How can you afford BSN program and housing?

mysticpenguin · Jul 27, 2010

You can take out student loans to cover living expenses while you finish school. In my mind, it's worth it because if you drop out of school to pay your bills, you're just going to get stuck -- that's what happened to me and it took me a few years to get back to school.

My husband pays our rent and electricity right now, thank God, because I'm just working as a waitress, but if I absolutely had to pay half of rent, I could. I just wouldn't be able to save a single dime. So I guess maybe get a roommate to split the bills with, at the expense of probably not being able to save much money?

Please please please do not join the military just for the education benefits. My husband is an airman and he absolutely hates it, and so does everyone else here. It literally controls every aspect of your life: two days ago he had to go to the E.R. because he's been extremely ill, and the doc on base called his leadership to notify them, and they showed up at the apartment (very uninvited) and followed us all the way to the E.R. and then sat in the waiting room to get a chance to talk to him. This was all on a day he was supposed to have off. He can also get called in at literally any hour of the day or night, he HAS to answer his phone, he HAS to show up, and he can wind up not being able to come home for 24+ hours. Not worth it. There's a reason they have to offer all those great perks... if they didn't, NO ONE would do it!

happy2learn · Jul 27, 2010

If you don't have kids, is there a way you can work full time and go to school full time? My hubby did that for 2 years.

Also, you may need to look into shared housing sponsored by the school. The university by me has apartments that students share, somewhat like a dorm, but larger, and not directly on campus.

puravidaLV · Jul 27, 2010

Find a house with 15 students living in it and pay 50$/mo for rent. I did that with my first college degree. I had another friend who bought a camper van and used the schools gym for showering. Its ghetto as it gets, but when comparing a 2500 van down by the river to 6k rent and utilities...you do what you have to do

girtenbt · Jul 27, 2010

cingham> The problem is with 15 roomates im afraid I won't be able to study with 15 people always coming and going. Maybe if I can find my roomates that are as studious as me and I can have my own room to study in it can work though...... The camper van may be an option also .... Thanks for the input.

puravidaLV · Jul 27, 2010

yea trust me it sucked, but since the whole house was a bunch of architects and engeineering majors there wasn't much disrespect towards anyone when it came to studying. I was the only business major and a majority of the time we were at the medical library which was the only 24hr completely quite library. 14 week semesters felt like a life time.

Guest 360983 · Jul 27, 2010

cingham> The problem is with 15 roomates im afraid I won't be able to study with 15 people always coming and going.

You need to determine what you're willing to sacrifice. If you're going to school in the city, are you willing to move to the suburbs for cheaper housing? Are you willing to sacrifice location and some of your peace of mind and live in a scarier part of town? Are you willing to have roommates and sacrifice privacy? Are you willing to work extra and sacrifice free time? Are you willing to take out extra loans and sacrifice future money for loan payments? Are you willing to sacrifice time as a nurse and go to school part time or even put it on hold for a few years while you save money?

Figure out what you MUST have and what you CANNOT live without. It'll be much easier to figure out what solutions work for you once you do that.

cnmbfa · Jul 28, 2010

If the only option is to live with a bunch of people, you can always study in the library or at Starbucks.

Look for a retiree or empty nester who has a spare room and may need extra $$, or a family with an extra room who might trade it for a set number of hours of babysitting. Not easy, but my be less crazy than 15 roommates; some of us can do anything if we know it's short term. Ask for one refrigerator shel for your stuff, and buy smaller amounts of food more often, or buy things like cereal, PB & J, fruit, etc. that you can keep in your room.

Safe place to post a (free or cheap) room wanted ad would be in a church or synagogue bulletin.

Does your school have housing board? Look there as well.

coast2coast · Jul 28, 2010

My question is does anyone know of any other ways I can pay for my housing and schooling such as grants scholarships or anything at all that I may be eligible for being a full time nursing student in a BSN program. (I already have my FAFSA award so that is not an option)

FAFSA may be more flexible than you think. Have you gone through your school's "estimated cost of attendance" with a fine tooth comb? Mine majorly underestimated cost of living, rent, and fees. I wrote a formal letter of appeal with lots of documentation, and got my cost of attendance upped to include the REAL price of rent, student health insurance, and lab fees. It added up to nearly $10k, which in turn upped my stafford and PLUS loans enough to cover housing for the year. If you can get the estimated cost of attendance increased, you might be able to squeeze a bit more out of your federal loan package.

heartnursing · Jul 28, 2010

Hi, I'm a BSN student who is struggling to pay for school and living expenses. I dont really have anyone I can stay with so I have to find a way to pay for my own place. I've tried HUd but they have a waiting list that has been closed because it is so long. I could drop to part time and work more hours but everyone seems to think that would be a bad idea with the way the program is structered.The Only other thing I can think of is joining the military but that is a very large commitment for many years.
My question is does anyone know of any other ways I can pay for my housing and schooling such as grants scholarships or anything at all that I may be eligible for being a full time nursing student in a BSN program. (I already have my FAFSA award so that is not an option)

Get a job and get student loans... no other way

bhanson · Jul 28, 2010

It's already been covered briefly, but cutting your living expenses can make a huge difference. It might not be pleasant, but if sacrificing a little lifestyle gets you through college then in my eyes it's worth it.

As covered above, you need to cut your housing costs. I don't even know how much you're paying, but I bet it's too much. This is usually the largest expense in your cost of living. Theres a student at Duke University graduate school that lives in a van so that he can afford tuition.

The Spartan Student

I'm sure your University has good student resources--make use of them, you don't necessarily need to study at home.

You can also cut your food costs. The general guideline for a single person with no kids is that you can eat healthy on $100/month. This means almost completely eliminating eating out and carrying a bottle of water.

Get rid of your car, you don't need it. Walk, ride a bike, or use public transportation and this will make a surprising difference. Total how much you spend on insurance, gas, and maintenance and multiply that by your 4 years in college. Now times that by 1.5 and that's how much you're actually going to pay in student loans just to have a car that you don't need. This is assuming your car is paid off, if you have a car payment then you absolutely need to get rid of the darn thing.

This is of course, in addition to the standard advice: Turn on a fan and turn off the AC. Get rid of cable and any other reoccurring non-necessities. Be intelligent about buying your books.

I don't know your exact situation, but I bet at least something above is applicable.