How in debt were you after Nursing school?

[lilwonder]

I'm trying to figure out how much debt I'll accumulate after completing my BSN. If my calculations are right it will be somewhere round $51 000 ! :/ How in debt were you?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Not a damn dime. But that was a long time ago and I worked 24hr/week and every vaca day, too.

[ChrisMarie09]

I'll have $27,500. My goal will be to pay that off within 5 years so I can get back to grad school. I will not go back until my undergrad is paid off. I'm not adding more debt on top of what I'll already have.

[ClassyChristina]

I went to a community college that was around 110$ per credit hour. I paid as I went, never took out loans. Graduated December 2012 with no debt, passed the NCLEX Jan 10th, and now have multiple job offers!Thankful I did it the debt free way. :)

[ShaynaSmart]

I'm starting to get worried about that. I'll be graduating in August with my ADN and I basically just signed for my loans because at the time, I didn't have another option, no money saved up, no scholarships. Now, with my hindsight, I really wished I would have done some work-study or something! I think I'll be under the 20 k mark when I graduate.

[Stephalump]

I'm going tuition-free for my ADN thanks to a scholarship. Then I start my BSN portion in June 2014, and that should run me around 8k. I won't have time between the programs to find a job (and have them pay for the BSN), so I'm assuming I'll end up that much in debt if I can't pay as I go.

As far as straight BSN programs, the ones around me tend to run around 20k.

[Mangomonkey56]

Nursing degree will cost me about $15,000, but I defer the fee to a government interest free loan that I don't have to pay back until I earn over $55,000 odd. Could not afford it otherwise!!

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Around $90K. Graduated in '07 and still have around $45K.

[Hygiene Queen]

Okay, Everybody!

Let's hear Hygiene say it again (because I've only told this 600 times since I've joined AN)

My education was FREE! FREE! FREE! Or darn close to it.

Tuition reimbursement and a scholarship through work...

Debt free, baby!

[Skips, MSN, RN]

Welllll. I'm in my 3rd semester. I have four more to go. I've been paying for school via grants, out-of-pocket, and subsidized student loans. So far, I have accumulated $6,750 worth of debt. I'm trying to get scholarships, but no luck so far.

[bigsick_littlesick]

I have a lot of monthly bills and even with working during nursing school, albeit on-call, I was barely getting by. I have about $8,000 in subsidized Stafford loans, helped so much with rent and car payments!

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I have TWO loans:

First loan: Post scholarship exhaustion at a community college (failed ADN first semester), kept my scholarship, but took prerequisites, transferred to another school, started using loans, transferred back. Plus LPN school. Total cost: 17,000 (includes interest)

Second Loan: BSN program at Christian Brother University: 30,000 with interest. Job did not have tuition assistance; fully funded by loans through Sallie Mae Federal Direct loans.

Total: 47,000-50,000 (depending on interest during repayment) dollars after going to three different schools. Eligible for HRSA Loan Repayment Program. Already have a mortgage, going on 8th year of mortgage. Job will cover the bills. Eligible for a 13% increase 1 yr after hire, so I will be able to afford the payments plus any additional principal payments I will pay quarterly in addition to monthly payments.

There are many options in repayment of loans, so look into them after graduation. My life has not necessarily stopped because of my debt. I found ways to travel abroad for leisure, while keeping my payments current. I have a monthly budget and always have 30% of residual after paying bills. Even after saving money and retirement plan. It's doable.