How much is school costing you?

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Dec 27, 2009

For my BSN at a state university, in-state tuition, I figure it will cost me approximately $15K for tuition alone. Books I would estimate will be another $2k (if I had purchased them from the bookstore that is, lol!) and daycare is the biggest expense of all! My tuition and books would be covered each semester by my pell grant, but I have been taking out loans for daycare for my 2 young children, along with other misc events (cars breaking down, medical bils) Unfortunately, I think I will be looking at around $20K in student loans when I am done ($5k from a previous degree i was pursuing before nursing). I think I may apply for my associates and sit for the NCLEX so I can work as an RN during my last year of my BSN program to help pay for things instead of taking out more loans. I also want to put every dime I can into paying off my student loans as quickly as possible once I am working full time.

tokyoROSE, BSN, RN · Dec 27, 2009

How much can you really afford or not afford for College Education?
That is the reality check question.
There are so many New Graduates that can not find Jobs now.
( to confirm this read the other Blogs Posted on Allnurses.com)
Why would any one spend $100,000.00 to for a BSN?
It is insane at this time and even until to year 2020.
I totally agree. Many people don't realize that a college education is also an investment. They think that once they get that degree, everything will be OK. I read an article about two law students who went to private universities and both made six figures upon graduation but still had to file for bankruptcy due to their astronomical student loan payments. I wish I had saved it. People need to think twice about getting into such debt, yes, even for their education.

Cuezee2 · Dec 28, 2009

Around $100,000 easy. I go to a private school (around $40,000 a year). I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and anyone familiar with the nursing schools here knows that getting into a JC or state school for nursing is next to impossible right now. Going private was really my only option if I wanted to start right away (there was still a 2-4 semester wait), and I figured if I paid the money (I do get some financial aid) I would graduate sooner than if I waited to get into a JC or state school, and I would be able to pay it off sooner. I have friends that have been waiting for two years to get into a nursing school here, and since it is on lottery system, if your name doesn't get called, then you keep waiting. Some schools require that you have at least 100hrs of community service, Sonoma State requires that you have a CNA before you can apply (and then they only take 30 students), etc. My friend told me that University of San Francisco had 600 applicants for 35 seats. You need a 3.8+ GPA to even be considered for a lot of the schools. Even getting your prerequisites is a struggle. At some of the schools, classes such as anatomy and physiology are also on lottery system because they just can't accommodate everyone. And when I do graduate (year and a half), I have no idea if I will even be able to get a job. Nursing jobs here in the Bay Area are like gold; there are SO few right now. In one of our local hospitals, a job in L&D opened up, and there were 300 applicants. There was a hiring freeze for a while in a lot of the hospitals throughout California (not sure if it is still going on). I know I am not the only one going through this, and I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining (I'm just amazed at how hard it is) it just seems so crazy considering where nursing was just a few years ago: a shortage!

Best wishes to everyone and have a happy 2010!

missy--kay · Dec 28, 2009

Wow... $100,000.~

That seems insane to me. I have no idea why you would want to pay off a debt for YEARS (if not decades) instead of waiting a few semesters to get in - especially when jobs are absolutely no gaurantee. I wish you luck!!

>30yrsRN · Dec 29, 2009

So you knew all this before you were decided to go and pay $120,000.00 for a BSN program? Do you know your interest rate on your loans? Do you expect a employer to pay off most of your loans if you DO manage to get a position in a Hospital setting? Or do you plan Join the Armforces or work for a State or Federal Hospital..Americorp etc...

Money is even getting scare for hospitals to pay even some reimbursement to their currents employees try to continue a RN to BSN program. I think the ANA needs to step in an address these over price Nursing Programs that are popping up left and right and the Jobs not out there; The Jobs do not equal the the Supply of new Graduates and the Demand for them in Areas.

The ANA has been know to put money into passing Bills to Protect the RN Role/Positions and Jobs before.

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Dec 29, 2009

Would be nice to see some kind of cap on what a ASN or BSN should cost, relative to the area's COL of course. On the other hand, the best thing would be to educate future students out there about the real cost of student loans, what to really expect as far as pay and availability after graduation, and the many options there are to obtaining the degree so they don't fall into the trap in the first place. The ONLY reason these schools can get away with charging these high tuitions is because people are willing to pay them. I'd bet that if they weren't able to fill half their seats on a consistent basis, they would start reducing the cost of attendence to attract more students.

>30yrsRN · Dec 29, 2009

Yes,I agree and I saw it already happening with UOP tuition prices in some areas of the country due to lower enrollment due to ITT,Remington College,Southern U,Kieser U, and many more State CC , State U and many more online Degrees offering these out rages fees to become a RN. AS or BSN or Accelerated BSN or MSN programs but still the main thing is supply and demand. If the jobs outlook is not there in the local area what is the point of having these programs in the first place.

>30yrsRN · Dec 29, 2009

This was on CNN website

Today

HCA speaker What a Bunch of Crap!

Nursing crisis looms as baby boomers age

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writerDecember 23, 2009: 3:18 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- America could be facing a nursing shortage that will worsen exponentially as the population grows older.

The problem: Baby boomers are getting older and will require more care than ever, taxing an already strained nursing system.

asmith_080325_nurse_13.03.jpg Lab instructor Lisa Rubin leads a class at New York University's College of Nursing.

America has had a nursing shortage for years, said Peter Buerhaus, workforce analyst at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn. But by 2025, the country will be facing a shortfall of 260,000 RNs, he said.

"In a few short years, just under four out of 10 nurses will be over the age of 50," said Buerhaus. "They'll be retiring out in a decade. And we're not replacing these nurses even as the demand for them will be growing."

That's because nursing schools are already maxed out.

"We've got to find another portal to bring nurses into the profession," said Claire Zangerle, chief executive of the Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio and former chief nursing officer at the Cleveland Clinic. "We don't have enough nursing instructors, so therefore the capacity of nursing schools is very limited."

The nursing profession has benefited from the recession, which hasprompted new nurses to sign up for school and older nurses to postpone retirement, Buerhaus said.

Some 243,000 registered nurses entered or re-entered the profession during the recession that began in 2007, he said, including many who were forced out of retirement by financial difficulties.

But as the economy improves that kind of growth is unlikely to continue. And experts stress that there will be a nursing shortage even if every nursing school is at capacity.

0:00 /1:26Robo-nurse to the rescue

A lack of teaching staff is the biggest hurdle to minting new RNs, according to Cheryl Peterson, director of nursing practice and policy for the American Nurses Association

"The problem on the supply side is that our current nursing education capacity is at its limit," she said. "[Nursing schools] are pumping out about as many as they can."

Dr. Mary O'Neil Mundinger, the dean of Columbia University Nursing School in New York, said the number of applicants jumped 20% this year to about 400. She said the roster includes professionals seeking a career switch from Wall Street, law and even the opera.

"Making choices between these extremely well qualified applicants is really daunting," she said, noting that the school has capacity for only half the applicants.

Indeed, Claire Zangerle from the Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio said her niece spent two years on a waiting list before getting accepted into a nursing school.

It's hard to recruit and retain nursing instructors when they can usually make more money working in a hospital.

The average starting pay for an RN is about $56,000, according to the American Nurses Association. Mundinger said that the most ambitious graduates can earn as much as $90,000 if they're willing to work long hours, including weekends and night shifts, in busy metropolitan hospitals.

"They need to pay nursing faculty a wage that is attractive enough," said Peterson of the ANA, "You have nurses working in hospital units who are making more than the nurses in education."

Barry Pactor, international director of global health care for consulting company HCL International, agrees that more nurses should be trained within the U.S. system. But as a short term solution for this "huge shortage," he said the U.S. government should loosen immigration restrictions on foreign health care workers.

"I don't see this as foreign nurses taking American jobs, because these are vacancies that already exist and cannot be [filled] by nurses currently in training," he said. "We'd be filling in the gaps until the training can catch up with the demand."

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Nursing: the recession-proof job market

>30yrsRN · Dec 29, 2009

Barry Pactor, international director of global health care for consulting company HCL International, will he have a these nurses taking care of him and his Family 24/7?

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Dec 29, 2009

This article only picks and chooses the facts that support the premise they wanted to present ~ a nursing shortage.

They talk about nursing schools with long waitlists and not being able to meet the demands of the field. Well what about all these schools that start off with a large group of students, but only graduate 20% - 30% of them? Seems to me there are a lot of these type of schools and if they would focus on graduating more of their students than having perfect NCLEX rates, we might have some more people entering the profession each year.

Of course, that doesn't help with retention in the field. How many new nurses burn out within the first few years? And what about hospitals unwilling to increase the number of staff, even as patient load increases? How does pumping out more grads help with that situation?

And of course, I'm sure there are a lot of freshly certifed RN's in the new grad section who would argue that there really is a nursing shortage to begin with.

dozndawg · Dec 30, 2009

ZERO ZILCH NIL NADA as of yesterday and five hours of paper work I received a grant in Florida from a non profit organinazation called workforce solutions. Yeah! Hope you all give it a whirl.

frnzy · Dec 30, 2009

file for bankruptcy due to their astronomical student loan payments.

Hmm. I've always been told by financial advisors that student debt isn't forgiven in bankruptcy. Unless they put their tuition on credit cards...