How much debt is reasonable for NP school?

iridium54 · May 9, 2011

It is a lot, no question. I could do the second half of the program part-time while working as an RN, and I may well do that.
For nurse-midwifery, there are many fewer masters entry programs than other specialities and most of them leave you with over $100,000 of debt. It is important to me to become a midwife and be established in a practice before starting my own family, and since I am in my late twenties, I feel that time is a definite factor. I could be a midwife in three years, but with substantial student loans - or I could apply to accelerated BSN programs for next year and work for a couple of years as a nurse before applying to midwifery programs, becoming a midwife in 5-6 years but with half the debt.
Either way, I have the possibility of halving the debt in three years (either working as a midwife in an underserved area for that time, or becoming a midwife the traditional route and only taking on half the debt). Since I am more interested in practising as a CNM than an RN, perhaps the (ridiculously) expensive program is not such a bad idea?
Edit: My estimate of $115,000 includes living expenses
It is a difficult decision and I appreciate everyone's comments!

I am currently mulling over a similar issue, though I actually only applied to ABSN programs because I wasn't able to take the GREs in time. The program I am left with entrance to, by default, is going to cost me probably $45k in loans. And I am 99.9% certain I want to continue on with my education to become and advance practice nurse (probably ALSO a CNM/WHNP) AND I want to get either an MPH or an MBA so I can help run a health care organization. Sooo, that's a lot more school. I owe less than $5,000 now for my first undegrad degree, which is great, but taking on this significant expense for BSN-hood is frightening me. I am also in a hurry to just get it done, because a career and family is on my mind. $45,000 is *hopefully* less than my starting salary, but it's still a lot of money.

I know for the undergrad, the HRSA repayment program is highly competitive and you are only eleigible if your Expected Family Contribution is 0. Mine is not zero, though not much more since i am supporting myself and can probably only afford to pay for books and uniforms out of pocket. Regardless, that is not an option for me. Hopefully they are easier to come by for graduate students.

Have you applied and been admitted to any direct-entry CNM programs?

vanurse07 · May 18, 2011

I know for the undergrad, the HRSA repayment program is highly competitive and you are only eleigible if your Expected Family Contribution is 0.

There are several HRSA programs and I'm not sure which one you are referring to here but the HRSA NHSC loan repayment program (for primary care providers) does not require you to have a EFC of 0. There is also a NHSC scholarship program which I have not looked into extensively but I doubt that one requires an EFC of 0 either.

To add to this post, I agree $115k is a whole lot for the RN/NP portion, especially if you are looking to do more schooling. I did a MPH program (like you want to do) at one of the most expensive (but best!!) schools so if you're looking to add more education you may want to also factor in those costs which will probably add at least another $30k onto that. Because of this, I am now purposely choosing NP schools that will leave me with less debt than the MPH has.

juschillin, MSN, RN, NP · May 25, 2011

My BSN was via big city private school...about 70k; then small city public for MSN...another 40k. One tough lesson I learned was GO PUBLIC for BSN and MSN. And by the way, both of my programs were "accelerated". Many public school programs really are excellent, especially the undergrad as so much of it's technical...

NAURN · May 25, 2011

Frontier (I estimated) will cost about $30-35K total with books and technology. There are cheaper options for me, including a state school I can go to for about $18K one I get in the graduate work but I would have to get my BSN first (I am planning an ADN-FNP at Frontier) and in order to get my BSN I would need to take about a years worth of general education courses because they were not required for my Associate's in Applied Science degree I got. So add that all together and I am well over the $30K Frontier is. And I save so much TIME doing the bridge... plus save some gas (although there are a couple of campus visits) and save some lost income from having to be sure not to work on certain days my classes are...

I looked at Emory- OMG.... its $50K A YEAR!!!!! I know they have a good name and all but man, the cost plus the hour drive every day is not something I am willing to do!

I think there are ways to get a quality education from a highly regarded school without taking on so much debt. Just takes a lot of research.

juschillin, MSN, RN, NP · May 17, 2014

Just this week I met a gal who was preparing for graduation from Frontier's NP program and she had lots of positives to report about the program... just commenting on that since you just mentioned it.

I was just accepted into a post grad certificate program for nurse education. I will be applying for the faculty loan repayment via the government to cover that one. So now I just need to find a HRSA site to pay off my graduate loan.

Slightly humorous note to all this -- I spoke with the student loan dept recently and asked them "what will happen to my loans if I die before they're paid?" The answer: it's forgiven! Til death do us part. At least my kids won't have to fork over any inheritance money to pay for my nursing school loans (should they be so fortunate).

Easyas123247 · Nov 29, 2014

I am currently US Navy. You can always apply for the health scholarship in a service branch and see if they will pay in full, in return for a service obligation for a few years (with GOOD benefits). Some fellow students at Purdue did this for dental school and it worked out in their favor.

BlackSkimmer · Dec 13, 2014

I did the math for schools in my area. It turns out that you have less absolute debt if you go the RN route first, but that the debt-to-income ratio is the same or worse. In other words, you would have more debt as an NP, but your income would also be much better, which would compensate for that. I have decided to go the direct-entry route because of that, and for the same reasons you cite--I'm in my thirties and want to have the hope of supporting a family in the not-too-distant future. As for the variation in cost for direct-entry NP programs, my sense is that the in-person programs (i.e., not online) are more expensive. For myself, I find there is a huge difference in the quality of my learning when I take classes in person. I'm willing to pay for that. One NP I spoke with said nearly everyone in her graduating class had some kind of loan repayment or forgiveness program--either through the nurse corps or because they worked for a non-profit hospital or clinic. It seems to me that getting the degree quickly means I can start making a lot more money sooner--and that adds up over the years.

BirkieGirl · Dec 13, 2014

I am a NP student in a brick and mortar school near my home and my entire MSN will cost me about $22k from start to finish, including most of my books. half of my classes are online, and the school arranges all of my preceptors. Not a bad cost at all, considering that NPs in my area make about 75-80% MORE than i make as an RN with 18 years experience!

i don't know if i would have even considered continuing my education if it would have cost much more. i also live in an area of MANY loan forgiveness jobs (rural and under served) so I will be job hunting for a placement that will allow that too.

BlackSkimmer · Dec 13, 2014

Whoa. Perhaps the Northeast is an expensive place for an NP education.

ricardoj · Dec 15, 2014

BirkieGirl, what state are you located in?

BirkieGirl · Dec 15, 2014

Upper Peninsula of Michigan! LOTS of vast rural areas up here, very much like Alaska... oh, and generally some awesome work opportunities just over any one of the outgoing bridges to canada too!