Anyone pay cash for NP school?

Joe NightingMale, MSN, RN · Jun 29, 2008

This may seem obvious, but if you work for a hospital with an associated school you can often get free tuition.

PMHNP10 · Jun 29, 2008

This may seem obvious, but if you work for a hospital with an associated school you can often get free tuition.

:angryfire:angryfire:banghead:

Not with my job..no sir; we couldn't have an institution of higher education valuing their employees desire to earn a higher education now could we

ticks me off so much I tell ya :angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

and they can't even give me a raise in spite of being recommended for one

I hate this place

sorry to take this a bit OT and focus on me, but this is a touchy spot

celclt · Jul 1, 2008

I know.... thankfully my hospital system only requires 6 months of continued employment from the day I receive each reimbursement check. Eg.. I get paid Jan 1st, I can't quit until June 1st. Luckily there is no post-graduation commitment. I figure if things get crazy, It'll take me a good 6 months to get my ducks in a row and get out. If the tuition reimbursement were piddly compared to the commitment, I'd think twice. However, it covers 12-15k per year, and if I play my cards right, I can squeeze more than $45,000 out of 'em.

wow!that is an awesome set up! do most large systems have a cap?

love the bitty baby avatar!

celclt · Jul 1, 2008

oops- forgot to say- motorcycle mama- if you do end up doing loans- just see it as an investment in yourself!

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Jul 2, 2008

wow!that is an awesome set up! do most large systems have a cap?
love the bitty baby avatar!

It depends. This is the first unionized facility I've worked for. The rest seem to max out at around $3000-$4000 and require a post-grad service commitment.

The nice thing is that there is a clause in our contract that allows for any extra money in the education fund (the hospital budgets a certain amt per employed RN) to be disbursed to cover additional tuition costs above the $10-12,000 cap. A few of my coworkers that just finished had their entire MSN/NP paid for, since not every nurse is using the funds...

johnson0424 · Jul 3, 2008

i paid in full as well but my hospitals tuition reimbursement really helped me-i work weekend alternative and get full time benefits so i only have to work 2 days a week(which is great for a school schedule) and get all the bene i need. i did my program online at UAB and it was cheap like 3000 a semester.

JDCitizen · Jul 6, 2008

It was me and my wife and VISA....

No commitment loan to pay off / work off. Glad I did because a couple of friends who had their school paid for and got pretty well shafted.

Jo Dirt · Jul 12, 2008

It was me and my wife and VISA....
No commitment loan to pay off / work off. Glad I did because a couple of friends who had their school paid for and got pretty well shafted.

I won't do a commitment loan and sure won't owe my soul to VISA or Matercard and their God awful interest rates, either.

Some debt will probably be unavoidable. All I can do is try to keep it in check.

JDCitizen · Jul 13, 2008

I won't do a commitment loan and sure won't owe my soul to VISA or Matercard and their God awful interest rates, either.
Some debt will probably be unavoidable. All I can do is try to keep it in check.

Actually no interest :-) It was when all those cards where coming out with 0%.....

DanFNP · Jul 13, 2008

I graduated NP school with no debt. My hospital paid some through tuition reimbursement. The rest I paid out of pocket through a monthly payment system set up by Sallie Mae as I was going to school

jillbug · Jul 13, 2008

It is possible to go to school without debt. I did it without any loans or debt. Go over your finances with a fine tooth comb and see what you can save and cut back on. I was able to save enough to get me through school for 3 years. I started off with about 5K in savings and $500.00 a month for tuition. It just makes me sick to think I was wasting all that money a month.

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Jul 15, 2008

I am actually doing this now.

I am in the MSN/FNP program at Baylor in Dallas. The school is in fact part of the Baylor in Waco, but the nursing school is across the street from Baylor University Medical Center (aka "Bum-C") which is actually not related to the university.

The hospital will reimburse tuition after 6 months of employment. PLUS the school's foundation gives grant money to graduate students who are not on academic probation--which brings the tuition down to a manageable range (lower than the state school resident tuition). For example, I am taking 9 hours this coming semester, the tuition and fees were a abit over $9500 and the foundation money brought it down to a little over $5500. My classmates who are employed across the street are reimbursed in full for that difference. So essentially, they are getting their education for free.

I am working agency (interviewed for some spots at BUMC but it is a 55 mile commute--one way--and the difference in hourly that I can get from the agency, plus the freedom to pick and choose when I want to work, makes it about breakeven, and I am happier with more freedom. (I'd consider an offer of employment but with little experience for my age, I am not generally a front runner candidate. That's OK with me now--it keeps me focused on that FNP!)

Oh--a few more interesting details. You don't have to have a BSN to get into Baylor, a bachelor's in any field plus an RN will do. You do have to do the GRE, and I think there is a minimum GPA but I don't remember what it is. And there isn't a long wait to get in. I found out about the program in September, applied in October, got the last of my references and transcripts in by November, interviewed in December and started in January. I should also add that I have attended something like 10 schools over the past 35 years, all but two of them were state schools. Baylor is by far the most worthwhile school in the bunch (not that I am embarrassed by the others, two of which I got my other 3 degrees from). This is definitely a quality education, and when compared to the state school experiences of some friends already certified and in practice, Baylor is better.

I hope this helps. If you are considering a move for school, I'd love to see you at Baylor. Contact me by email if you like--the more the merrier.

Christine

I'm worried about going into debt for NP school.
I am wondering the cheapest way to go through school (I'm assuming that as long as the school is accredited you will get out of it what you put in it.)
The best bang for the buck.
I should be ready to apply by next summer. I am getting by without any school debt so far (I'm in the ASN to BSN program, but I know graduate school is more expensive and you can't get pell grants.)
Maybe I'm living on Fantasy Island, but I would like to get through NP school with little to no debt.
Is there anyone out there who has done this?