Is it possible to pay off student loans before finishing school?

[BreBeeNeuroNurse]

I am a senior in high school and I was wanting some opinions on how possible this might be.

I'll be graduating with a CNA certification and clinical experience so I am hoping to find a job soon after high school.

I'll be going to school part time for one year to do my general studies my college mandates to be in their 2 year nursing program, the first year will cost me around $3,500 and my 2 years of nursing school will collectively cost me $14,800.

I'll hopefully be working full time as a CNA for the first year and part time after if full time becomes too much (I live in a rural area so finding healthcare jobs is easy as cake)

I don't want to graduate with debt and pay any interest rates, how possible do you think this may be for me?

[Jenngirl34RN]

It depends on your income and living expenses. It is different for everyone. If you keep your expenses really low and learn to budget well then it should be possible if you are working full time, but that is something you will have to figure out for yourself. Your financial aid office might have someone who can help you figure all that out, or maybe your parents can help you with that.

[BreBeeNeuroNurse]

Ok thank you! I won't have any other expenses because I will be living at home.

[mirandaaa]

Agreed with Jenngirl.

You would most likely need to work full time in order to successfully do this and basically "pay as you go" but my suggestion is to just pay a little at a time and not work full time if you don't need to while in nursing school. Working full time if you don't absolutely have to is not recommended because of how taxing the nursing program can be and because you should focus as much time as possible on getting through it.

Another option is to just pay the interest as you go because that will save you thousands in the long run (which is what I'm doing). Loan repayment after school (especially at your estimated cost) really won't be too expensive either. A good friend of mine has her BSN and spent nearly $30,000 total on her loans and she's only paying back the minimum which is about $100 a month and is very doable.