How to afford nursing school?

[importman]

Hello all,

Just looking for ideas as to how I can afford to quit my job and go to school for 2 years. I'm a 51 y/o male with a mortgage and bills. My wife works but she can't cover all the bills alone. I have applied for financial aid but haven't gotten any answers yet. As far as student loans, will they only loan for school expenses or can I borrow more to help pay my bills during this time? I plan to try to get an extern job after my first semester and that should help a little but I'm gonna need more than that to survive. Right now I'm taking the two pre-reqs that I needed and I have hopes of starting full time in January. Any ideas you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[A.Brook]

Hello importman, I am in a similar situation as you. I am taking pre-reqs right now and will be starting school next year. My plans are to take the CNA course and secure a job as a nurse assistant as soon as possible for the experience. I will also be working weekends at my current job (chef) until nursing school starts in June. You will get Pell Grant unless you have a Bachelor's degree, and they will give you student loans that will cover more than just tuition, books, and uniforms usually. (They did for my friends when I was at GSU). Hope this helps.

Andrew

[A.Brook]

I forgot...apply for as many scholarships as possible. We can even get some for the underrepresented gender and that type of thing. These scholarships are everywhere so just look around.

[Despareux]

You will only get a Pell Grant if you qualify. I have yet to qualify due to my husbands income, and we have three kids. I use all student loan money. This will be the first year that I take the maximum loan amount, in which, the excess refunded to me will be used for daycare expenses for our youngest child. So to answer your question: yes, you can take the maximum amount allowed and use the excess for living expenses, which really isn't much once classes, books, and supplies are paid for. And definitely apply for scholarships.

[Anne36, LPN]

herashais, Im in the same boat as you are. We have 4 children, I stay home full time but my husbands income has prevented me from getting any school money. We just pay the bills, living very modestly and cant afford anything for me to go to school. It makes me so mad that I get penalized for being married when I have no means of my own. Even if my husband was bringing in 80 grand a year, I still have no claim on his paycheck, I cant force him to give me money for school.

[Justanotherday]

My school has an evening/weekend nursing program. If there is something like that near you, perhaps you could continue working at least part time.

[Morgan0429]

Look at the hospitals in your area. I have a scholarship with a hospital in my area. It is a sweet deal! They pay for tuition, books, give a weekly $175 stipend, a job while in school ( PT 16hrs/wk to get benefits). The only thing is in return you have a 3 year work contract with them. I don't mind that part since it is hard for a lot of new grads to find jobs. Then on top of the scholarship, I take out federal loans to pay for bills. You don't want to worry about financial stresses while in nursing school....you will have other things to stress about :) Good luck!