Financial aid for Excelsior students

Nursing Students Online Learning

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Will apologize in advance for the length of this thread so here goes.........

I am an LVN in Texas currently working in the Resource unit of the best hospital in town and my passion has always been Oncology but they only staff RN's so I could only work when they needed help from the Resource unit, well with much appreciated help from all the RN's on the unit they persuaded the Director to allow me to work on the unit while I was trying to get my ADN. The waiting list at the 2 colleges here are so far behind that the hospital chose 3 of us (LVN's) to be a "pilot program" and the hospital would get us in the Excelsior Program starting in January with full hospital tuition reimbursement without commitment contracts and at the end, we (the 3 of us) will decide if/what commitment should be made to the hospital, and we would serve on the advancement committee to screen and interview the future LVN advancements (assuming we were able to do a good enough job at this to keep this program going). Anyway.... in leaving the Resource unit I will be taking an $8.84/hr paycut and while I can handle that loss of money and will not be paying for any of my schooling, tests, flights/hotel to do clinicals, I am wondering if there is financial aid from the state or federal government for this, I realize I'm getting an easy ride from the hospital but I can't help but feel the state should assist me as well since I am a single parent and taking such a pay cut. Any ideas? Once again I am sorry for this being so long, just want to make sure that I get all the info accurate before I submit and have to backtrack to answer any questions. Thank you so much for any help.

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I'm not sure if I am much help but I do know that Excelsior has several financial aid options. All of them seem to be personal loans that need paid back - but I think you can use that money for personal expenses too. They also have alot of schlorships available. . .all the info is located on their website.

I have also heard people say that the particular state they live in offers assistance to those going into nursing. The state I live in doesn't, but I have heard others do. Maybe do some research.

Good luck! Sounds like an interesting program!!!

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I looked into getting financial aid for Excelsior and found out that since they are not Title IV registered, students cannot apply for fiancial aid through the government. The only financial aid that Excelsior offers is through scholarships and private loans.

The program has been expensive, I have been paying my way as I go and thankfully I am almost done. Sounds like you've got a good opportunity at your hospital. I wish I was so lucky.

Let me know if you have any questions about the program. I will be happy to help!

Jen

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Thank you for your replies, yes I do feel like I have a wonderful oppurtunity with this, I have so many questions about the program but don't know where to start. But you'll definately be one of the first to know when they come up. Thanks again for your response.

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Hi, Third.... Where's Podunk? (PM me--we might be "neighbors" and can help each other out.)

I haven't found EC to be all that expensive, actually. Tuition is only $825 for the year--unlike another school where they pay $425 per CREDIT. You don't go anywhere for clinicals, EC considers that since you have your LVN, you know your clinical stuff. There is the CPNE but that isn't til the end, and it sounds like your hospital is paying for that....

I would see what the hospital is willing to put out for other expenses..... But if the hospital is paying your tuition, maybe they will pay the $155 per exam as well.

And you can get used study guides on some of the Yahoo sites and on ebay for about 20 cents on the dollar....

And if you live near me, I've got some stuff I can share....

It does sound like you lucked into a really good deal... good for you!

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Originally posted by chris_at_lucas

Hi, Third.... Where's Podunk? (PM me--we might be "neighbors" and can help each other out.)

I haven't found EC to be all that expensive, actually. Tuition is only $825 for the year--unlike another school where they pay $425 per CREDIT. You don't go anywhere for clinicals, EC considers that since you have your LVN, you know your clinical stuff. There is the CPNE but that isn't til the end, and it sounds like your hospital is paying for that....

I would see what the hospital is willing to put out for other expenses..... But if the hospital is paying your tuition, maybe they will pay the $155 per exam as well.

And you can get used study guides on some of the Yahoo sites and on ebay for about 20 cents on the dollar....

And if you live near me, I've got some stuff I can share....

It does sound like you lucked into a really good deal... good for you!

Actually it is less than that. That is just the initial year I am in the BSN so the tuition is higher but I am only paying slightly over $400 for annual fees.

And if you consider the number of credits for the CPNE it is not that much

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Specializes in Child/Adolescent Mental Health.
I haven't found EC to be all that expensive, actually. Tuition is only $825 for the year--unlike another school where they pay $425 per CREDIT.

This is so true. EC is a bargain compared to some other schools. The program is even cheaper than my local college.

mona

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