Hi, I am 23. I am 5 classes away from getting my Bachelors Degree. I have made up my mind that I want to pursue nursing. I am thinking of going to Keiser University for their ASN, and then finishing up my bachelors in one semester once I get my RN.
I know this sounds crazy, but my reasoning for this is that if I graduate, I will not be eligible for financial aid(Pell grants) and I will have to pay out of pocket. I have a 1-year-old child and I wont be able to work as much to pay for school and living expenses.
My main goal is to not waste anymore time and get into a program as soon as possible. Keiser is were I can start ASAP. I don't want to take out anymore loans. Im in so much debt already. I also want to relocate to South Florida for to the program (Closer to some family). Does anyone have any advise on my plan of action and how I could get financial help while in my RN program?
I am thinking of going to Keiser University for their ASN, and then finishing up my bachelors in one semester once I get my RN.
I am aware that Keiser is fairly expensive. I'm assuming if FA participate in the tution that loan or savings will be an option for the rest of the balance. Just curious, how much is the program in South FL?
I am aware that Keiser is fairly expensive. I'm assuming if FA participate in the tution that loan or savings will be an option for the rest of the balance. Just curious, how much is the program in South FL?
I'm not sure how much it is in S. FLA, but the one here in Tallahassee, Fl is $7000 per semester. I'm sure it is in the same range. I would go to the one here in tallahassee, but it is not accredited by NLN, which means I wouldn't be able to further my education at a state university. The ones in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are accredited by NLN and SACS. So they are THE REAL DEAL.
You get a 25% discount if you have family that works for the school board. And I'm sure there maybe be other discounts. Also, my aunt is the CNO (Chief Nursing Officer) at a hospital down there, so she told me that if i' work there for 6 months, they will do tuition reimbursement.
I would be VERY careful about this. This past fall I spoke with the financial aid office at my school about changing my major to nursing. I had previously declared a Health Sciences major to pick away at as many nursing courses as possible while biding my time to get into the program. When I spoke to the FA office they told me I could certainly change my major to nursing this late in the game, but they wouldn't recommend it.
The director of FA explained to me that the government checks up on these things and if they catch you jumping ship when you are close to graduating from one bachelors degree and accepting grants towards another degree the government considers it FRAUD and you will have to pay back what you have been awarded. If you ask me it isn't worth the risk. Just graduate and go to an ASN. You may be able to apply for scholarships to help. The last thing any young mother needs is to be found guilty of fraud in the eyes of the government. If you are caught you will probably be ineligible for financial aid. Don't do it, definitely not a good idea.
This is very serious!!! I will be bringing this up to my financial aid advisor this week to see what she say's. Thank you for this.
I'm not sure how much it is in S. FLA, but the one here in Tallahassee, Fl is $7000 per semester. I'm sure it is in the same range. I would go to the one here in tallahassee, but it is not accredited by NLN, which means I wouldn't be able to further my education at a state university. The ones in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are accredited by NLN and SACS. So they are THE REAL DEAL.
You get a 25% discount if you have family that works for the school board. And I'm sure there maybe be other discounts. Also, my aunt is the CNO (Chief Nursing Officer) at a hospital down there, so she told me that if i' work there for 6 months, they will do tuition reimbursement.
Oh I thought you mention South Florida to attend Keiser, but it was about you possibly relocating there. Tuition reimbursement is great; I would take it if it requires me to only work at the hospital for only 6 month...That's a great deal.
If you have not taken lots of extra classes and only those that apply to the current degree you are seeking maybe this will apply to you. I'm assuming if you still have 5 classes, you may have around 90 to 100 hours already. My adviser recently told me that I would have plenty of financial aid to cover my first year of NS (which for me will probably be LVN). He said that somewhere into the second year, I may run out because of the 90 our credit limit (I had to drop a semester due to family passing). However, he told me FA makes exceptions for RN school and that the limit is 168 hours. I researched it on my school's website and it does say there is an exception for the Registered Nursing Program and it is 168 hours.
I'm not very clear about how FA works but if this does apply to you and you are only around 100 hours then I would think you would still have 60 to 70 credit hours of aid to use. You may want to research that.
(My school is PJC, Paris, TX. You can find the info. under the financial aid link)
FA issues aside, I would think very, VERY carefully about choosing Keiser as your ADN program. They may make you take some pre-requisite classes you have not had before and all pre-reqs are on a five day a week five hour a day system, making each only one month long. You do only one subject at a time but as a former Keiser student I can tell you that it is VERY stressful to cram an entire semester's worth of work into a single month, especially in Gordon Rule classes, and ESPECIALLY in the sciences!!!!!
Plus, the price of tuition borders on lunacy... even with a 25 percent discount the school is very expensive and they raise tuition yearly for no apparent reason, the Melbourne campus I attended was very... shall we say... minimalist.
However if you think you'll be able to do it and the price is of no concern for you I say go for it, since it is an accelerated track and they have a 90% NCLEX pass rate. :)
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
I am in a similar situation. I studied premed a long time ago, then child development. I decided not to take out more loans years ago, even though I was eligible. I've been going to school taking nursing prereqs since 2010 on my own dime.
Well, when my husband and I separated and I wanted to continue with my nursing school prereqs, I was told that I have too many credits to apply for grants or loans! I'm in Cali attending community college and because I've "attempted" 120 units, I can not even appeal for loan eligibility. "Attempts" include all W's. I have over 100 credits complete.
Here is a copy of the email I recvd from my community college: "Students who have attempted 120 or more units are not eligible to appeal the denial of aid regardless of the reason. (This total attempted units includes completed units from ALL other colleges). Now that all of your college units have been verified you no longer have that option because you have exceeded the 120 unit limitation."
HTH!
If you have not taken lots of extra classes and only those that apply to the current degree you are seeking maybe this will apply to you. I'm assuming if you still have 5 classes, you may have around 90 to 100 hours already. My adviser recently told me that I would have plenty of financial aid to cover my first year of NS (which for me will probably be LVN). He said that somewhere into the second year, I may run out because of the 90 our credit limit (I had to drop a semester due to family passing). However, he told me FA makes exceptions for RN school and that the limit is 168 hours. I researched it on my school's website and it does say there is an exception for the Registered Nursing Program and it is 168 hours.
I'm not very clear about how FA works but if this does apply to you and you are only around 100 hours then I would think you would still have 60 to 70 credit hours of aid to use. You may want to research that.
(My school is PJC, Paris, TX. You can find the info. under the financial aid link)
and you will have to pay back what you have been awarded. If you ask me it isn't worth the risk. Just graduate and go to an ASN. You may be able to apply for scholarships to help. The last thing any young mother needs is to be found guilty of fraud in the eyes of the government. If you are caught you will probably be ineligible for financial aid. Don't do it, definitely not a good idea. 
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I am aware that Keiser is fairly expensive. I'm assuming if FA participate in the tution that loan or savings will be an option for the rest of the balance. Just curious, how much is the program in South FL?