How do you pay for school?

coffeedrinker · Feb 10, 2004

Hi, I've recently been accepted to Northeastern University CRNA Program and I am wondering how in gods name do you pay for school..not work..and pay the bills..mortgage etc...I am finding this portion of the process a little scary and does it all just work out in the end?? I even gave proposals out to a few different anesthesia groups around here..asking for school funding and in return blank amount of years of service..but nobody wanted and part of it...and I thought there was a CRNA shortage..Well any info or ideas would be helpful...thanks

I too have the same questions. I know that Stafford loans are available and Nelliemae for graduate students. Some groups, I've heard, also offer monthly stipends in return for a sign-on for a certain length of time.

Roland · Feb 11, 2004

Our plan is for one of us to work full time while the other goes to CRNA school (always assuming of course that one of us actually gets accepted). My wife has said that if I will work full time, and some agency overtime while she is in CRNA school, that she will support me after she graduates and that sounds like a good deal to me (then I can explore my true calling of being a stay at home dad). Seriously, I think that it MIGHT be possible to work part time while in CRNA school, if you are exceptionally disiplined. In certain areas like Houston, and Phillie you can probably find hospitals that will pay you NEARLY full time pay for a twelve hour shift on Saturday and Sunday (I know of two nurses here in Indy who get that deal, and if you can find it here, you can probably find it elsewhere if not in hospitals then in agencies). Also, it should be possible to find stipends in exchange for a promise to work there when you graduate (contractual promise that is). Should you choose to "break" such a contractual obligation most of these situations would probably "convert" to a loan (consult your attorney before undertaking such a strategy). Also, I know of a girl who is supporting herself in medical school by dancing at a local strip club on the weekends (then again she is not an RN so she doesn't have the OPTION of working in a hospital).

If all else fails you could always take out a personal add that read something like "single guy (or gal as the case may be) is accepted into graduate school and will earn a six figure income after graduation in about thirty months. If you will support me while in school, I will support you afterwards."

If someone offered ME that deal and she was slightly more attractive than Janet Reno, I would give it some serious consideration. Then again maybe being contractually obligated to a future employer would be less costly in the long run. Also, don't forget the armed forces as an option. They even have bases in Oahu so maybe the answer is to GO NAVY!

TraumaNurse · Feb 11, 2004

Decrease your expenses as much as possible. Save what you can and then borrow, borrow, borrow! You should get the $18,500 from fed aid, then take out private loans from any one of the banks that offer student aid such as BankOne or PLATO. You may find scholarships but I have not had any luck as of yet. We are all in the same boat! It will be worth it in the end!

CRHSrn · Feb 11, 2004

it's a lil late in the game to be asking this question isn't it ? :uhoh21: i personally have started doing 'travel nursing' to help offset some of the expenses that will come along w/ CRNA school (not accepted YET). i'm going to pay off as much of my debt as possible while saving some money to use during school. i'll take out as much as possible in loans as well.

ps ROLAND, she would have to be more than just SLIGHTLY more attractive than janet reno ... hehe :rotfl:

New CCU RN · Feb 11, 2004

it's a lil late in the game to be asking this question isn't it ? :uhoh21: i personally have started doing 'travel nursing' to help offset some of the expenses that will come along w/ CRNA school (not accepted YET). i'm going to pay off as much of my debt as possible while saving some money to use during school. i'll take out as much as possible in loans as well.
ps ROLAND, she would have to be more than just SLIGHTLY more attractive than janet reno ... hehe :rotfl:

that is something i have also been considering doing, travelling and pocketing the extra $$$ for when i am poor and incomeless for almost three years....

Brenna's Dad · Feb 11, 2004

Our plan (which has worked so far) was to pay off all our debt and then to borrow the maximum amount of stafford loans (18500/year) while my wife worked as an RN. With her working the evening shift, so far we have had to use very little daycare services.

If my wife were not a nurse or had a poorly paid job, we would have had her stay home while I borrowed extra money (Bank One seeemed to offer a pretty good deal for amounts beyond Stafford loans when last I looked).

If you're lucky you can get a anesthesia group to sponsor you, although it seems that most will only do so after you have successfully completed the first year. The military is another alternative and is a pretty good deal if you don't mind giving up a bit of freedom after you are done.

As far as lifestyle goes, you have to remember that you will be neck deep in studies and then clinical for the next 2-3 years. You will not have a great deal of free time to spend extra money. You will not need a fancy wardrobe since you'll be in OR scrubs for most of the time. You'll be eating moderately priced (or better yet--free!) cafeteria food 2-3 times a day. The only money you need will be for a bottle of Sctoch when the need arises. LOL.

Roland · Feb 12, 2004

I virtually have to pay my wife for nuptuals so that probably wouldn't work too well in my case. If you REALLY need to save money (and nothing above is an option) you might consider living in a camper (at a campground that only charged about $150.00 per month) to save on living expenses. In addition, you might find an older person who would be willing to let a nurse live at their house for next to nothing in exchange for the benefit of having a nurse around. Heck, I would let someone in this situation live at my house for FREE if they would wash the dishes, and clean once a week (and take care of my Mastiff's if I wanted to go out of town, we haven't been on a vacation even overnight for over eight years due to these very large dogs which intimidate most people!) Don't forget to try and get an IN STATE RATE. It might be worth moving to a state with MANY CRNA schools such as Pennsylvainia (many CRNA schools is of course a relative term, since NO state contains more than a few) a year or so BEFORE you apply. I have heard that certain schools in certain states such as Tenn. show a preference for in-state applicants so this could have a DOUBLE benefit. If my wife didn't have an education (or a profession) she might consider acting as a surrogate mother which can pay from 15 to 25K per kid ( actually I think she would sell her body before giving up a kid so that plan might backfire big time!)

Roland · Feb 13, 2004

By the way you mentioned that you have a mortgage. One option might be to do a refinance, consolidate your bills, AND to take cash out of any equity that you have in the house. You might then RENT the house out to cover the mortgage, and then use one of the "cheap living" strategies outlined above. If you live near a college you can maximize rents by renting "by the room" if you have at least a three bedroom home. Of course you DON"T want to tell the mortgage company that this is your plan. In addtion, you would need to do the refinance BEFORE you quit your current job (and again you wouldn't want to tell the mortgage company that you were going back to school).

Another point on working while in CRNA school. I have had home healthcare jobs as a STUDENT nurse that paid me twelve dollars an hour where I could study for 70%+ of the time I was at the house. I have to believe that as a licensed RN (with ICU experience no less) that you could find something that paid 15+++ an hour on the weekends AND let you get some studying done. One more "desperation strategy" to consider (If you cannot borrow enough money or otherwise get the assitence that you need). If you have excellent credit you could start taking the pre-approved credit card offers that you receive. My sister in law took over seventy THOUSAND in cash advances in order to start her residential cleaning business. She hurt her credit, but was able to pay the money back after her business became successful. Consider, that as a successful CRNA you will probably earn more than $50,000 EACH YEAR in income than you did as an ICU nurse (more if you are willing to work overtime). IF you live frugally, for several years after you graduate you should be able to quickly retire any such loans. In a WORST case scenario you could even legally file bankruptcy on those cash advances (but not student loans unless you become disabled) so long as you INTENDED to repay them when you took the cash advances (unless the new BK reform bill passes while you are in school, a distinct possibility). Of course you should contact your attorney before implementing any such strategy.

At one time I had over $400,000 in available CREDIT. There were times when I considered taking a cash advance on the whole thing (which would have been about 240K with cash advance limitations) and heading for one of the more remote Fijian islands. Of course even that wouldn't have been far enough away to escape my wife's wrath had I tried to pull a stunt like that.

jemommyRN · Feb 14, 2004

I'm wondering "did they ask you this question in your interivew?" What was your plan so far? I would've told you to travel and save the money but you're already in sooo congrats on getting accepted. I hope that it all works out for you.

ArtsyIndi · Mar 4, 2004

I had the same trouble, then got divorced and it got worse! Now I'm in an intensive ADN program that's 16months. No way to work. So, I have a sponsor. Check with your local hospitals. It's fairly common. Once you're accepted to an RN program you can ask them about a sponsorship in which they'll pay for your education and living expensed in exchange for a contract to work when you graduate. Mine is 3months FT work for every $1500 they give me. I get $500mo which is penny ante but it's a start. Added student loans grants, etc and it works out fairly well. The contract should not effect your future pay scale either. It's strictly work later for money now. No deduction from later pay. Good luck!

duckboy20 · Mar 5, 2004

Loans Loans and Lots of Loans! That is the only way I am getting through school! They asked me in the interview if I planned on working because they said those who work have a high failout rate, I promptly replied nope! Good luck getting in!