F/T nursing school/program & NO work

[Di Deanna]

i have no idea how to title this thread, so if any of you have better suggestions, please let me know.

q:

for those of you who attended nursing school full-time, and did not work, how were you able to survive or make it financially as far as your income went? how long was your program & how did you possibly pay your bills?

i'm not worried about tuition...i'm terrified about having an income while going to nursing school full-time. i know that you *can* possibly work, but i don't want to just "barely get by" and be so stressed out that i am burnt and not really absorbing nursing as a whole.

i hear people saying that they have gotten loans etc. however, my credit is awful due to a terrible ex-boyfriend. ugh. i would need a supplemental income of $1,000 (absolute maximum) per month..for up to 30 months (to finish adn). so basically, i would need $30,000. i would barely scratch by..but it would definitely be possible.

i'm wondering if i apply for financial aid, and my program tuition is paid for, if i would be able to take out a seperate loan to cover the cost of living. i am soooooooo stressed out about this. if i were majoring in something else, i might not be..but this is nursing...it's no joke. :uhoh21:

[rosered]

I attended nursing school at my local community college. The tuition was waaay cheaper, plus I had full pell grants and scholarships. I was also living at home with my parents. (the school was only 10 minutes away)

To offer advice from my expereince, I don't know what you're family situation is, but if you're single, try looking for someone to room with while you go to school, I know giving up apartments and houses is losing some independance, but I was at school all weekdays and had hours of studying on the weekends, I had NO time to work enough to support myself.

If you're married or have kids or significant others, or both--this gets a bit tricky, but perhaps try and find a relative who could help you out finically, or room with.

Another big tip, is go to classes at a local community college. They teach the same accredited courses and you don't have to pay a ridicilous amount for tuition, plus take out student loans. They lend out up to 20.000 a year (make sure you find a good lender, especially now in this trying economy, a lot of them have gone under) They issue what's left of the check to you after tuition is covered, and there are no stipulations on how you spend it, so after your books and school supplies are covered, use the rest for food and rent and bills. You are defered from paying back on the loan until after you graduate, and you have a total of 10 years to return the money--but make sure you don't take out too much, budget what you need, i.e. rent money, car, food, etc. you'll be charged interest and 10 years can add up, so spend smart. Also look up educational grants, those you don't have to pay back, after tution and school things are covered the rest can be yours for living expenses.

I leave by saying good luck,

as a former nursing school student wh's been there and done that, I can say it's worth it.

[anonymurse]

I worked F/T as an aide while going to nursing school F/T and I can say it was fantastic just from the standpoint of getting comfortable working with patients, getting comfortable with the hospital environment and policies etc., and for all the practical knowledge the nurses imparted to me, including hands-on experiences I didn't have the chance to get in school. And from the money standpoint, DON'T OWE ANYONE MONEY IF YOU CAN HUMANLY HELP IT.

[melmarie23, MSN, RN]

I was able to quit my job to go back to school full time. My husband works and luckily his salary is enough for the two of us. We seem to be doing just fine,

I absolutely think you should apply for financial aid. You should qualify for federal loans, and no, they dont look at your credit score, so no need to worry about that one. They are needs based, so they look at your income and seeing as you dont have one, you would absolutely qualify.

Federal Stafford loans have been my godsend. Fill out the FAFSA and best of luck to you!

http://www.fafsa.com