100k in loans worth it?

JKL33 · May 10, 2017

You would be beholden to whomever holds your loan, and thus your employer. No autonomy to speak of; spending your life grinding away with very few options when something happens - - and something WILL (job becomes intolerable, you get fired, you decide to start a family, you experience a health issue, rent gets raised/house suffers damage or just needs maintenance, aging parents...etc). All this for a degree that, by itself, can only provide a comfortable living in certain circumstances that are not as easy to come by as one might imagine. There is so much more to this than whether you believe you will be able to get a job and that you will enjoy nursing. Don't underestimate the idea that being buried in debt may have every ability to affect your enjoyment of anything - including the profession you believe you will love. Take a look into the future - - nearly anything you could want to do may very well be limited OR completely out of reach due to nothing other than what would be crushing financial obligations.

This is a big deal. Please listen to the advice given. Thinking this will work is about like a plan to win the lottery. On the other hand, the ADN > BSN is a pretty solid plan.

I also think you might see a better way if you look around online at the number of people your age who are making frugal living choices as a means of getting what they want in life. They are truly inspiring, and there's no reason you can't join them and discover lots of ways to achieve your life goals in a much more pleasant and financially sound manner!

Best wishes ~

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · May 10, 2017

Short answer: No.

Thorough answer: HEEL no!!

ravindram · May 10, 2017

I appreciate all the answers so far. This is helping me. As much as it sucks to hear, having $100k in loans doesnt sounds like it will be worth it. I am curious about getting to a BSN using a different path though. Some have suggested ADN then bridging to a BSN. Does anyone have any experience with this path? I'm also curious if this will be a little bit more manageable with working full time. I figured if it is indeed more manageable, then I can work full time while pursuing the ADN and then try to get a job using that ADN that will maybe be a little more flexible while i go for the BSN. Thoughts?

RealAmericanNurse · May 10, 2017

Like the others say, $100,000 in loans is way too much. Find an ADN school you would like and determine what prerequisites are needed before the nursing portion, take those prerequisites while you are still employed, maybe online. Then when you are ready to do the nursing portion, maybe then take a much smaller loan (live FRUGALLY now, and then), and quit your job and go to school full-time. But plan on working parttime at least part of the weekends, during holidays, etc. Once you get your ADN, get 1-2 years' experience and then try travel nursing.

I did travel nursing for a long time and made $2400/week on top of free housing. Some specialities make $3000. This was for 48 hours / week, which is not at all hard at younger ages, and leaves 3 full days a week to go sight-seeing and what not. And the money can help you pay off your loan quickly while seeing the country!! There are other ideas, such as Indian Health Services, that, for a time commitment, have loan forgiveness employment. There is also the thought of joining the military (Air Force :) and getting your experience and schooling that way.

Once you have completed your ADN, you can always take an RN to BSN program, even online while you work and have a full-time income.

My 40 yr. old daughter decided 2 years ago to go to nursing school. She was in a job she had loved for a long time, but got to the point where she realized there was no future advancement in it. She checked out the local university and found that since she already had a Bachelor's Degree in another field, that she could try for the Accelerated BSN, a full-time 1 1/2 year program.

While still working at the first job, she completed all the prerequisites for the nursing program. Last summer she took out a loan, quit her job and 2 weeks later started nursing school in August. The end of this year, she will graduate and be able to get her RN. I am still in shock :) Never in a million years thought any of my children would go into nursing! But I am so proud of her for her perseverance and achievements. She is a much better person than I.

You are just 28, and if you set your mind to it, you can do it!!! Just find alternative ways to cut down on the amount of loan you will need. And live frugally!! Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly really are good! And renting a room rather than an apt. Cheaper car. Just a few examples. GOOD LUCK !!! And let us all know how you do.

EllaBella1, BSN · May 10, 2017

So I actually have done this, and can weigh in on my experience.

I have a total of about $110k in student loans. Two Bachelors degrees, and a master's degree. My first college degree left me with about 30k in student loans. This degree was in Sociology, and was useless in the real world. I worked ~35-40k a year jobs for a few years, and decided to go back for my masters degree. Master's degree only cost me an additional $30k. Ok, so now I have 60k in debt, and even with a master's very little job opportunity.

Then I decided to go to nursing school. My biggest mistake was going to NYU for one semester at a cost of roughly $35k. NOT WORTH IT. Do NOT spend this kind of money on a school. I realized this, unfortunately after a semester, and dropped out of their program. I re-applied to state schools that had accelerated BSN programs, and finished my BSN at a cost of $18k.

With my federal student loans on an income-based repayment plan, and my low-rate private loan, my monthly payments are $591. When I have to re-certify my income this year it's going to go up significantly. My full-price payments will put me at about $970/month for both. This is for about 15 years. I do work overtime to pay this amount comfortably each month. I also am continuing to work nights although I would love to see daylight every once in awhile. So my debt has limited me.

That all said, it's manageable. On my current salary I'm able to pay them comfortably, and still have some money left over each month for saving and fun. BUT it would be SO much easier without this kind of debt hanging over my head. I would strongly suggest that you avoid it if possible. But know that if you choose to go ahead anyway it can be doable, it's just a large burden to carry.

pocketpoolboy · May 10, 2017

I live in New Ulm MN... Our main nursing home/assisted living in town helped my wife pay for her school using a state grant program... She dropped out of the BSN program at MSU Mankato... She did her LPN thru Rassmussen then got her 2yr BSN thru Minnesota West, then returned to MSU to get her full BS. All the while, her employer (through the state funding) paid 3k/semester and raised her pay/job title while she completed the programs... This required a 20-hr per week commitment to working. We refinanced our house in 2012 to pay off what loans she still had outstanding.

I have a BS in engineering from MSU (which I've never fully used in my career). I just returned to school at Rasmussen for the ABSN program to become a RN in 18 months. I have been very impressed with the ease of enrollment at Rassmussen and the feeling I get from the faculty as far as their commitment to my success. It will cost me about 30k to complete the program but they do boast a 95% nclex passing rate and high job placement. I've basically had RN job offers already (through networking) and am just getting into the core of the program now! I plan on working part-time while running my DJ business till I graduate next December.

Maybe check around with employees of nursing homes in your area and see if those grant programs are available. Good luck!

pocketpoolboy · May 10, 2017

Oh... I almost forgot. If you work at a business partner of Rasmussen, they do a 10% discount on credits. Also, if you talk to a program director they may or may not let you know that some of the prerequisite classes they offer can be completed through a company/website called Online College Courses That Fit Into Your Degree Program | StraighterLine (I am taking Anatomy/Physiology right now through them!) The credits transfer fully into my program at Rasmussen but only cost about 25% of what Rasmussen charges for their courses (and they're self-paced so you can do them now)... food for thought.

JKL33 · May 10, 2017

ravindram said:
Some have suggested ADN then bridging to a BSN. Does anyone have any experience with this path? I'm also curious if this will be a little bit more manageable with working full time.

It will become more manageable after you are an RN, in that you will have some flexibility in pursuing the BSN completion. But with regard to the amount of clinical work and studying to get to that point, no it will not be more manageable. ADNs have to sit for/pass the same board exam as BSNs (NCLEX).

NurseEmme · May 10, 2017

Oh geeze! No way! If you were about to go to DNP school and were promised a job as CNO of a major healthcare organization making 300k+ a year.... then yeah go for it. 100K in loans, not including interest which would end up probably doubling, for an undergrad degree? Nope, not worth it at all. You will quickly see that to have a position to pay off that kind of loan requires at minimum an NP degree and that can run you an extra 50k+ depending on where you go. I would recommend doing what someone else suggested...if you really want to be an RN, id save up as much money as you can so that you don't have to work during school or at least part time, and go to a community college and get your ADN. Then you can work as a nurse and get your BSN online, which is very easily done while working and is fairly cheap depending on where you go. I worked 2 jobs though nursing school, I got my ADN first, so it can be done. If you are single you can apply for grants and probably get your ADN debt free and get to keep the extra money left over for expenses. If you are married you can still get grants just not as much. Good luck!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 10, 2017

ravindram said:
I appreciate all the answers so far. This is helping me. As much as it sucks to hear, having $100k in loans doesnt sounds like it will be worth it. I am curious about getting to a BSN using a different path though. Some have suggested ADN then bridging to a BSN. Does anyone have any experience with this path? I'm also curious if this will be a little bit more manageable with working full time. I figured if it is indeed more manageable, then I can work full time while pursuing the ADN and then try to get a job using that ADN that will maybe be a little more flexible while i go for the BSN. Thoughts?

I did it. The ADN was cheaper than the BSN programs in town and was faster. The ADN actually cost less than the diploma program as well. But then again, I was in the southeastern US at the time, and the employers in the area I was in didn't have that "BSN or bust" mentality. The new grad job market sucked, but at least degrees and diplomas were on fairly even footing for that suckinesss; you could get hired as long as you had a RN license. I also wouldn't have received much more in salary for having a BSN, maybe $0.50 tops.

I was able to attend full-time and loan-free thanks to a lot of creative budgeting (and ramen, lots of ramen).

After I got the ADN, I went back part-time for my BSN. It took four years because I worked during the program, took one class (occasionally two) at a time, and paid for each class in full. The bridge took as long as a regular BSN program. But I had a BSN with zero debt when I was done.

I am now in California where almost every employer prefers a BSN. When I finished, I was able to get hired at the facility that turned me down four years earlier because I didn't have it. I also now get a nice differential for it (at least $2.50/hr).

amoLucia · May 10, 2017

Unless I missed it and someone else commented, there is also the consideration that you might wish to pursue further nsg graduate education. At age 28, that could be a real possibility to continue on in your future.

No way in Hades might you afford to take on any more debt for those degrees.

Good luck for your future planning.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · May 10, 2017

FurBabyMom said:
There are some repayment programs to consider. One of my former coworkers had a different bachelors degree, and a MBA before she went to nursing school. She had a considerable amount of debt. But under a federal program, all of her loans were forgiven after 10 years of service in an eligible facility.

I would be very reluctant to trust something like this. If you read the fine print, it says that the offer may be withdrawn at any time. Say that you put nine years and six months in under this program, and the government then decides to axe it. You have turned your life upside down for nearly a decade, only to wind up no better off than when you started - and you may have settled for a job that you really didn't want for all that time just because it qualified for loan forgiveness.