I know it's horrible to live off loans but...

GourmandG · Jul 12, 2016

Hi,

I find it hard to believe that the cost of going to a community college is similar to the cost of going to a state college. Go to both websites and compare the cost of a class and you should see a huge difference. For example, where I'm at, a single day parking permit is $2 at a community college vs $10 at a state college!

Have you considered living at home and going to a community college for your ADN? This is the route I'm taking and so far, I am loan/debt free. Get your ADN and start working. And while working, you can go back and finish your BSN at a state college. Most employers will even pay for you to finish your BSN too.

I realize that you're at the age where most people want freedom and it's almost a rite of passage for some to move away for college. The lure of living on your own and the sense of independence and adventure is tempting indeed. But you have your whole life as an adult to experience those things. Many adults wish they could and many do move back home due to the economy. Take advantage of the benefits that come with living at home while you can. A few more years of putting up with living at home vs how many years of paying off student loans? Once you're an RN, I would even continue to live at home, save up for a down payment to buy a home and by the time you are ready to move out, you'll be moving into your brand new home!

You mentioned you got a scholarship (congrats!) and then you said that you'd have to pay for tuition, books, and housing. So did you lose your scholarship or wasn't it enough to begin with? If it's not possible to live at home due to distance, can you stay with a relative that lives closer to campus? Did you apply for FAFSA and scholarships at the community colleges? It seems like you are set on going to a state college. Just because you got a scholarship through state college, doesn't mean you have to go there if it isn't actually saving you money. If your scholarship doesn't cover food and housing... is it really that good of a deal? Wouldn't it make more sense to live at home and pay out of pocket for community college if you're still ahead financially?

Many of my nursing classmates still work full or part time jobs and some with children! So working and going to nursing school is difficult but possible. Plus, why do you have to quit for school? You do have the option to resign DURING school if it doesn't work out. If you're working full time, will they let you work part time?

To answer your question, no you're not doomed to live off loans. But it is up to you and your lifestyle and what you are willing to sacrifice. Are your parents able to help you with school? Are they willing to cancel cable or downgrade their cell phone plan or discontinuing a gym membership? The money they will save, can go towards your books and they can simply change it back. Everyone has a well off relative. Talk to them and they might gift you money for school. Can you sell some stuff on ebay or craigslist? Do you have old textbooks to sell?

Where there is a will, there is a way!

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jul 12, 2016

Well, if you do become a nurse, at least there are no shortage of programs offering to pay back your loans for you.

But how many of those programs approve a lot of people? Plus, many of them have tradeoffs, such as working in underserved areas where there may be a lack of resources.

Student Loan Forgiveness Programs for Nurses

ChangingPaths · Jul 13, 2016

I have 2 degrees, BS and MS, from UF. I worked part-time off and on during both and still had to essentially live on student loans. I am a little over $40k, which really isn't too bad, in my opinion, considering that's from over 6 years full-time at a state university. Now, I am changing career paths and applying to ASN in accelerated BSN programs. So, I will attempt to work part-time while back in school, but I've heard it's very rough and impossible during an accelerated program.

One thing to keep in mind when taking out loans is to avoid private (i.e. Bank loans) and take federal Perkins and Stanford loans when you work in public health, you qualify for loan forgiveness after 120 on time payments. You just have to make sure that your payments are income based, as long as you don't make enough money for your payments to be so high that you'd pay off your loans before the forgiveness period. Loan forgiveness is a blessing for me bc of how much I have in loans, but some people would be better off to pay them off as quickly as possible. I suggest doing some research on studentaid.ed.gov.

Hope this helps.

Cats&Tea&Climbing · Jul 14, 2016

Hi,
I find it hard to believe that the cost of going to a community college is similar to the cost of going to a state college. Go to both websites and compare the cost of a class and you should see a huge difference. For example, where I'm at, a single day parking permit is $2 at a community college vs $10 at a state college!
I looked at it again, and the reason I saw it was just as expensive is because the BSN is only offered through the community college if you do a dual system with the main university. My scholarship wouldn't apply here. My scholarship gives me about 2,500 off 3 of my 5 trimesters in nursing school. Community college only offers an associates.
Have you considered living at home and going to a community college for your ADN? This is the route I'm taking and so far, I am loan/debt free. Get your ADN and start working. And while working, you can go back and finish your BSN at a state college. Most employers will even pay for you to finish your BSN too.
It's a bit of a commute, but I'm going to suck it up and live at home instead of near my college because all these responses are strongly telling me to avoid debt at whatever cost, and living at home seems to be the "cost".
You mentioned you got a scholarship (congrats!) and then you said that you'd have to pay for tuition, books, and housing. So did you lose your scholarship or wasn't it enough to begin with? If it's not possible to live at home due to distance, can you stay with a relative that lives closer to campus? Did you apply for FAFSA and scholarships at the community colleges? It seems like you are set on going to a state college. Just because you got a scholarship through state college, doesn't mean you have to go there if it isn't actually saving you money. If your scholarship doesn't cover food and housing... is it really that good of a deal? Wouldn't it make more sense to live at home and pay out of pocket for community college if you're still ahead financially?
Yeah, my scholarship isn't brilliant, but good luck to me finding a scholarship elsewhere. If I leave, I lose it for good, and I've already been accepted to the program and have my uniforms for this certain school, thanks to a friend who dropped out of the program last year. Plus, by staying here I build relationships with people working in my university hospital. We are considered an underserved area, so I hope I can work here for a year and get loan forgiveness for that. FAFSA certainly has helped out in my undergrad.
Many of my nursing classmates still work full or part time jobs and some with children! So working and going to nursing school is difficult but possible. Plus, why do you have to quit for school? You do have the option to resign DURING school if it doesn't work out. If you're working full time, will they let you work part time?
The college of nursing is the main place I've heard that I cannot work during school. But again, after reading responses on allnurses, I'm finding it's possible to work, just not fun. I have a job on the medical campus that pays 10/hr that I'm planning to keep, and there are opportunities in levels 3, 4, and 5 to apparently work in the hospital for 15/hr. Nice to know working through school isn't a death sentence.
To answer your question, no you're not doomed to live off loans. But it is up to you and your lifestyle and what you are willing to sacrifice. Are your parents able to help you with school? Are they willing to cancel cable or downgrade their cell phone plan or discontinuing a gym membership? The money they will save, can go towards your books and they can simply change it back. Everyone has a well off relative. Talk to them and they might gift you money for school. Can you sell some stuff on ebay or craigslist? Do you have old textbooks to sell?
Where there is a will, there is a way!
Good luck and please keep us posted.

This is really great, thanks for your response, and to everyone, really. In light of all this, I'm definitely selling some items and furniture I don't need. I have enough from when a family member passed away to pay off my undergrad debt, leaving the grand total around 30k for loans. I'm going to keep my eye out for forgiveness programs that are well reviewed or would allow me to stay here, while bugging the departments in our school hospital for shadowing and networking opportunities (might as well make friends right?) I'll keep poking around the forums for other ways to make school affordable.

To the person who said I should probably give information even if I don't want to, I'll say this- my original plan was to live at home. The fall out had been happening for a few months as the reality of me living at home set in. My health is compromised in that environment, and I panicked realizing it might interfere with my ability to complete school. It's become clear whatever struggle I have over the next two years in minimal compared the the struggle of paying off massive loans.

Thanks everyone for being responsive and helpful.

GourmandG · Jul 14, 2016

You're very welcome! I know not all suggestions are applicable to you but I'm pleased to see that you took our suggestions to heart, you were open to feedback and will even implement a few! All too often, someone comes on here asking for advice and then gets very defensive and shuts everyone down. I'm happy this was not the case. :)

I think it's great that you decided to live at home for now. I don't know if you've lived on your own before but it's never just the rent money. It will be hundreds more by the time utilities, water, internet, cable, food etc gets added on. Now you don't have to worry about where that money will come from or if you will need to cover for your roommate. Your main focus will be on your studies and passing your classes the first time. You hang in there and if your situation changes, you can revisit living closer or in the dorms then. Maybe you will be good friends with a classmate whom after a late night study session will offer to let you spend the night sometimes or perhaps a group of you will get a place together in the future.

Maybe your parents (like others) believe that student loans are unavoidable? Maybe their parents had student loans or all their friends have student loans so to them, it is the norm? Regardless, my husband and I have been fortunate that we don't have any student loans so far (paid for school by working/saving, working swing shift to go to school during the day, financial aid, scholarships and his work has tuition reimbursement) but having student loans isn't a death sentence. I think the issue is that if someone is used to making that student loan payment, once you're making good money, often times, people will keep spending ie new car, wedding, house, kids, your kids' college etc. An acquaintance (not a nurse) has been at her new job for just a month making "very good money" and went out and bought a brand new car. Turns out she owes $37k in student loans. So now she has to pay rent, student loan AND a new car payment (along with an increase on her car insurance). I don't know if her old car was on its death bed, but that car payment could have easily wiped out her student loan! There is a saying that I like, "If you find yourself digging a hole and you're in it, stop digging." Be aware that if you are indeed living off of loans much like living off of credit cards, stop. You want to be able to pay off all loans and see your savings grow (get a financial advisor/ take a personal finance class). It'll bring a smile to your face and give you peace of mind. You can retire at a decent age. It breaks my heart to see the elderly people whom should retire but can't because they didn't plan for retirement properly. Sorry, I really got side tracked!

Anyway, you seem to have a good head on your shoulders and I know you will do great. Good luck and all the best to you!

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Jul 14, 2016

To the person who said I should probably give information even if I don't want to, I'll say this- my original plan was to live at home. The fall out had been happening for a few months as the reality of me living at home set in. My health is compromised in that environment, and I panicked realizing it might interfere with my ability to complete school. It's become clear whatever struggle I have over the next two years in minimal compared the the struggle of paying off massive loans.

Thanks everyone for being responsive and helpful.

If living at home is compromising your mental, physical, or emotional health, it's better to live off of loans. I was in a similar situation (little money, emotionally abusive single mother with untreatd mental illness). In my opinion, sanity, peace of mind, and the ability to study so you can finish your degree are worth living off of loans for a few years. Money isn't everything.