CRNA School Costs

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · May 28, 2010

A lot.

TraumaJunkieRN · May 28, 2010

Here are the tuition figures for Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California:

2010-2011 Tuition and Fees | Samuel Merritt University

Here is a flyer I got from one of the informational meetings

CrazierThanYou · May 28, 2010

Um. That is totally going to depend on the school you go to, the area you live in, etc.

But, I'll agree with the last poster: A lot.

AltruisticRN · May 28, 2010

Hey I'm going to a pretty expensive school here but tuition is going to cost me around $60,000-$70,000 I believe for the 28 month 40 credit hour program. Books and supplies I'm guessing to be around $1,550. I am fortunate enough to live in a cheap apartment that costs only $400/mo in rent with gas and electric around 30-100 each a month depending on the time of year. Cable and internet $100/mo. I'm going to try and defer my undergrad student loans but if I can't that's another $300/mo. My car payment is $315/mo. cell phone $50/mo. Food $100-150/mo. Biyearly and yearly expenses are renter's insurance $110/yr. Car insurance $500/q6mo. There are some other expenses I'm not including here but need to think of such as renewing my RN license, car maintenance and gas, and some others. Hope this gives you a good idea. My health insurance is covered by the clinical site I chose but no dental or vision plan. Oh yeah, I'm single with no dependents so I have no help here it's all on me.

versed88 · Jun 8, 2010

I finished two years ago and borrowed just for my tuition which was $50,000. I probably spent another $60K over 3 years on everything else. And that was living cheap.

NurseAMK · May 13, 2013

Whats a realistic amount that I will be in debt if my spouse or myself doesnt have a job while I attend school?

missnurse01, MSN, RN · May 13, 2013

I found you again! lol, I just commented on a different thread under you. If neither of you is working? Well it depends on your bills. I think many are coming out with more than 100G's if you do not have living expenses saved up. That is if you can find a loan in todays climate for living expenses. Often fed loans cover school, but not living.

detroitdano · May 14, 2013

Whats a realistic amount that I will be in debt if my spouse or myself doesnt have a job while I attend school?

An insane amount. Add up your monthly bills and estimate tuition for two years, add some extra (maybe $3000) for school books, tests, organizational fees, conference fees.

Another thing to consider is health/dental/vision. A lot of schools offer insurance, but it's not cheap, and not the best either.

You should really have one person working in a relationship during school. I can't fathom taking on the debt to support both my wife and myself. She's working while I'm in school and carries insurance.

missnurse01, MSN, RN · May 15, 2013

that's me. I was the sole incomer earner before, so we won't have anyone working while I am in school.

detroitdano · May 15, 2013

For those looking into COL loans, one thing to look into is Wells Fargo MEDCap loans. They are 7.29%, with no origination fees, and if you drop a few bucks into one of their savings accounts you can get the rate down to 6.79%. Grad PLUS loans are 7.9% with a 4% origination fee. MEDCap is score/credit, so the better your score, the better your chances of getting a loan. Grad PLUS is credit based, meaning you've never defaulted, had numerous late payments and have a credit history; if your score is 500 it doesn't matter, as long as you had no negatives on your history.

You also cannot borrow more than your school allows for COL. If your school says COL is $20,000/year and your tuition is $20,000/year, between Stafford and other loans you can never borrow more than $40,000/year. Some schools will let you do an adjustment form to take into consideration other things for your cost of living (daycare, for example), but I've never had to do that so I'm no pro on the matter. I'm sure the leniency varies from school to school.

People talk like loans don't exist. I know many people getting by on loans alone, they're out there, but don't get yourself in trouble with more than you can afford to pay back obviously.

missnurse01, MSN, RN · May 16, 2013

I was very excited about medcap, but was sadly denied! Even with a cosigner. I didn't think my credit was that bad, my score is almost 600. but that's what they said. so I am waiting for app period for grad plus to open up, altho it is not as good of a loan (origination points, interest rate). I suppose I should hunt around for other loan options, but I worry that if wells fargo wouldn't accept me, other institutions wouldn't either.