I've told my story on here before, but it has been on my mind again now that I'm sorting through my last year of financial aid paperwork.
I entered college when I was 17. I should have never been allowed to make such big decisions for myself at that age because I was vastly immature and did not have very good foresight. I thought I wanted to be a doctor, and decided to go to an expensive private school because my friend was going to it, and because I figured that after becoming a doctor the debt wouldn't really be a big issue.
Little did I know that the lifestyle of a doctor wasn't for me. I was able to get the grades and nearly finish my first degree in a hard science before I decided that I'd rather be a nurse.
Long story short I will be about $60-70k in debt by the time I finish. I tallied the numbers up last summer but I'm too afraid to look at it now. About $30-40k of that is in private loans and the rest are in government loans. This is just for tuition. I never studied abroad, lived the high life, etc.
I know I am stupid, and I readily admit to making this bad decision. It was entirely my choice, I was warned, and it is my fault. I accept this, and I am looking forward to how to handle this amount of debt and pay it off. I want to repay every cent. Right now, I have about $8k in savings and am hoping to retain this until I graduate next May. Hopefully this money will carry me through until I obtain a job.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this situation, or has any advice for me, or what my life will be like. Starting wages for nurses in our area is about $35k a year. I can survive on about $5k a year. Do you think if I work a few years, live in poverty, and take a bit dent out of this debt, I will be able to lead a fairly normal life afterwards?
Have you consolidated? I have $26,000 in loans, government and private. I just consolidated my government loans and cut my payments in half. We still pay what we were paying before, but this gives us some leeway if we have any emergencies and need extra cash. Hopefully, that never happens. But if it does, we shouldn't have to dip into savings; we can just make a "regular" payment in a pinch.
I never understood why people went to expensive schools like NYU or GW- both $40,000 a year. If they got amazing scholarships, or their parents could fork up the money I could understand. This is why I went to CC and then a state university.
Assuming GW is GWU in DC, it is funny because it seems to have one of the cheapest private school tuitions for second degree nursing that I've seen. They do advertise a $40k/year undergrad tuition though so not sure why their nursing school is so 'cheap'. Georgetown being the most expensive in my immediate area. Also, I liked up NYU and they are $20k/year (unless I'm missing something.
Anyway, when I went to undergrad initially, I attended a private college that was $20k/year. I went there for 2 years. My parents didn't pay for any of my tuition. I left that school with $1k in student loans as they were very generous with grants/scholarships. Also, other than a 10 hour week/6 month long work/study job I had, I didn't work while at the private school. I then switched to a public school that was $6k/year and attended for 3 years. I left with $11k in loans and I (on my own) found a grant that covered my tuition costs but the school itself didn't offer up any grants/scholarships. Also at the public school, I had to work to cover my expenses as well so I worked 20 hours/week during the school year and 40 hours/week during breaks/summer.
It was quite amazing to see how much money a private school can offer you as a student although granted the one I went to was fairly small but for the public school, student loans seemed to be the default financial aid unless you found something on your own. So I think people should apply to expensive, private schools and see what happens, you never know. It may turn out to be cheaper than a state school.
And for those that do get stuck with loans, I think there is a lot of good advice in this thread. Make a plan, make a budget and stick to it. I'm sort of pre-loaning to myself right now. I'm living on a fairly strict budget to save up for nursing school. $60k or more may seem like a lot but with steady payments, you can chip away at it.
Nursetastic, when u consolidated, what was the interest rate. Some of mine are as low as 2.9% others are 6.8% I'm afraid The interest will be high. But do need something less than $450.00/month.
another option is work for a government facility.... once a contract is written, you can ask that a portion of your loans be paid after giving a certain number of years service. not actually signing into the military.... but working for the government.... i have seen many GS employees do this to relieve some of this type of debt....
Nursetastic, when u consolidated, what was the interest rate. Some of mine are as low as 2.9% others are 6.8% I'm afraid The interest will be high. But do need something less than $450.00/month.
The interest is 5.2% down from the 7.45% I was paying before consolidating. I went from about $400 a month to $170. But, we pay closer to $400 anyway.
Many older students are first time students. They cannot live with their parents, they may have married and had their children young and stayed home with them. Do not be discouraged from starting school. I look at it like this, if my husband passed tomorrow would I be able to pay the bills? No not all and prob not keep my house, but YES I could pay the bills and care for my children. So my annual salary is about how far in debt I am. My kids will be in college before my loans are paid. but it's peace of mind. Don't be discouraged or put your life on hold.
Specializes in Research, HIV, Surgical, ER, Primary Care.
Hahaha...not to laugh at your situation, but I'll be about $100,000 in debt when all is said and done--just finishing up my BSN now and then moving on to my masters. School is expensive, full stop, especially here in the states where we demand higher education but don't provide reasonable resources to pay for it!!
My advice? Keep taking classes part time while working, defer your loans, get your masters and then work in an underserved area/facility and get involved in the NHSC (National Health Service Corps) where you will not only received debt forgiveness, but you will also be giving back and providing care to those who are most vulnerable and in need.
Or move back with your parents. I guess I'm biased because at the age of 41, I could never, ever, ever, ever do that. I'd rather be in debt.
Thank you for the reassurance Canchaser. I just get nervous. What are you planning to do once you graduate? How do you feel about your debt?
The only real "unnecessary expense" that I have is my chronically ill pet. We rescued her when she was older, and should have never taken her on, but she is part of my life now and I adore her. However she has a chronic, progressive illness that we discovered after rescuing her, the vet bills are expensive but I can't help but feel I have a sense of responsibility for her and don't want to just abandon her. However her lifespan is projected to be shortened by this illness.
Are there any programs in your state that can help you cover your vet expenses? It may be worth looking into.
As for your debt, you are not the only one - just get on a plan and stick to it and try to get it paid down as soon as possible. With some commitment and discipline, you can do it!
I've told my story on here before, but it has been on my mind again now that I'm sorting through my last year of financial aid paperwork.
I entered college when I was 17. I should have never been allowed to make such big decisions for myself at that age because I was vastly immature and did not have very good foresight. I thought I wanted to be a doctor, and decided to go to an expensive private school because my friend was going to it, and because I figured that after becoming a doctor the debt wouldn't really be a big issue.
Little did I know that the lifestyle of a doctor wasn't for me. I was able to get the grades and nearly finish my first degree in a hard science before I decided that I'd rather be a nurse.
Long story short I will be about $60-70k in debt by the time I finish. I tallied the numbers up last summer but I'm too afraid to look at it now. About $30-40k of that is in private loans and the rest are in government loans. This is just for tuition. I never studied abroad, lived the high life, etc.
I know I am stupid, and I readily admit to making this bad decision. It was entirely my choice, I was warned, and it is my fault. I accept this, and I am looking forward to how to handle this amount of debt and pay it off. I want to repay every cent. Right now, I have about $8k in savings and am hoping to retain this until I graduate next May. Hopefully this money will carry me through until I obtain a job.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this situation, or has any advice for me, or what my life will be like. Starting wages for nurses in our area is about $35k a year. I can survive on about $5k a year. Do you think if I work a few years, live in poverty, and take a bit dent out of this debt, I will be able to lead a fairly normal life afterwards?
I think you are probably underestimating how much money you will need to live on after you graduate. $5k is practically nothing- are you planning to live at home rent free? Will you need a car (insurance, maintenance, gas)? What will your monthly loan payments be? Utilities, food, etc?
I had a lot of debt from my first degree that I took my sweet time getting and took out another $27k for my accelerated nursing program. The loan repayments are no picnic, but are manageable on my income as a nurse. Would I have more money for savings and other large expense goals if I had no debt payments? Of course. Would I advise someone to take the financial path I took? No, probably not. But am I managing? Yes.
Don't beat yourself up- what's done is done and if you ever have kids you can help them make better decisions when they get to that stage. In the meantime, work out a budget and a realistic, sustainable repayment plan and stick to it.
I don't have any technology, not even a smart phone. I have a 5 year old laptop and a $20 phone and that's it, not even a television :) I don't believe I have a right to own a television or fancy gadgets because of this debt. I really do need to start budgeting, though, and will look for spreadsheets on the web. I do go out too much, and we have a chronically ill pet, but I'm a little nervous/embarassed to see where my money is going.
Check out Mint.com... once you learn to use it it's really helpful for tracking where your money goes without having to type it up yourself in a spreadsheet. I've used both methods, Mint is definitely easier. Don't beat yourself up about the debt, it happens :) you will get through it I promise!
Assuming GW is GWU in DC, it is funny because it seems to have one of the cheapest private school tuitions for second degree nursing that I've seen. They do advertise a $40k/year undergrad tuition though so not sure why their nursing school is so 'cheap'. Georgetown being the most expensive in my immediate area. Also, I liked up NYU and they are $20k/year (unless I'm missing something.
Anyway, when I went to undergrad initially, I attended a private college that was $20k/year. I went there for 2 years. My parents didn't pay for any of my tuition. I left that school with $1k in student loans as they were very generous with grants/scholarships. Also, other than a 10 hour week/6 month long work/study job I had, I didn't work while at the private school. I then switched to a public school that was $6k/year and attended for 3 years. I left with $11k in loans and I (on my own) found a grant that covered my tuition costs but the school itself didn't offer up any grants/scholarships. Also at the public school, I had to work to cover my expenses as well so I worked 20 hours/week during the school year and 40 hours/week during breaks/summer.
It was quite amazing to see how much money a private school can offer you as a student although granted the one I went to was fairly small but for the public school, student loans seemed to be the default financial aid unless you found something on your own. So I think people should apply to expensive, private schools and see what happens, you never know. It may turn out to be cheaper than a state school.
And for those that do get stuck with loans, I think there is a lot of good advice in this thread. Make a plan, make a budget and stick to it. I'm sort of pre-loaning to myself right now. I'm living on a fairly strict budget to save up for nursing school. $60k or more may seem like a lot but with steady payments, you can chip away at it.
Grants and scholarships are great however many students do not qualify for that. My sister went to Cornell got almost a full paying scholarship and graduated with her bachelors and masters in 4 years of college education instead of 6. She got married in college and now has 2 children and is lucky enough to never have worked and never plans on doing it- I wish I could transfer her degree to me that would be great!
I did not qualify for financial aid because I was not 24 and my parents made to much money. I also did not get any scholarships. I did not take out any loans. I went to nursing school fulltime while working 40hrs/week to pay for it (which was horribly difficult, and I graduated with the second highest GPA- Salutatorian of my class, when I look back at it I still can not believe I made it through). Undergrad at NYU is $20,000 a semester in the majority of the majors : http://www.nyu.edu/bursar/tuition.fees/rates11/ugstern.html I do not know if that includes dorming I would not be surprised if it didn't.
Nursetastic
259 Posts
Have you consolidated? I have $26,000 in loans, government and private. I just consolidated my government loans and cut my payments in half. We still pay what we were paying before, but this gives us some leeway if we have any emergencies and need extra cash. Hopefully, that never happens. But if it does, we shouldn't have to dip into savings; we can just make a "regular" payment in a pinch.
Here is a link: https://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/AppEntry/apply-online/appindex.jsp