Loans for 2nd Degree

[lifelive, BSN]

Hello All,

I'm planning to apply for nursing school next year and this will be my 2nd degree. I have good credit score as of now and make a decent income. However, when I start nursing school my income will decrease probably by 60%. Do you all know of any loans that I will be able to apply for to help with my two years of nursing school? My concern is that my income won't be high enough for most loans. I've already used school loans for my first degree. So I know I will need to apply for private loans. Thank you

[angel0309, ADN, RN]

Federal loans! As a second degree student, you should be an independent student, which qualifies you for up to about 10k per year, I believe. You just need to fill out FASFA. Anything left over, you can try to finance yourself through scholarships-there's so many out there for nursing students-or through your own personal savings. If you can't finance the rest, you can apply to private loans, I've used Sallie Mae and College Ave in the past. Make sure you look carefully at the repayment plans (especially Sallie Mae) because I didn't and I almost got screwed over with the interest only repayment option. However, definitely exhaust any federal aid you can get first, as you will almost definitely get MUCH better interest rates on those loans. For instance, my private loans are variable interest, but hover somewhere around 10%, while all of my federal loans are 4% or less.

[lifelive, BSN]

Thank you for this info. I was always under the impression I wouldn't be able to get federal loans because I used them for my first degree. I will definitely check into this..

[lifelive, BSN]

Thank you for this info. I was always under the impression I wouldn't qualify for federal student loans because I used it for my first degree. I will definitely look into this.

[angel0309, ADN, RN]

That wasn't my understanding from my financial aid counselor, but I'm a first degree student, so I could be wrong. Definitely check with your financial aid counselor.

[EmDash]

If you have paid back the federal loans you took out for the first degree and/or the amount you owe has not reached the limit (like 57k for independent students), you should be offered federal loans after filling out your FAFSA.

[nickirows]

I graduated nursing school this past May! It was my second degree too :) Federal loans are a tricky subject. I was able to take out loans that I hadn't reached the maximum amount in yet (e.g. the unsubsidized Stafford loans, Perkins loans, etc.). However, I barely had any money left after my first degree, haha, so I ended up taking out a few Sallie Mae private loans. They're not the greatest in terms of interest, but they were relatively easy to sign up for and they had a variety of payment options, including a grace period after I graduated.