How did you pay for nursing school? Help...I'm in a pickle!

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Hey guys...so, as the title says, I'm in a little bit of a pickle at the moment.

I should find out in March/April whether or not I'm accepted into nursing school in the fall. I'm currently taking my final pre-reqs. My dilemma is financial.

I'm 20 years old, currently working and have been since I was 16. I still live with my parents. They will support me while I'm in nursing school, but of course I don't want them to have to foot the bill for ALL of the things my financial aid won't cover. I get HOPE and Pell, so all of my tuition, fees, and books are paid for. The only issue I have is gas money, scrubs (we order our scrubs through an outside company, so aid won't cover them), and of course expenses such as food and car stuff so I have a way to get to school. Lol. I have two possible options for finances during nursing school. I intend to stop working once I start (if I get in).

Option A: Quit working. Use all of my savings for the first year, take out loans for my second year. I would have a little less loan debt, but I would ultimately be broke when I graduate.

Option B: Quit working. Use some of my savings to pay for my expenses for the first semester, but save the rest of my money and take out loans for the second semester and second year. I would have more loan debt, but wouldn't be flat broke upon graduation.

Option A would leave me flat broke and in debt. B would leave me with some money still in the bank and slightly more loan debt. I would need approx. $2,000 per semester, so I'm looking at about $6,000 in loan debt when I graduate.

So...my question is, which do you think would be better for me in the long run?

Are there any options I'm not considering?

**NOTE: This is for a BSN.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! :)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I notice you do not have an Option C (continue working). Many people work while attending nursing school. I worked 32 hours per week while going to nursing school and it was the best decision I could have made at the time.

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I notice you do not have an Option C (continue working). Many people work while attending nursing school. I worked 32 hours per week while going to nursing school and it was the best decision I could have made at the time.

I have considered that, but I don't know if I will be able to manage it. I would likely only be able to work on weekends and I make minimum wage, so I would most likely have to take out loans anyways.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.
I have considered that, but I don't know if I will be able to manage it. I would likely only be able to work on weekends and I make minimum wage, so I would most likely have to take out loans anyways.

Even if you only work weekends your loans could be smaller come graduation. If you can swing working, do it. It's great to graduate and have your debt paid off quickly after graduation. It's what I did also.

And if you are around a VA try to get on as a student nurse tech after your first semester. The pay is pretty great and they know you're in school and I pretty much set my hours. Plus you get awesome experiences

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Even if you only work weekends your loans could be smaller come graduation. If you can swing working, do it. It's great to graduate and have your debt paid off quickly after graduation. It's what I did also.

And if you are around a VA try to get on as a student nurse tech after your first semester. The pay is pretty great and they know you're in school and I pretty much set my hours. Plus you get awesome experiences

Thanks! Yes, there are a few VA's around here. I'll keep that in mind.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

Some in my program worked full time nocs. I should say, 1 woman did.

A good friend of mine worked part time in various settings from nurse assistant to waitress/bartending.

But, of my 2-3 closest friends and myself, we rarely worked. Our program was 40 hrs per week of clinical and lecture, though.

I'm planning to work part time (2 days/week) if necessary through my LVN-RN bridge program.

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Some in my program worked full time nocs. I should say, 1 woman did.

A good friend of mine worked part time in various settings from nurse assistant to waitress/bartending.

But, of my 2-3 closest friends and myself, we rarely worked. Our program was 40 hrs per week of clinical and lecture, though.

I'm planning to work part time (2 days/week) if necessary through my LVN-RN bridge program.

Yeah, ours is a lot too. My first semester I only have clinical (one 12 hr) once a week, but other days I'll have skills labs and lecture classes. My second semester I'll have clinical twice (two 12 hrs) a week, in addition to the labs and lecture. So I'm not set on what I want to do yet. I'm in a holding pattern for at least another month. I currently work in food service.

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For someone who is young, no mortage, no other major expenses or debt to consider, id do option B. $6,000 in loans is not THAT much for a new grad BSN.

You dont want to be flat broke as you say in option a after you graduate because it could be quite a while before you land a nursing job and may need that extra money in your bank account for living expenses.

You will be able to pay off your small loan somewhat quickly once you get an rn job.

For option C, consider seeing if you have time to work-dont discount it until your semester has started and you have a feel for the coursework and time management! You should try to find a cna or tech job too-that definitely helps with networking and improves overall clinical skills to better prepare you for the fierce nursing jobmarket!

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I'd say you're in a pretty great position if you can get your BSN with only 6k in debt. You can pay that off in a few months after getting an RN job! I just finished a BSN program and few people in our class worked, it's pretty challenging to find enough spare time in between all the classes and clinical hours...but you do what you gotta do!

RN BSN 2014

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Don't drug dealers and strippers make a lot of money? No, I'm just messing with you.

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Specializes in Cardiac (adult), CC, Peds, MH/Substance.

Not sure if you want to consider this option, but Option D) Get the military to pay for it.

I'm not sure what branches have in/out calls for BSNs right now, but when I was in, Army, Air Force, and Navy were all willing to pay for your education as a BSN. Worth looking at if you would consider that way of going.

Also, I'm with whomever made the option C) continue working comment. It's an option. I worked full time through both undergrad and grad school. Undergrad wasn't really that painful, but the grad school program was.

As my wife says, "It's not that you don't have time. You have time. You choose whether to make it or something else a priority."

When I was in grad school, I never watched TV, movies, read, or really did much of anything unless it was work, school, or family related. When the family went to the beach, I had a book. When we were on a plane, I had the laptop open typing a paper.

So option C) may be a way to go also. Just don't plan on having a social life or white eyes.

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Even if you only work weekends your loans could be smaller come graduation. If you can swing working, do it. It's great to graduate and have your debt paid off quickly after graduation. It's what I did also.

And if you are around a VA try to get on as a student nurse tech after your first semester. The pay is pretty great and they know you're in school and I pretty much set my hours. Plus you get awesome experiences

^^^^^THIS^^^^

Taking on mega loans means paying back those loans with interest. In addition to the VA, many hospitals will allow you to work part time and have tuition reimbursement. They will usually work with your school schedule too because they want more qualified nurses.

Nursing school is tough, but it's not impossible to work and go to school at the same time? Hard? Yes, but you can still make "A"s, it's all about a focus. Loans are a major pain. Each year you will see more and more money going towards interest that you could have saved if you had worked a little while in school. Just a suggestion

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