Going to CRNA school and surviving financially?

allnurses Guide · Dec 7, 2011

The first thing to do is reduce your debt to as minimal as possible. Get rid of your car note if possible, credit card debt, anything you can, and then save what you can. After that most people just use student loans, or you can look into IHS, HPSP etc. if that doesn't look it will be enough.

jbomar · Dec 8, 2011

Hi everyone,
I am Trying to work out a game plan for anesthesia school and would like input from all of you. I am currently working full time as a travel nurse working in ICU's and will be done with my online BSN program in feb and looking to start CRNA school in the next couple years. my question is how should I go about financially supporting myself while in anesthesia school? Should I save a bunch of money or just take out alot of loans? The problem is I will be going about this all by myself with no financial support from anyone else. I work as a travel nurse but I am thinking of taking a permanent position because I have so much debt and traveling is costing me more than I am gaining. Any help would be apprecaited, thank you!!!

Hey there, fellow traveler. I'm starting my CRNA program in January. I started traveling this year after I found out I was accepted just to scratch the itch of travel nursing. It's only my opinion, but I think that it would be more manageable to get into school while working full time. This would get you better rec letters and its been my experience that I'm not challenged clinically as a traveler only getting the turn water feed trach and peg patients.

As far as debt goes, dude dump it! I spent a year and a half paying off all my undergrad debt and it was the best thing I've ever done. And yes, travel nursing doesn't pay as much as I thought. I would have made more money working full time and PRN at a second job at twice the rate and just staying put.

I am pursuing the HSPS scholarship to pay for CRNA school. In 31 months that would make me debt free (no student loans, no credit cards, no car payment) with 10-20K in the bank starting a career in anesthesia for the AF. Really hoping to be selected. Oh...and if you marry a nurse it helps with the cash flow too. :)

MeTheRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 17, 2012

Although I agree with everyone's advice to reduce your debt, I would urge you not to prolong going to CRNA school if you can. You'll make much more money as a CRNA and can pay off your debt faster than as an RN. If you spent the next two years paying off your debt, you could take home $100+K with a traveler's salary. As a CRNA, you would take home $300K in the same amount of time.

The more you save, the less you'll have to borrow and the lower your overall student loan debt will be. It's really important to find a school that has a realistic cost of attendance. For example, the program I'm in has an estimated cost of attendance of $65K per year. This means you can borrow up to this amount from federal student loan programs (which have a fixed interest rate). This leaves me with approximately $3000 a month to live off of. I'll graduate with roughly $130k in loans plus interest, but I have a financial plan to pay it off within 5 years of graduating because I'm pretty cheap.

All in all, don't put it off if you can.

hhamilton12 · Jan 24, 2012

the program you're in has an estimated cost of attendance of $65K per year. This means you can borrow up to this amount from federal student loan programs you said. What about the next year can you borrow for that too? im a nursing student next year.

MeTheRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 24, 2012

Yes, just re-do your FAFSA and fill out the requests for the exact same loans. There are rules regarding your financial aid eligibility though. For example, my school requires mandatory attendance and will actually dock your fin aid if you are absent. You lose your financial aid if you're gone for a semester (leave of absence) or if you get a "C" in a class, so it all depends on the program.

MistyDawnRN06, BSN, RN · Jan 25, 2012

I spent 1 1/2 years paying off all my debt and accumulating savings before I began CRNA school, and boy am I glad I did! Paying off your debt helps get your credit in good standing, which helps get you the best rates on loans. I would also recommend having some savings before entering CRNA school to give yourself a cushion. Plus, I ended up finding living on a shoe-string budget before school to get my debt paid off and have some savings tucked away prepared me better for budgeting while living on loans.

I am going through school entirely on loans with no assistance from anyone. I can tell you that the financial aid is SLIM. They aren't exactly realistic, IMHO, about living expenses in a large city setting. I'm thankful I paid off my car and had no revolving debt, because the amount of financial aid I was awarded for living expenses certainly would not allow me to make car payments or credit card payments. As my program credit hours decrease in semesters to come (yet my clinical hours continue to increase....) I will be awarded less money. At that point, I am going to have to supplement my financial aid loans. When you need supplementation because you've used all your federal aid, you either dip into your savings cushion, or you are forced to take out private loans at higher interest rates. I'm finding that you absolutely CANNOT work while in CRNA school.

Also, financial aid does not account for life's small emergencies such as a sick pet or kid, car repairs, or an illness. My program doesn't technically require health insurance, so I can't get financial aid to help cover that expense, so it has to come out of pocket. The little inanities of life still occur even when you are on a tight budget!!

Oh, and P.S., at every interview I attended, they asked me what my financial plan was to pay for school. I'm glad I did my homework because I was able to have a realistic answer to that question. I was able to answer that while I would have to depend on loans for school, I understood the discipline and maturity required to pay off a sizable amount of debt as I had already demonstrated prior to entering my CRNA program.

MistyDawnRN06, BSN, RN · Jan 25, 2012

Oh, and I would recommend establishing residency where you want to go to school. The people paying out-of-state tuition are really up a creek where financial aid is concerned..... I'm also thankful my program is a state school and that I'm not trying to fund private tuition.