as an international student, what is the cheapest way for me to study and become a nurse?

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Hello,

I'm kind of a poor 25 year old from the Middle east. No offence to anyone but I don't really like it here because its an oppressive and authoritarian culture.

I would really like to study nursing in a multicultural country and then immigrate there as a nurse.

but because I'm kind of poor, this makes things a bit harder for me.

What is the cheapest way for me to become a nurse? I'm open to studying anywhere not necessarily just the U.S, as long as its affordable and will be recognized in other countries.

one thing I was thinking of is getting a diploma or associate degree in nursing instead of a bachelor's degree, but I'm not sure.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

The cheapest way would be training in your home country. Each country will have international fees for students and will be expensive. Even once trained in a country it doesn't guarantee you can stay there and emigrate also more countries are looking for degree as their training will be at degree level

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Unfortunately I don't think its possible for me to study nursing here. Studying abroad is the only option for me.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

All you can do then is look at nursing schools and universities in different countries and check out International fees

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

To come to the US aside from meeting the admission requirements and getting accepted to school you must have sufficient funds to pay the tuition (generally 3x that of a local student), fees, meals, lodging, transportation, medical insurance and incidental living expenses for the duration of your education (~4 years) as a condition of your student visa. There is almost no sponsorship or financial aid as the US (like other countries) prioritizes the education of citizens and certain legal permanent resident.

If you are poor/low income studying abroad may not be a realistic option. Plus depending on your country of birth there may be restrictions on

Visa eligibility .

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What if I study in a community college? for half that time 2 years or less just for an associate degree or a diploma? that should be cheaper right?

if the total tuition fees are around 10,000$ and under I will probably be able to afford it after saving up for a while. I also plan to try to get a part time job while I'm studying there if possible to deal with the living expenses.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
What if I study in a community college? for half that time 2 years or less just for an associate degree or a diploma? that should be cheaper right?

if the total tuition fees are around 10,000$ and under I will probably be able to afford it after saving up for a while. I also plan to try to get a part time job while I'm studying there if possible to deal with the living expenses.

Community college is about $10,000 (PER YEAR) for a local student. About $25,000-$35,000 (Per year, often takes 3 years with a competitive program to complete pre-requisites before starting nursing classes)

plus insurance, visa fees, living expenses and transportation for an international student. County colleges don't have dormd so the cost of living will be higher. Most county colleges are highly competitive and rarely admit international students to nursing programs as they don't participate in the F1 visa programs

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

As a International student you are limited on how many hours you can work during term time and for the first year limited to campus and if you have to go home after finishing school you need to make sure that you can use your nurse training elsewhere

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What about other countries? Canada, Australia somewhere in Europe maybe?

there has to be something I can do, otherwise I'm stuck here...

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RNs are degree educated at universities in Canada and Australia and the education will cost more than US community college education. If you want to be educated as a nurse in a European country, you will need to speak the language of that country.

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If you obtain your education in a middle eastern country, you don't have to be stuck there for the rest of your life, you can immigrate to another country after you are an experienced RN. Canada has nurses who obtained their initial education in middle eastern countries such as; Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Iran, I believe the US and Australia have middle eastern educated nurses as well.

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Check out the Philippines. Cost of Education for Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing is considerably cheaper here than in the US, Canada or Australia. The mode of instruction is in English, extensive student training both in Clinical and Community Nursing. Our Curriculum is widely recognised.

One thing though, it is rare for students here to find part-time jobs and if you do pay would be too low, heck, regular workers here are paid very low.

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