I'm about 60% sure I'm just being emotional about this... Because I still can't think of a better choice I could have made.
I go to a hospital affiliated nursing school and I signed a "tuition forgiveness loan", the hospital will pay for my education if I returned to work for them for two years once I graduate.
Well, I'm graduating and I feel so trapped. If I break the contract, I have to pay them back $9,000 + a 15% fee.
I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket for my nursing degree.
But I already have 19k in previous school loans.
I want to leave the state, and I don't want to wait 2 years....
Would it be stupid of me to break my contract?
I know it probably would be... And it's not like it's a bad hospital system, it's great, in the top 10 of the country... But I just can't stand this city.... I'm in my mid twenties and I already have spent my entire life here.
Will a fiscally responsible person talk some sense into me please?
Two years is going to go by so fast. Give yourself time to make peace with the decision and reframe your perspective. Think about all the money you're going to save no paying back loans that is going to help you relocate somewhere really well, where you can go and make more money since you racked up 2 years of awesome experience.
There is nothing bad about this decision whatsoever. You're being emotional because that commitment is scary. But it's only 2 years. Seriously. If I could do that, I would. STAAAAHHHHP.
View it as two more years of school. 1. Paid for. 2. You get two years experience. Basically your first couple years out of nursing school ARE like school. After that you can apply as an experienced nurse anywhere in the country. You will be MUCH more of an asset and you will have many more doors open.
View it as two more years of school. 1. Paid for. 2. You get two years experience. Basically your first couple years out of nursing school ARE like school. After that you can apply as an experienced nurse anywhere in the country. You will be MUCH more of an asset and you will have many more doors open.
I'm not big on the town I live in right now, I'm ready to move back to the city, but dang if I had your setup, I would stick it out. Think of how much of an advantage you will have when looking for a job in your new city with 2 years of experience under your belt.
Two years is really not long. I know sometimes, my year until I'm out seems like a long time but then I think about how it's been 2 years since I've started school and it has flown by. Good luck and just remember it will be here before you know it.
As others have said stick it out. If I had someone offering me that type of deal I would be on it in a heart beat. Less than 10,000 for your RN and someone else is covering the cost. To me it is an easy sacrifice to stay for the two years fulfill the agreement. I am looking at over $20,000 for my associates. Because my employer does not offer any type of tuition reimbursement I will be covering all of it with financial aid the majority being loans.
Two years will fly by fast, and at the end of it you will have two years of experience as a nurse, opening up more opportunities to you. Stick it out.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
9k is not a lot of money, in the grand scheme of things. It's certainly not worth two years of your life if you are truly miserable. Are you?
Other posters have mentioned things you should check out before you do it. I do not think it would negatively impact your credit, as long as you pay it on time. But check on that. If it will get you blacklisted from the hospital, that's a bad thing, especially If the hospital is a very big one. But I'm not sure that it will. I recommend you look into that.
If you have somewhere to go and a job lined up, it might be a good choice for you to pay out, because it's not a life altering amount of money. I would not give two years of my life somewhere I didn't already want to be for 9k. For 50k, I would.
You do need to line up another job and city first.
Umm ... That's 9k+15% added to 19k in pre-existing loans. Casually piling on more debt because it's "not so much" is what got a whole lot of people in a whole lot of trouble just a few short years back.
Qualifying for a license tuition-free and having two years of pay from a guaranteed job to start paying the pre-existing debt is hardly a fate worse than death, even if you do dislike the location. Two years isn't so much, either, in the grand scheme of things.
Unless the hospital is a hopeless snake pit or there's something else going on that the OP chooses not to share, the consensus seems to be to get the education and honor the contract, and then go merrily on her way.
I think the wise move is to work your two years, get good professional experience, and walk away with your degree in your pocket (if you choose). I had a four year commitment after a three year full ride scholarship to a Big 10 university...via ROTC. I was in the Army. I got training as an ICU & trauma specialist while I was on active duty during a four month in-residence ICU course. Soak up every learning and training experience possible on their dime. The commitment period goes by in the blink of an eye.
Specializes in ER, Med Surg, Ob/Gyn, Clinical teaching.
Life is soooooo funny and "opposite"....
There is ALWAYS Someone else that is looking for that SAME opportunity that another dying to run away from...
BENEFITS OF STAYING:
-Tuition FORGIVENESS....
-A GUARANTEED job.
-Experience (which is now, IMO, "nursing" gold )
-Overtime, if you want it.
-Free certifications (BLS,ACLS, PALS, EKG, TNCC, etc).. that you will be paid to take...clock in... and clock out...
-Free CEU's...
-Secures a good standing with the hospital.
-PAYCHECKs.... tax returns...
-New Graduate trainings and orientation (which some people are PAYING to get)
-A job, a job, a job, a job...
-Friends at work whom your relationship may last forever.
-Giving care to those who can't care for themselves.
POSSIBL TIMELINE:
-3-6 months: new graduate training and orientation..
-12-18 months: new graduate experience logged in.
-Remaining 6-8months: You're BUSY LOOKING for ANOTHER job...with close to 3-4 pages of your resume, because by then you must have possibly had tons and tons and tons of experience.
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la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN
1,260 Posts
Two years is going to go by so fast. Give yourself time to make peace with the decision and reframe your perspective. Think about all the money you're going to save no paying back loans that is going to help you relocate somewhere really well, where you can go and make more money since you racked up 2 years of awesome experience.
There is nothing bad about this decision whatsoever. You're being emotional because that commitment is scary. But it's only 2 years. Seriously. If I could do that, I would. STAAAAHHHHP.