I am a pre-nursing student trying to gather as much information and opinions as I can. I have already taken my HESI, submitted transcripts and GPA to a school that is a 3 year, pre-reqs included Accelerated BSN that costs $87K.
About me: 27 YOF, single, self-reliant. I have been a medical esthetician for 10 years in Southern CA and burnt out on my career and lack of advancement opportunities. My current company may also be acquired in the next few years and I am concerned about job opportunities in the future as I was laid off in Aug. 2013 and it took me 8+ months to find full time work in my industry that would pay me what I could survive on in Southern CA. My school is located in NV - so I would be relocating alone, for cheaper cost of living.
So my question is... is it worth it to take out $87K+ in loans for a quick way to obtain my BSN and start working sooner rather than later? I am concerned about this financially however my future is uncertain in my industry if I were to decide to take 2-3 years for my pre-reqs at a community college, get on a wait list for other programs and then take 2 years to complete those nursing programs.
Also, if they do not, you only have to be a resident for 6 mos to get in state tuition cost. I also relocated from California, albeit for a different reason. When I applied for the MCCCD schools, the residency question asked if I had been an AZ resident for more the 6 months. This is in the Phoenix metro area. I don't know if the residency requirements for the Tucson schools or the more rural areas is different.
But heck, even paying the out of state tuition cost a a CC for 1-2 semesters is still going to be cheaper than Chamberlain.
6 months only! !?? I guess im packing my things and moving to AZ lol! Did you already share the school you attend in AZ ? If not please pm me or pay here. I can't believe there are real options out there for California's aspiring nurses! Thank you
I am stuck taking 1-2 at a time due to my work schedule. As I mentioned before, CA CC are impacted. There are wait lists for pre-reqs... So what kind of availability can you assume I would have taking night classes only? In addition, I take my GPA seriously. I have a 3.7 now. I wouldn't want to overwhelm myself with full time work and school and have my GPA suffer so in turn my nursing school application for ADN wouldn't be considered.
Don't cut yourself short.
I am a so. California cc and university of California student
I took 33 units last semester. (Had to take classes at 3 different schools to get around the unit limit)
took anatomy +lab, micro, chem, and 7 psych classes to finish my B.A in psych
Have 3 kids
work full time in an ER
can ONLY take classes at night or online because of my kids and work schedule
pulled straight A's
did not put my family into debt
there is plenty of class availability in the so cal cc's if you are right on top of your registration appt.
if you TRULY want this, as I do, you can do it, for considerably less money, far faster than you would at chamberlain.
I hate the "I take my GPA seriously" excuse for only taking one class a semester, because I am living, breathing proof that you CAN do it. My overall GPA is 4.12, you better believe I take my GPA seriously.
No, this may not be the advice you want, but you CAN do this, in a much better way. But you have to WANT it.
You mean is it worth spending $90000 to get a degree in 5 semesters when you can get the same degree in 6 or 7 for $20000 and start working after 4 semesters?
I mean, how does this even remotely make sense?
How the heck do these places dupe people into thinking those numbers add up even a little bit??
I guess it's the not having to "wait" to start your career that gets people. Those affordable programs are great just very competitive in California, sadly... I'm sure most of the patrons in those expensive programs want to start right away OR maybe not competitive enough to gain admission. Just a thought since I'm in a similar situation.
I guess it's the not having to "wait" to start your career that gets people. Those affordable programs are great just very competitive in California, sadly... I'm sure most of the patrons in those expensive programs want to start right away OR maybe not competitive enough to gain admission. Just a thought since I'm in a similar situation.
The thing is, with nursing school, it is rigorous enough that even if one doesn't want to wait, they can be in the very real position of failing and ending up "waiting" to get back into a program or having to go a longer route; nursing school is a lot of work and if people would do the due diligence of shadowing and understanding WHAT a nurse did, most of these people clamoring to get in, get in MASSIVE debt and THEN REGRETTING it, especially when most of the big cities (aka attractive places to work, play, and salary) do not have a nursing shortage and having to wait up to 18 months for a job, it would save time and money and give the appropriate pause to either do it affordable or not at all.
That's true. People should shadow and make sure nursing is a good fit for them regardless the route they take. I have peers who have done the accelerated expensive route who have healthcare experience, finished their Bachelor degrees and have decent gpas who applied for adns, and expensive routes (e.g UCLA). Unfortunately, they couldn't get into ADNs. I guess they could've waited another 2 years to apply or sit on a waitlist and work a low paying job, but now that they're finished--2 years later and working in their "dream" hospitals and making 70k+ they say it was worth it. HOWEVER, they do say if you can get it cheaper, get it cheaper. It's tough decision since in California you can come out making 60k ( lower end). So 40k debt doesn't seem too bad if it'll lead to 60k salary especially when you're getting 11 bucks an hour lol ...idk I've decided on the affordable scenic route mainly because I have a secure job and make decent money so I'll break even at the end lol
My entire degree will cost about 27, 000 Canadian. I wouldn't even consider going to a school 3x the cost. Canadian universities are all publicly funded, and therefore have similar tuition rates. I don't understand why someone would opt for a private school and end up with the same degree, but 87,000 in debt.
Don't come here for advise if you don't want to consider it. You have been given a lot of good advice and it seems that you choose to ignore it. Take that ridiculous loan out....you will regret it...and starting to think you deserve it. Also, thinking that you should choose a degree in a different field.
It's more than possible to start your college career and finish with an ASN or BSN in 4 years. I had a kid at 20 and dropped out of nursing pre-reqs to take care of a family. After a couple years with my son's mom, I ended the relationship in an effort to allow myself an opportunity to be the man I knew I could be, for my son and myself. I wanted to be a role model for him and show him that if you work hard enough dreams can come true. I restarted my dream of becoming a nurse in 2009.
I ended up taking classes at 3 of the Los Rios campuses to get the classes I needed. After 6 and ½ years of 1-2 pre-reqs/semester, while working full-time, and being an involved parent, I graduated with my Associates in Gen. Science. I mentally prepared myself for years of applying and rejection based on the horror stories I had heard of wait lists. I had decent grades (3.8) and decent TEAS score (high 80s), but I was far from a shoe-in. I applied for the first time this past February to the three community colleges in the greater Sacramento area, assuming I would be at it again at the next enrollment period. By April I was accepted into my top school for Spring 2017, and was 6th and 10alternates at the other two schools. I thought I would be applying for years
During my journey, I met some seriously amazing people on their own paths. One also got into all of the schools she applied to on the first try two semesters before me, and took her top choice at the a state college. Whatever your choice is, please keep in mind that it is by no means impossible to get it done quickly without crippling debt. The only reason it took me so long to do pre-reqs is because I wanted to be in my son's life as much as possible while he was so young. That bond was important to me. I understand the pressure of wanting to start your life in the image you see it ASAP, but it's not worth saddling your future with debt. I will be starting nursing school at 30, much older than I had hoped for. But, being where I am now, I can see the perfection in not forcing anything that isn't meant to be due to impatience. We're doing this to create a brighter future for ourselves and for the people we will eventually care for. I would hate to have a cloud of debt block that out. Take care and good luck in your journey. Work hard and learn as much as possible. The process, looking back, was really pretty cool and rewarding.]
I'm sorry that I'm just now seeing this. I go to Southeastern Louisiana University. It's about 45 minutes from New Orleans. LSU also has a nursing school in New Orleans. Look it up under LSUHSC New Orleans. Louisiana has excellent nursing programs. You really can't go wrong in a nursing program here.
I am totally surprised that no one else has taken this much or more in loans out, or they are not commenting. I would love to hear back from anyone how has high loans to repay, is going to Chamberlain or West Coast please and thank you!
Don't be totally surprised. It's a foolish idea to take out that much in loans relative to your ability to pay them back. And I'm guessing they are not commenting because most people are wiser than that.
I have not heard any horror stories about these schools actually. I went on to Instagram and searched "#Chamberlain" and other similar tags to find students in the country who were attending. I asked them what their opinion and experience has been so far... everyone had nothing but positive things to say about the program, their teachers, clinicals...
Please, for the love of your mother, take your fingers out of your ears for a moment........do better research than ask social media. Especially when said advice is regarding a six figure debt that you will be chained to until it's paid off. (and it will be 6 figures when all is said and done.)
Relocate if you need to, but don't accumulate six figures in educational debt. It isn't worth it!
hopefulkim99
622 Posts
6 months only! !?? I guess im packing my things and moving to AZ lol! Did you already share the school you attend in AZ ? If not please pm me or pay here. I can't believe there are real options out there for California's aspiring nurses! Thank you