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?
Does your program stay in session through the summertime? Then you could take out some loans, use some savings, and make up the difference by working during the summer. While the goal for most is to graduate debt-free, 6k is really not a huge amount of debt. You could easily pay that off within a couple of years after you are working, as long as you make the commitment to do so.
SOME small loans AND work during school. When i was in undergrad, EVERYBODY in my class worked some sort of job. many were bartenders,waitresses, cocktail waitresses, etc. one worked on a cleaning crew that cleaned offices in the evening, several worked the night/weekend gig in a nursing home. there was an au-pair in my class, a minister, and plenty of folks with spouses and kids. Nursing school is demanding, but working during it is possible. it's all about good time management and self-determination.
FWIW, we were mostly pretty dang BROKE. we brought leftovers all the time for lunch, did class potlucks (soup and sandwiches were a weekly event), and bought school scrubs from people who were graduating or recently graduated. we car-pooled, etc. we also bought textbooks from students 1-2 semesters ahead of us and paid them cash. i worked THREE jobs during nursing school (each 8-12 hrs weekly). i lived at home too and drove 55 minutes one way to school, plus 35-55 minutes to my clinical sites. it really built my character.
I was a CNA and LPN during my time in nursing school. I worked pretty much every weekend. And occasionally I'd work 1-2 days during the week. It was not fun but it helped me learn more about healthcare and I believe it helped me when obtaining my first RN job.
I work two jobs one full time (40 hours) and one job only (5-8 hours) a week so in total 45-48 hours a week, but I'm much older than 20 and since I exhausted my undergrad student loans I have to pay for my nursing degree out of pocket. Anywho, on to your dilemma.
At 20 years old you appear to be very level headed and have a good grasp on debt management. I don't see you being in a real risk with loan debt if you are already pre planning. I'm sure you could not work and still find a way to effectively fund your personal needs without accumulating to much debt. If you still want to work, cut your hours in half and keep your job and take out a small loan to cover your what your working salary will not cover and that way you will probably cut your loan debt in half.
Tuition and books are paid for. You won't have to pay rent. You are way ahead of the game. Loads of us (maybe even most of us) have student loans. I don't think you have a real problem.
Thanks for the input guys! I would qualify for a subsidized Stafford, so I wouldn't have to start paying until 6 months after graduation and I wouldn't have to pay interest during school. I am still thinking and weighing all my options.
I am/was in the same boat as you. I didn't work in 1st semester, but realized I could, so I got my old job back and worked during 2nd and 3rd semesters. Now I'm in my 4th and final semester and am not working. I could be working, but it's a lot less stressful to not be.
Is there somewhere where you could waitress? I waitressed for the first 5 months until I landed a nurse tech job (yay!). A waitressing job will allow you to just work weekends a few hours while still making great money. I managed around 300-400 week just working Friday Saturday and Sunday nights 4-10. Sometimes I wonder why I don't make it a career...
I agree! I just finished nursing school and managed to work 10-40 hours a week. At times it was extremely tough and lead to late nights, and other weeks it was much more manageable. Other people I know have done the same. Some worked PRN as a CNA or other positions in a hospital (all have now landed jobs with the companies after grad). And some also have scholarships for employees, or tuition reimbursement. Others waited tables a few nights a week. Just a few ideas...
Other ideas are to apply for additional scholarship through the school or your community. Lots of communities have a local zonta organization. It's a business professional organization for women who sometimes have scholarships. Also the BPW business professional women's club too! Try contacting them.
Personally I am taking out loans and working minimal per diem hours at a group home. It's a super easy job with quite a bit of down time, so I usually get a couple of hours of studying done during a shift. Getting paid to study is great!
I would apply for loans. You can choose not to accept it or to only accept part of it if you don't end up needing it, or pay it back early to avoid interest on any unsubsidized loans you have. I am currently taking the full amount but hopefully there will eventually be enough leftover so that I can pay for a semester with it as opposed to taking out another loan.
I would also work a little- a healthcare job often lets you do a minimum hours of per diem, I have to work 10 hours a month to stay on as an employee. Pretty much one weekend shift and some training that inevitably comes up. If I need more, I can work more- there is always a long line of people that would love to give their shift up to you! It isn't much but it certainly adds up to books and gas over the course of a semester.
Also remember there are scholarships. My school has some that are nursing specific and I am told there are really low rates of people actually applying for them (hey, NS is very busy), so I'm hoping to scoop them up. If I succeed, it'll pretty much pay for a semester. Impress your instructors- my clinical instructor offered to write me a letter before I even asked, which is great since I know she'll be wanting to do it rather than begrudgingly doing it to be nice for someone she barely knows.
Agree waitressing can be very good money in the right place. I used to work at Applebee's and some made bank- great combination of being moderately priced and packed every night. Though I prefer to work somewhere a little slower paced and I get to do a little bit of healthcare.
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
Personally I am taking out loans and working minimal per diem hours at a group home. It's a super easy job with quite a bit of down time, so I usually get a couple of hours of studying done during a shift. Getting paid to study is great!
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I worked As a Cna/ sitter during my prereqs. Because I worked nocs, I had lots if time to study. Although it only paid $9-10/hr, I was paid to study and learned a lot about the hospital setting, so it was wort it.
Thanks again guys! I feel like I'm pretty much ready to get out of food service. There's a job open at my school for a peer tutor that I'm going to look into. 8-12 hours a week, very flexible with my schedule. It's definitely something to consider. I'm also looking into work-study in the financial aid office. Lots of thing to consider. Keep the feedback coming!
Anywho, on to your dilemma.
studentbear, CNA
224 Posts
Does your program stay in session through the summertime? Then you could take out some loans, use some savings, and make up the difference by working during the summer. While the goal for most is to graduate debt-free, 6k is really not a huge amount of debt. You could easily pay that off within a couple of years after you are working, as long as you make the commitment to do so.