How much did your nursing education cost you? Worth it?

[resilientnurse]

greetings,

i would just like to get a general idea of how much nursing school debt average rns bsn- or apn-prepared are carrying in educational debt? i studied nursing as a second career having left journalism. the entire bsn cost me about $13,000 (books and uniforms included), not having to take any general education credits only nursing courses. worth every penny of it!i was never so marketable as a journalist. i can quit a job one morning and be working another by 3:00pm the same day.

however, i am now interested in a msn np psych program that is $18,000 per year and am leery about this debt. just hoping to get some feedback on justifiable debt. any insight and information will be greatly appreciated. thank you.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

30k/yr????? That's 120k total! That is complete insanity.

3 colleges in my town charge that. Sorry, I'll go to the state college, thanks

[Purple_roses]

About 10K for my ADN program. 10K for financial independence alone makes it worth it to me.

[Purple_roses]

My two cents (and this is just my perception mind you):

Unless you're planning on going to get your masters/NP 'soon' (my definition of 'soon' is

In fact, if you can get your ADN from a reputable community college, it's even better.

I know some institutions pay "better" for BSNs over ADNs but I've heard of few and far between (and I've never come across one personally). In any case, I sincerely doubt that the "bonus pay" is worth the extra tuition fee.

There is however an argument to be made that "as a BSN, atleast you have a Bachelor's Degree behind your name. Which will help you if you were to ever find yourself looking for a job outside of nursing".

cheers,

This route worked out nicely for me, but it really depends on your location. There are some locations where you could have a BSN, 4.0, years of volunteering under your belt, and still ​not get a job offer right off the bat. Choose your schooling route based on location.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

$1500 out of pocket for ADN, $8K out of pocket for BSN, and two MSNs courtesy of Uncle Sam — Army tuition assistance for one (Nursing Informatics) and my GI Bill for the other (Nurse Educator). Worth every penny!