Financing Nursing School - Not Sure What To Do

TeaPlease · Nov 5, 2016

The opportunity to attend nursing school will exist next year, and even later.

Put yourself on the Budget From Hell. Save half of anything you can and put it in the nursing school piggy bank. Put the other half towards paying down your current loans. Did you know that your student loan payment is primarily devoted to paying the monthly accumulated interest? If you make a second payment right after the monthly due date most of the second payment will be devoted to paying off principle.

If for some reason your desire to go to nursing school vanishes, you'll have (hopefully) a decent nest egg to devote to things like emergency expenditures or retirement. Best of luck!

FutureNurseInfo · Nov 5, 2016

Considering how much a nursing school program will cost, saving money for it will take years, at least in the cities like NYC. I have been a teacher for 5 years and was only able to save a dime, considering I have had to pay other bills light sky-high rent, utilities, cell, transportation, and of course, food and clothing.

Ellie G · Nov 5, 2016

So many of my co-workers have to work two jobs or tons of OT to pay their student loans. They wanted to become RN's to have a career and make more money for their families and after graduation work so many hours that they effectively remove themselves from a work/play balance. People who graduated 10 or 15 years ago are still paying loans off. If you already owe $65k, in my opinion you need to consider carefully how much debt you are willing to accumulate and how long it will take you to pay off. Think of how much you'll be paying each month. Can you do that on one paycheck?

caliotter3 · Nov 5, 2016

How do you know the nurse corps will even pay, and all of your debt?

I applied to every scholarship, grant, financial aid program I could find out about. It was a good thing that I did not count on any of this coming through, because none of it did. I ended up doing what many do. I worked full time at one job and as much part time as I could muster up. I would suggest you get as much of your finances together in about a year's time as possible, and establish yourself in a job that you rely upon to fund your way through school. If you are lucky, you will impress them in school so that you win a scholarship or two to help out, but don't count on it.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2016

You may have to go into some more debt. I am not sure if there is a way to do this right without going into debt. Most places are requiring nurses to get their BSNs and the places aren't always willing to pay the full cost. I went to a community college and am glad I did.

Buyer beware, BSN · Nov 9, 2016

Rock,

You are taking risks here that are stacked agaist you.

You are not the first person to use the nurse corps plan as a reason to take on bone crushing debt.

Since everyone has the same idea you've got to know there's an extremely limited amont of slots.

Before you take on this kind of debt you have to know in advance it's a done deal and I don't believe it works that way.

You need to find a way to go to school without debt that will ruin your life going forward.

I'll put it this way: if you indebt yourself to your eyeballs, even if you become a nurse, you will spend the greater part of the rest of your life servicing that huge and expensive loan.

You will have gotten a BSN but your salary will go to Wall Street and you'll be left with essentially a minimum wage job; but as a nurse.

That's frightening!!!

Don't box yourself in by telling yourself "nurse or nothing."

If you continue with that mindset you will literally end up with nothing.

This is called debt peonage and like Steve Brodie, people have jumped off the Brooklyn bridge over that one.

There are just so many things to do in life and being a slave to the money lenders shouldn't be one of them.

FutureNurseInfo · Nov 9, 2016

After having earned two college degrees and, of course, gaining quite a loan debt, I am going back to school and will ONLY proceed, if accepted, if I will be deemed eligible to receive a grant or a scholarship.

rock hopper · Nov 10, 2016

I think you are right, Buyer Beware.

I just am at a point where I will have to wait an entire year (until i'm almost 28) just to gain admission to a 2 year ADN program. So i'd be 30 by the time I got out of that with probably still around 60k of loans to pay off. I'm just overwhelmed. I guess I thought I could work my way through the massive debt i'd have because at least i'd have a BSN and could work anywhere. At least I could start chipping away at that debt, even if it was around 100-120k. At this point i'm seeing that it's not going to be worth it because there's a good shot I wouldn't get nurse corps loan forgiveness, which is just reality but it sucks..

Honestly, I don't know what else I could do in life that would provide decent (50-60k) income to live on and that I would actually enjoy. I love to teach, but it'd take me just as long to pay off 60k on a teachers salary than 100k on a nurses salary--maybe 20 or 30 YEARS.

I'm sure there are countless people in this scenario and worse, so i'm not going to make it a pity party...but...woah..student loans..ouch...

Ellie G · Nov 10, 2016

I think you are right, Buyer Beware.
I just am at a point where I will have to wait an entire year (until i'm almost 28) just to gain admission to a 2 year ADN program. So i'd be 30 by the time I got out of that with probably still around 60k of loans to pay off. I'm just overwhelmed. I guess I thought I could work my way through the massive debt i'd have because at least i'd have a BSN and could work anywhere. At least I could start chipping away at that debt, even if it was around 100-120k. At this point i'm seeing that it's not going to be worth it because there's a good shot I wouldn't get nurse corps loan forgiveness, which is just reality but it sucks..
Honestly, I don't know what else I could do in life that would provide decent (50-60k) income to live on and that I would actually enjoy. I love to teach, but it'd take me just as long to pay off 60k on a teachers salary than 100k on a nurses salary--maybe 20 or 30 YEARS.
I'm sure there are countless people in this scenario and worse, so i'm not going to make it a pity party...but...woah..student loans..ouch...

It's not for everyone but have you thought about the military? That's how my BSN was paid for. There is also the Public Health Service.

rock hopper · Nov 10, 2016

I'm not sure about the military, wouldn't that require the typical 4 years of active duty? Not bashing the military, I am very thankful for those who are apart of it..I just don't know if it would work out for me.

On the topic of the Public Health Service--isn't that more or less the same thing as NURSE Corps? I thought I had really found something good with these rural health loan repayment programs but from the responses i've gotten, it seems like a shot in the dark at best to rely on these, so I feel like i'm back to square one.

rock hopper · Nov 10, 2016

Actually, now that i'm looking into it..maybe the military would be a great thing. My biggest hurdle (and it has been with the military since i was younger) was that Ive had a couple of back surgeries, so I always figured I would be ineligible. I guess Army ROTC would be the way to go, but i'd eventually be deployed as a medic after school for a few years (or more)?

Buyer beware, BSN · Nov 11, 2016

I've already been accepted to a few schools and have an interview at another for 2017 start, but the prices are really making me rethink things. All of my local CC's are insanely competitive and packed, even for someone with a college degree--I was rejected to two of them.
My biggest issue lies with my debt. I have 65k in debt already and am looking at schools that would add another 40-60k on top of that. Now that's a ton of debt, but my plan was to go through the nurse corps loan repayment program and work in a rural area for 3-4 years to pay off nursing school loans while working to pay off the rest of my 65k in undergrad loans in the same time period. Is this a viable plan, or do these "programs" really not amount to much?
Honestly, i feel as though waiting another year or two to try to get into CC just because of the price will be a waste of time. I'll eventually need my BSN if I want to be a nurse practitioner. I could just say "screw it" with the nursing career to save a mountain of debt and work some dead end business job and start paying off my loans from undergrad, but i'd be putting off what i've put in so much work to do.
Thoughts?

Rock, I've got to hand it to you. You're on a suicide mission and you won't be dissuaded.

"Waiting another year or two to get into a CC" is not a waste of time.

Take the prerequisites while your making plans. (remember this is a life plan)

As far as the NP thing is concerned, that's not going away. There will always be opportunities there.

You speak of dead end jobs outside nursing as being a drag. Don't kid yourself, lots of RNs who feel that way also.

Another observation: the reason why CCs are so competitive is that the people who had a plan and patience got in and are now saving themselves from debt peonage.

Don't be a dummie. Do the same.

Plan: prerequisites CC > obtain ADRN> seek job (see if you even like nursing) and then BSN on the job's dime. It's called the tuition reimbursement benefit.

ADs do 99% of what BSNs do. So the exalted BSN, most often is of negligible value.

After you put in the time and work, having saved money and gained experience, you might then think about becoming a NP.

If you do it this way, you have a chance. If you think there is a fast tract to reaching your goals you are, pardon my harsh words, on a financial hayride to hell, just like so many others before you. ( but at least you'll have lots of company because misery does love company)