Advice Needed from Older Students/Nurses

chuleta · Nov 11, 2014

Perhaps you should look into scholarships/financial aid offered at the school you plan on attending. I'm kind of in the same boat as you minus the school loans from my bachelor's degree. However, my boyfriend agreed to help me out financially for the next few years while I attend school full-time. He doesn't make that much money but if we live frugally we can get by. Do you have any family members that can help you out? Maybe you can work part-time if its absolutely necessary. It's going to be tough but if you're motivated I'm sure you can definitely do it.

thecareerchanger, BSN · Nov 12, 2014

If you must work you have two options: Continuing working full-time and go to nursing school part-time at night via ASN program or go to school full-time (BSN or ABSN) and work part-time. Right now I am in a similar situation in that I work full time currently and want to go ABSN route since I already have a BS and I am in my 30s so I want to finish as fast as possible. I considered part time ASN in the evening but I have a family so it would be to difficult working full time day and going to school 3/4 nights a week. My husband is able to carry most of the bills so I would try to work part-time/prn while in school and make sure I also have a substantial savings (while I am still working) for additional living expenses and take out loans for school. I also have loans from my previous degree but I am not too concerned since school loans usually gets deferred once you go back to school on a matriculated basis. Any other debt I we will try to pay off or reduce so that our expenses are substantially less. where there is a will, there is a way!

Oh and by the way if you complete an ASN degree you would only have to do a RN-BSN program in order to get a BSN (not ABSN) since you would already be an RN

sweetbriar · Nov 12, 2014

Thank you both for your wonderful suggestions and reassurance!

Since I already have a bachelor's degree, there are very few, if any, scholarships available to me. In cases like mine, the government is basically like, "We already helped you out once, so you're on your own for any other extra degrees." I'll definitely need to take out loans, but the ADN program I'm looking at is only about $20k total. I've been told that if I land a job at a hospital with my ADN then they may either pay for the rest of my education to get a BSN or give me scholarships. And I had forgotten that educational loans are often deferred when a person enters back into school, so that's definitely a plus!

At this time I am unsure as to whether or not the ADN program has evening class options, but if they do then I'll be looking to work something closer to part time than full time. As far as help from family members? Very little, unfortunately, although I know they would help if they could. This is definitely one of those times in my life where I ask myself why I didn't get a more practical degree the first time around, haha. Ah, well.

I spoke with my boyfriend last night about postponing our house buying at least for another year and he was very agreeable. We will still be moving in together but at least I'll be able to save money from sharing living costs with another person.

Again, thank you for your suggestions and comments. If you have any more then feel free to toss them my way!

817nurse · Nov 12, 2014

While I have a full-time job, I am fully aware that I will most likely need to quit it while in nursing school and I am dead scared of how in the flipping world I am meant to live without any income.

I worked full-time 8 hour night shifts as a nursing home CNA when I was attending a 18 month accelerated BSN program. I had no social life or free time, but I did it. Depending on how bad you want it, maybe you can do it too.

I worked the 11-7am overnight shift. I had a couple of hours of downtime most nights so I studied. My nurses were supportive, too.

sweetbriar · Nov 12, 2014

I worked full-time 8 hour night shifts as a nursing home CNA when I was attending a 18 month accelerated BSN program. I had no social life or free time, but I did it. Depending on how bad you want it, maybe you can do it too.
I worked the 11-7am overnight shift. I had a couple of hours of downtime most nights so I studied. My nurses were supportive, too.

I've thought about doing CNA work while in nursing school, but the CNA course around here is 6 weeks long, every day, and costs over a thousand dollars to complete. Not to mention the fact that I'm making better money now than I would as a CNA. If I went that route then I'd have to not only out money aside for that course but also put money aside for living expenses for 6 weeks and for time after the course is completed until I find a CNA job.

And it's not about me not "wanting it bad enough" - I certainly want it bad enough but am trying to make the most responsible financial decision. I very much admire those who were and are doing their programs in the manner that you have; you have clearly worked very hard for what you have achieved. I'm just unsure that your path to the nursing career will be the same as mine :)

Norine13 · Nov 12, 2014

I'm still taking my prereqs but will apply this spring for a BSN program. One of the reasons I decided to do the BSN is because, since I already have a Bachelor's degree the community college will not give me any loans- have you looked into that at your school? It'll cost a lot more to get my BSN, but there's no way we could pay for the ADN out of pocket with just my husband working. I'll still try to get scholarships and save money until then so we don't have to get it all in loans. They really don't make it very easy for those returning to school- do they!? :)

chuleta · Nov 12, 2014

Ah, I was just mentioning scholarships because some times (perhaps rarely) there are some offered for students despite having earned a previous degree. My cousin, who already had a bachelor's, actually got part of her nursing education paid for when she applied for a scholarship that was specifically for nursing students. She just had to write a really good essay stating why she should be the one to receive the scholarship. So keep your options open and you might get lucky & stumble upon an opportunity. I also don't know where you're from or how much nursing schools generally cost where you live, but community colleges generally offer ADN degrees at a much lower cost. The one that I got accepted in to will cost me a little under $7000, however, I do understand their schedule isn't as flexible for working adults since there are no night classes available.

iPink, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2014

How badly in shape is your current car that it can't hold you for a least 1-2 more years? I ask because I've been there, done that. I chose the ABSN route because it made sense for me and my goals. Knowing that was the route I was choosing, I had to make some serious sacrifices to survive and stay focus on the goal. My car too felt like it was on it's last leg, but as long as it was able to hold on driving me to my clinicals, I was hanging on to it. I bought my books from former students, or I looked for amazing deals online. A whole semesters worth of textbooks easily cost me $10. I knew better than to buy new and the current edition.

I cut my cell phone bill significantly by calling up my provider and threatening them that I was going to walk if they didn't get me a better deal. It worked. I didn't need cable especially because I'm Internet savvy and found free sites of my favorite cable shows. I hardly bought take out. It's amazing how much you save if you're use to eating out a lot on a weekly basis. I bought what I needed and not what I wanted. I collected unemployment while in school, so it covered my rent, utilities, and other bills. I never borrowed money to cover my living expenses because I wasn't interested in paying back more money than I wanted. At one point, I found myself living off food stamps (aka EBT cards). It was free groceries, so I swallowed my pride. However, it didn't last long because I owned a car (although that car was on it's last leg).

The sacrifices I made was hard at times and the journey seemed long, many times thinking I wouldn't make it. But, I was hopeful my situation would change and things would pay off and they have. Today, that old car has been traded in for a much newer and nicer car, bought a two-story house, and enjoying my job. I'm a single woman, in my early 30's. True story.

I use to harp on the past...why didn't I just go into nursing the first time around? But, you just have to move forward. You can take the ADN route for now if it economically makes sense for you, then do the RN-to-BSN later. I'm not sure how much those 1 year programs run in your area. My ABSN cost me 30k for 15 months. It was the cheapest in my area, including the community colleges that were offering an accelerated ADN route.

Apply for those scholarships/grants. Even your program may be offering them. They are out there, and you'll never know unless you try.

ThatBigGuy · Nov 13, 2014

A good rule of thumb is to only take out the amount of student loans that is equal to what you can reasonably expect to earn in your first year's work. Now, student loan debt isn't wonderful, but you're likely to double your $20,000 schooling cost in your first year's salary.

I think this is an excellent loan to earnings ratio and shouldn't scare you off.

The next step would be to cut back on your living expenses and find a part time job that will pay for those lowered living expenses. Most older nursing students worked and went to nursing school, and they managed just fine. It's tough, but not impossible.

It looks bleak now, but it's absolutely possible, and when you consider your program's cost, it represents a very good value in the long run.

caliotter3 · Nov 13, 2014

I worked full time while I was in school. I had no other choice as I was not eligible for anything else. It was work full time (and part time) or do not attend school. Those were my choices. Certainly hope you are able to find a way to make this work.

AspiringNurseMW · Nov 13, 2014

I'm also working on my prerequisites to hopefully start next fall. I have two girls 1 and 3. I work part time (20 to 30 hours) and go to school full time, actually taking 17 credits this semester (what was I thinking!). I will have to continue to do so in order to pay for day care so I can attend school. My opinions are

1) can totally be done. I've read so so many posts on here with people who work part time or full time, even with kids, while going to nursing school. It will be hard, but if you have the drive and the focus and organization it's doable.

2) live like you're broke NOW. save save save, that way you can pay cash for some of your tuition ahead of time and working won't be so crucial. Budget, track where your money is going and cut out the excess now so it doesn't come as a shock when you start nursing school.

3) look into school scholarships. I am going to a community college and as many people there are that attend, they always have scholarships, someone I know actually gets her entire tuition covered by scholarships just because she wrote a 300 word essay.