New student..what should i do?

Illinurse2010 · Nov 23, 2011

You want to get 80,00 into debt for a BSN? Thats nuts. Even if you don't fail the program and end up in debt for nothing, it will take you decades to pay those loans. Go the longer route.. I came out of community college with my RN and no debt, and if I have my way some hospital will pay for my BSN when I am ready.

allnurses Guide · Nov 23, 2011

80K in debt is insanity. Run. Run far far away. Run to the 4-5 year school as fast as your legs can get you there. There is no way that 80K is justified for a BSN degree, no matter HOW fast it is. And no, you won't be able to pay it off quickly. It will be an albatross around your neck for a very long time. We are talking decades.

FLmomof5 · Nov 23, 2011

The ADN nurse who paid $10K - $20K for her degree will get the same pay as you......for $80K. She could afford to live...you couldn't. You would pay 1/4 of you monthly income for 10 - 20 YEARS to pay that off!

Get your ADN, get a job and then go for your BSN.

My DD got into a private school program for her BSN, but SHE has the Army College Fund and won't pay a nickel out of pocket for her tuition.

I wouldn't pay $80K for a BSN....ever.

neatnurse30 · Nov 23, 2011

I would never pay that much money for nursing degree- now that I know from my experience working as an RN. First of all, if I would have to take students loans for so much money, I would go to study pharmacy- at least pharmacists are paid 100K+ for their job and don't have that much stress like nurses do. Nurses don't make that much money, other healthcare professionals like physical therapists, occupational therapists, radiology techs etc. make as much or even more than nurses with less stress. I really don't understand why everybody wants to be a nurse these days- if I knew before entering nursing school what I know now- I would run from nursing as fast as I could. But I'm not the youngest anymore ( close to 40) and have years of experience as a nurse, work in an outpatient so it is not that crazy for me right now. However, bedside nursing can literally kill you- I have seen many nurses leaving bedside nursing because they couldn't stand the stress of the job. So while everybody thinks that there is shortage of nurses in US, in fact, that is not true. It's just that the conditions of the job are unbearable in many hospitals and LTCs. Please, shadow a nurse or volunteer in a hospital before you jump into nursing school.

Good luck with your decisions!

futureRN_Anastasia · Nov 23, 2011

Check in other colleges. This price is higher than what I am paying for a BScN in a university. And if you have another degree, you can do an advanced standing from a university, and get your BScN in 2-3 years. Without having pay 3 times the fee.

AJPV · Nov 23, 2011

$80k of debt is insane for any nursing degree! I wouldn't take on that much debt unless I was doing med school. Get your ADN first, then bridge to BSN. In many areas of the country, landing your first job is FAR more dependent on you having previous healthcare experience (eg, as a patient care technician) BEFORE graduating - regardless of whether you walk out of school with an ADN or BSN. In my class, almost everyone who had tech experience got job offers before graduation. Those without experience often didn't even get a single interview despite applying for dozens of jobs. Grads without experience (even with high GPAs) can be jobless for months or even 1-2 years post-graduation. (some get so disillusioned that they abandon nursing aspirations altogether). My biggest advice is that you get a tech job and work part-time through school - and work hard to excel at that tech job to impress your manager so they will hopefully hire you when you graduate. Show lots of initiative. Come to all the unit meetings. Complete all your mandatory trainings before the deadlines without needing to be reminded. Be cooperative and take initiative to help. Managers notice this!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

Hi, i'm a new student in a community college currently doing pre-reqs for Nursing .
So there is this program here that i can get my bsn in a total of 3 years which is very quick but the only thing is that its about $80,000 in total which is a lot of money. i would have to pay for ALL of it with student loans. Now my questions is, will i make the money back quick enough? or should i apply to a much cheaper school but it would take 4-5 years but with much less to have to pay back. I would probrally have to first get my rn and then rn-bsn.
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND? ONLY PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE PLEASE ANSWER THANX!!

No one knows what the job market will be like in three years. Three years ago they said the job market for new grads would get better in a few years, and honestly that hasn't happened yet.

To put yourself in 80K of debt...it's not so much the degree than the debt that worries me. Normally if all factors are equal I'd advise the BSN over the other program since a growing number of employers want BSNs...but even then, they're still struggling to get jobs just as much as their ADN/diploma counterparts. But all things are not equal here: the BSN road would put you in a significant amount of debt (at least 80K, does that include books, supplies, uniforms, fees, etc?) with no guarantee of a job--at least no guarantee right now--at the end of the road. Even with getting a job right away, you'd still be paying off those loans over many years.

The non-BSN road may take longer but less debt is on the line. And other posters are right: you'll get the same (or nearly the same) pay as most other new grads regardless of degree. Yes, a lot of facilities want BSNs, but there are many non-BSN nurses getting hired every day, so not having a BSN is not the kiss of death.

I would avoid racking up any debt that I could, especially with the job market being so shaky now and so unclear for the future. I'd either go the cheaper non-BSN route or would shop around for a different BSN program.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

nursemichelle80, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

By the time I finish my doctorate I still will not have paid $80K! That's nuts! Go the longer route. So you will be in school 2 years longer...but you will have MUCH less debt!!!!

Zaphod, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

Absolutely not. You can get a NP or CRNA degree for less than that. You should not be in more debt for school than what you would make th 1st year. As a new grad youll probably start at 40K a year. So your degree has to cost less than that and even that is a stretch..

Coulter630 · Nov 23, 2011

I started working on pre reqs with no previous college experience in Aug 2007. I graduate from the ADN program next month. However, I had a very small baby at that time, a huge wedding to plan.....etc. I was very busy and could've taken more pre reqs but I didn't want to overwhelm myself with everything. Plus, at the beginning I was in no hurry. I say, stay away from student loans!!!! They are a disaster and I know you will regret it after your first day in class. It takes a year to transition from ADN-BSN. I would stay away from the "too good to be true" kind of schools. They are not worth the time or the money. Stick to your regular community college in your area. Hope this helps.

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

that is a huge, huge amount of money. the company i worked for went out of business as soon as i started my actual nursing courses. i had kids to feed and was planning on working through school, so didn't have a large savings account going for school. we've lived off loans and scholarships the past 2 years. i will owe 30k when i'm done, and even that makes me hyperventilate. i can't imagine 80,000. seriously, if someone is not smart enough and actually accepts that deal, i'm not sure how well they'll fare in school.