I'm afraid that I will never become a nurse and be stuck with 11k in loans

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 21, 2016

If you don't have the funds, is it possible for you to get your CNA, work full time, save your money-at least half, THEN enter nursing school with at least half the money and then drop down to every weekend while going to school?

You need to get creative at this...my mom didn't support me until my last semester in my PN program; she didn't even think I could get into a nursing program, let some sustain in one-I failed out of an ADN program, but had a full ride scholarship and had a good enough GPA to continue to get the scholarship; but got back up a got into another program a couple years later after working and continuing my pre-reqs, and my father was MIA during those years prior to entering the program.

I worked as a LPN for many years while returning to school; by then I had grown bills and ended up getting the loans I needed as an independent student, and whatever I had to pay out of pocket, I was able to most of the time; I think my fiancÃ© paid for a balance on my last semester, and even then he had to pull it out of me to do it, because I wanted to pay for it on my own.

There's nothing wrong with putting off school until you have the funds; you are going to have to be practical about situations in life when there is not enough money to go around, and it just happens as to sooner, rather than later, this is happening.

In all my years of schooling, I never took out a personal loan; they don't have the terms that federal school loans do; also they don't have to adhere to the lower interest rates that student loans do-which you need to pay (the amount of the loan plus interest) and you have to think about whether you can sustain paying back a huge personal loan, especially with your current student loans and a new grad job, OR saving some of the money and having less debt. It will be up to you what course of action is needed; however I strongly advise you of NOT getting a personal loan for your schooling.

Best wishes.

dannibeeRN · May 21, 2016

I became a CNA in 2000 during my summer break from the university I was attending at the time. The program was 3 months long and I didn't have to miss any of my college course work at all because of when I took the CNA course. I also worked in my university's housing office at the same time during weekends so I could afford my rent and other expenses. Is this a lot to juggle all at once? Definitely yes but it was so worth it.

Keracee · May 21, 2016

What is your plan B? if your mom will not cosign? Do you have one? You may need to postpone nursing school until you can save up or figure out Plan C.

I don't think I answered all of your questions properly. My mother is a truck driver and she's self employed so if she doesn't work enough hours then she don't bring home a lot of money. I hardly see my mom and it's been like that for 3 1/2 years now when I may just see her 1 night per week. I remember when I was 16 and underemployed and me and my siblings used to starve and had to wait until my mom came home. But it is better now that I have a job and a car.

My plan B is to become an LPN for free at Job Corps and my plan C is to become a CNA.

Keracee · May 21, 2016

You might not qualify for work study if it is based on FAFSA ( I have a 21 y.o in college & she did not qualify due to my income). Even if you are in summer school, you really are not working enough hours. Here is a plan for you. You can work half-time (no more than 20 hours per week) if taking full time course load. Nor sure about the renting an apartment when you can live at home? Is this because you want to get an apartment? You say it takes 10 min by car ( how many miles is that?). If you work more hours you could get a better car? And as previous poster suggested, take a CNA course then work as a CNA. I know students who work every weekend, some are working 2-12 hour shifts as CNA every Sat & Sun, some work 2-16 hour shifts every Sat/Sun and go to school Mon-Friday.
How are you going to do that when you only work 10 hours per week?

Here is my plan of saving 6,000.

I save $500 from my refund this semester. And I was awarded Work Study already but my college. Actually I already received my aid in the amount of 20,000. So I'm going to put the 2,500 up each semester from work study. Then put up 2,000 from my spring semester refund. I tried working 20 hours per week but my job is overstaffed and my manager is not lenient with the hours at all. She keeps giving me hours like 10 or 13 or 17 per week. I want to quit but I will not do that because I don't want to burden my mom even further.

Keracee · May 21, 2016

If you don't have the funds, is it possible for you to get your CNA, work full time, save your money-at least half, THEN enter nursing school with at least half the money and then drop down to every weekend while going to school?
You need to get creative at this...my mom didn't support me until my last semester in my PN program; she didn't even think I could get into a nursing program, let some sustain in one-I failed out of an ADN program, but had a full ride scholarship and had a good enough GPA to continue to get the scholarship; but got back up a got into another program a couple years later after working and continuing my pre-reqs, and my father was MIA during those years prior to entering the program.
I worked as a LPN for many years while returning to school; by then I had grown bills and ended up getting the loans I needed as an independent student, and whatever I had to pay out of pocket, I was able to most of the time; I think my fiancÃ© paid for a balance on my last semester, and even then he had to pull it out of me to do it, because I wanted to pay for it on my own.
There's nothing wrong with putting off school until you have the funds; you are going to have to be practical about situations in life when there is not enough money to go around, and it just happens as to sooner, rather than later, this is happening.
In all my years of schooling, I never took out a personal loan; they don't have the terms that federal school loans do; also they don't have to adhere to the lower interest rates that student loans do-which you need to pay (the amount of the loan plus interest) and you have to think about whether you can sustain paying back a huge personal loan, especially with your current student loans and a new grad job, OR saving some of the money and having less debt. It will be up to you what course of action is needed; however I strongly advise you of getting a personal loan for your schooling.
Best wishes.

Thank you :)

I wanted a personal loan of 12k. But hopefully it won't have to amount to that... And I know you are right about waiting and I wish I had the will power to do so. But I know one day that reality check will come crashing down and I will have no one to blame but myself.

Keracee · May 21, 2016

I became a CNA in 2000 during my summer break from the university I was attending at the time. The program was 3 months long and I didn't have to miss any of my college course work at all because of when I took the CNA course. I also worked in my university's housing office at the same time during weekends so I could afford my rent and other expenses. Is this a lot to juggle all at once? Definitely yes but it was so worth it.

:nailbiting: CNA programs are three months?? I don't know why I thought they were just 5-8 weeks.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · May 21, 2016

I tried being a CNA since I was 16. But it will be another thing I would have to pay for. It cost about a 1,000. I could forgo using my school refund on my apartment and pay for the CNA class or I could do it for free at Job Corps. Which I don't think is too bad. So do you recommend that I should become a CNA and just take a year off from school and work as a CNA?
The only downfall about that is my mother is sacrificing a lot to put me through college and I believe she may think that I'm not taking college or nursing serious and won't put much effort into helping me get through nursing school with finaces. She told me that she pays off her truck in the summer of 2017 so I was hoping that she could help me out a little more then but I know she's not financially stable to do it now.

Absolutely! I'm not your mom and don't know her thought process, but in my eyes that would show that you are very serious about nursing. Your mom isn't able to help you get the loan, so this is taking action to 1) bring in/save more of the money you need for your schooling, and 2) gain experience relevant to your future nursing career.

Plenty of young people don't have their parents' help to pay for school. So what can you do to make it happen? Work is a pretty good solution.

Finally, please give your mom a huge hug and thank her for everything she is doing for you. Honestly it sounds like she is busting her tail, about to be a single mom to a newborn, and is helping you a lot financially. More than a lot of parents of young adults do. She is drawing the line at making a fiscal decision that would have very real consequences for her, should you not be able to pay everything back. Signing her name to that loan would in fact make her responsible for it. She is not slighting you for not being able to be responsible for so much additional debt.

Keracee · May 21, 2016

Please explain: You tried being a CNA???? $1,000 for a CNA class that would possibly lead to a job to help pay for nursing school, yes , and you have some refund to pay for the course but Wait, Free at Job Corps, what are you waiting for???? How long will it take at Job Corps to get the CNA? No need to take a year off unless you need to save for a better car.

Actually you have a great point. When I was 16 I was broke and at the time I don't even think my mom knew what a CNA was (and I didn't either) so she didn't want to waste her money for it. And I never went to Job Corps because I went straight to college after I graduated high school. Though granted job corps is only 30 min away from me and I could drive there for the CNA program. I'm going to check in with them to see how long the CNA course is.

Keracee · May 21, 2016

Absolutely! I'm not your mom and don't know her thought process, but in my eyes that would show that you are very serious about nursing. Your mom isn't able to help you get the loan, so this is taking action to 1) bring in/save more of the money you need for your schooling, and 2) gain experience relevant to your future nursing career.
Plenty of young people don't have their parents' help to pay for school. So what can you do to make it happen? Work is a pretty good solution.
Finally, please give your mom a huge hug and thank her for everything she is doing for you. Honestly it sounds like she is busting her tail, about to be a single mom to a newborn, and is helping you a lot financially. More than a lot of parents of young adults do. She is drawing the line at making a fiscal decision that would have very real consequences for her, should you not be able to pay everything back. Signing her name to that loan would in fact make her responsible for it. She is not slighting you for not being able to be responsible for so much additional debt.

And it is really sad to think that one day I really won't be able to pay the loan back. You actually have really opened y eyes truly. Right now I have a 4.0 from 25 credits overall and I'm on the deans list. Hopefully I can keep my academics up to apply for scholarships!

sailornurse · May 21, 2016

Ah scholarships brings me my next point! Great apply to all and any that you think you qualify for. Go talk to the financial aid office and ask about scholarships. They may have some that you are not even aware exist. And when you do get into nursing school the nursing school may have scholarships also available to current nursing students. I taught in a BSN program for 10 years. Served on the scholarship committee. Sometimes we had scholarships that no one applied for. I also had students that wouldn't apply for the smaller you know $250 300 $400 scholarships. Usually you can write an essay that you can tweak for different scholarships. Go online and look for scholarships sometimes big corporations give away money. Or sometimes local clubs like the Elks club the Rotary club Lions Club these type of civic organizations sometimes have scholarships. Some nursing organizations the student versus Association me have scholarships. With your GPA of 4.0 you should be able to get some scholarships that you won't have to pay back or grants. I like the idea of getting your LPN and CNA for free if you can from the Job Corps. And always if you truly want to be a nurse you could always join the military and then get your G.I. Bill. I have never had student loans and neither does my daughter. She works about 25 hours a week or more. I worked flipping burgers my first year of college got my LPN then worked to get my associate degree Rn, Then worked got the BSN, Then joined the Navy and use the G.I. Bill to get my Masters for nurse practitioner. I paid cash for the LPN the associate degree & BSN.I did have help my first year for LPN I had what was called a basic grant which is now a Pell ??Grant.

Keracee · May 21, 2016

I would love to join the military but my family is completely against as it goes against are religion. But I woudnt let that stop me from chasing my dream. And I feel really bad that I do have a really good GPA and never applied for any scholarships at all. My mom wanted me to but I didn't take it serious. But now I am! I'm going to apply to every single one for nursing school like my life depended on it.

ThatBigGuy · May 21, 2016

I had a well thought out, reasoned approach to help guide you through this bind, but then I re-read your original post and saw the following quote:

...just play as I go and hope that mother would be just a little sympathetic to my plight and co-sign a loan for me.

It's time to grow up and become the adult you legally are.

The first thing to do is to realize you won't be going to nursing school this year. You need to pick up a second job and grind out 50 hours a week. You need to save every penny you earn, and give some back to your mom.

You can apply for school next year, after you've saved $15,000.

Welcome to adulthood.