Duke ABSN Spring 2015

running05 · Jul 14, 2014

Thanks for the heads up. I have to assume that every decision they post this week will be those either rejected or wait listed since they emailed the acceptances last Friday. Bummer.

anixon · Jul 14, 2014

Hi All...sorry I have been MIA. Was just waiting. I got waitlisted :banghead:

homelife · Jul 14, 2014

Hi All...sorry I have been MIA. Was just waiting. I got waitlisted

Your chances of moving from waitlist to acceptance are pretty high, though! SOOO many people from the last cohort rejected their offers because of the expense of it, finding other (cheaper) programs, etc. You should be proud of yourself for getting this far and I have my fingers crossed for you! Woot.

This is what my portal now looks like.

We have until August 10 to accept/decline our offers and to pay the $500 deposit fee.

My mind is pretty much made up but as I await my financial aid award letter I'm researching private lenders. Discover and Wells Fargo have specific ones for health professionals that I am strongly looking into.

running05 · Jul 14, 2014

Anixon, was your portal updated? Mine still says decision not ready. I have reached out to Nora but nothing back yet. Still waiting, fun fun.

vbee · Jul 14, 2014

Anixon, I am also waitlisted. I'm lighting some candles and crossing my fingers and toes! Hope we get in soon. :)

running05 · Jul 14, 2014

Vbee, did you call/email in or did your portal update?

running05 · Jul 14, 2014

Nevermind, anxion and vbee. I needed to log out and log back in to see the decision. Looks like I am wait listed with you both, good luck!

vbee · Jul 14, 2014

Yay! Glad you heard from them, running05! Good luck to you, too!

anixon · Jul 15, 2014

Good! That's great Running05! Glad you got your answer. So.. Since I am wait listed I decided to see if I could get loan approval just in case. I went through Wells Fargo and I got approved with a consigner. I am happy about that. I will sign the final documents if I get in.

Ladeebugchick · Jul 16, 2014

Does anyone know the ins and outs of private loans? With federal loans, your payment can't be more than 10% of your gross income etc. I pretty much know what my aid package will be ($6,250 in federal loans and the $4000 credit for having a low efc) but I am wondering if I should even pursue private loans. I would have to ask my dad to cosign because of my credit. If I have a federal loan at 10% and a private loan on top of that with no limit on payment amounts, it would be impossible to pay back on an RN salary. My dad will say yes if he is assured I can afford the combined payments, but I can't put him on the hook for a huge sum of money and find out my payments in combination will be $1000 a month, know what I mean? If I don't have a solid case to plead, he'll likely say no and I am quite nervous to even ask him. Plus I am already 90% sure I want to pursue grad school so there would be even more debt. I'm sure some of this will be answered at Duke Days, for now I need to just chill and enjoy this!

homelife · Jul 16, 2014

I'm just as much a newbie with you when it comes to private loans but I would assume that there is an addendum to them just as there is with federal loans that your payments will be calculated based on your income. Also, I would say that the Discover, PNC, or Wells Fargo loans might be the best bet because they have ones geared toward medical professionals. They know we will be accruing a lot of debt, they will allow us to take it out, and I would not be surprised as well if there were caps on payments based on income because we are of the medical profession. I'm going to look into those aforementioned loans in the next few days with my mom and then perhaps contact those specific banks to see if someone in person at a branch has knowledge or expertise on those loans to be able to outline it for me and tell me what a monthly payment would look like upon graduation. Please share any and all info you come across! I will do the same.

Duke wasn't my top choice before but now it is, and I am determined to make this work! I'm bracing myself full and well to get myself into a financial hole. I also have plans of becoming a FNP buuuutt I figure after graduation I will work the required few years, pay off most of my Duke ABSN debt and then accrue some more while I pursue my FNP.

Also important to note... Duke mentioned a Loan foregiveness scholarship through CFNC. We won't be able to apply for it until spring 2015 since the deadline was this past April but Duke highly recommended it; you just have to work in the state of NC in an under served area for x amount of time. Doesn't sound too binding but then, I haven't heard from people who have done it.

homelife · Jul 17, 2014

Guys, for those who were accepted and/or waitlisted - check your application portal. My financial aid award letter is available! Looks like I won't be dreading private loans as much as I'd thought!

Here's something helpful (from the Webinar) to keep in consideration when viewing your award letter:

So, estimated cost of entire program = AT MOST $111,686. This number can be reduced by cutting transportation, food, housing costs. Anybody hear anything about the curriculum changes? I am excited to learn about them!