really depends on what kind of support you have. First, you say that he gov is only giving you $11k to split between 2 semesters - where is the other $12k coming from? How are you paying rent? eating? books? Have you talked to financial aid to find out how much you have remaining to borrow? If you only have that $11k how will you afford the rest of the program? In my situation I have exactly $16k remaining in undergraduate student loans to borrow. My husband also works full time and I have a child. We are going to be scraping by and eating beans and rice for 2 years. My parents and my in-laws have also committed to helping with childcare and financial emergencies.

Exactly!

That 11k is all!

The school splits up the 11k through the Spring and Summer 20-3015p semesters. But still, like you said, where's the other 12 coming from? I know I can get some with scholarships but not a ton.

I can pay bills by living off my savings and moving in with my parents but that still leaves the tuition bill.

The financial department provided me with links and info to find additional assistance but thats about it. I even considered cashing out my 401 (403) for payment but it still wouldn't cover everything. Its mind-boggling, confusing, exciting and scary at the same time.

its definitely a challenge being a post grad professional looking for additional training/schooling in order to progress in a career.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

When I first started school (getting my first degree) interest rates were 1.5%. When I went back to school for nursing, interest rates were around 6.8%. I consolidated those loans to get an interest of 4.2%. Nothing was going to get in my way of becoming a nurse. I felt fine taking out the loan to pay for school, granted my semester tuition was around 6k (grand total: 30k for 5 semesters). My ABSN program was the cheapest in the state, even cheaper than the local community college that was offering an accelerated ASN route. It was a no brainier for me.

Sent from iPink's phone via allnurses app

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Wow.

Great opportunity.

definitely a no-brainer!

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