No money for school, sorry it's long..

jb2u, ASN, RN · Sep 17, 2005

amy,

first of all, i am sorry to hear how hard life is for you. sometimes life is hard, but believe me, if you keep trying to figure out why, you will end up feeling worse! did you get turned down for grants or student loans? if you only were turned down for grants then i suggest you get a student loan. you will start paying back a student loan 6 months after you graduate, so by then you will have a job. if you can not get a loan because of your bankruptcy, then my best suggestion would be to focus right now to get your finances back on track...A DELAYED DREAM IS BETTER THAN AN UNATTAINED DREAM! i know it is easier said than done, but sometimes that is what it takes to reach our goal. in order to lose 80 pounds you have to lose 1 first!

what i did was take a FREE cna class from a nearby nursing home. this way i could work as a cna while going to nursing school. i personally feel everyone should be a cna before working as a nurse (just MY opinion) anyway. so is this an option for you in your area. i know in this area nursing homes always need cna's that is why they offer free classes. if you can't go to their day class they will actually pay for you to get your cna certification from a nearby technical college! AND HERE IS THE GREAT PART, after you get into your nursing program they will reimburse you for every semester that you get a C or better in. of course you have to stay with that place for like a year after you graduate, but hey, small price to pay for a FREE education and obtaining a DREAM.

i truly hope that i have helped you somehow. please, never give up. you will obtain your dream if you look for the detours in the road and ignore the stop signs. another bit of advice, my school had us sign our names with RN behind it and it sent chills up my spine. i say do this, sign your name with LPN behind it (or whatever your goal is) and put it on your bedroom mirror to see everyday. that way you never lose sight of the goal.

i wish you much success and can't wait to see a post from you on this sight that says I GRADUATED TODAY!!

best wishes,

jay

DYatesRN · Sep 17, 2005

Hi,
I hope I have posted this in a OK place, my name is Amy and I am a happily married stay at home mom of 3. An 8 yr old girl, a 7 yr old boy and a 9 month old boy, my 2 oldest are almost 15 months apart, so as you can see I have had my hands full for years. After the birth of our 3rd (well actually while I was pregnant), I came to realize that my dream of having a nursing degree had to happen, not only for myself but for my family as well. I have been looking for work lately and can't seem to find a job anywhere, I babysit to bring in gas money alone (gas price, grrrrrr), and whats worse is I am out here with NO degree in anything and eventually with the way the economy is today, there won't even be any McDonalds jobs available in the future, those will end up being extra income for people.
So I signed up for financial aid this past spring and got turned down. My husband works for the state, but.... we still live paycheck to paycheck, he is a corrections officer and only makes almost $15.00 and hour for a family of 5, now if I had a job that would be ok and I could see getting turned down for financial aid, but since we got an extra child tax credit it put us over limit, it was something small like $300 or $500 over limit, I would have to get out my paper to be for sure, but I absolutely can not pay for books by myself let alone pay for school.
I wish my parents would have encouraged me to go right after school, I come from a family who's mother or father did not graduate high school, so it was enough for them that I did, and I want better for my children than that, but I have been out since 1990 and in need of refresher courses, my grades weren't even that great back then so I am sure a scholarship etc would be out of the question, my grade point average was only a 1.777, ( I had a boyfriend all the way thru high school, I thought I knew better than my parents about studying, hmmmm, wish I would have listened to them, and NO he is not my husband, haven't seen him in years) but my parents didn't have the money to send me then either.. funny how things get more important as you grow up, So here I am, wanting to make something of my life, so eager to learn (now) and be a good role model for my children to go to college (plus save money for them to go), but I can't go, I have no money at all literally paycheck to paycheck, we are still paying off medical bills from when we had our son, slowly but surely, what am I to do? We recently had to file bankruptcy in Feb due to hubby being laid off a few years ago, we were playing catch up and never caught up ( he worked at a factory then) and we had to credit card everything (food and some utilities) because his unemployment check were small and then we couldn't even collect any public assistance for food or anything even though his unemployment checks still had tax's taken out to pay into the *system*, so see we have had bad luck all around.
I am not having a pitty party for myself, but I reallllly want to go to LPN school, and don't know how it is possible. I realize all schools are probably different , but I checked into it here and it is almost $8,300 for the core courses, and I am guessing you have to pay extra for the refresher courses and the seperate classes such as nursing assitant, med term etc, they are all prereqs here. About how much do you think you paid to get clear through school, I am talking till your first day of actual paid work in a hospital or wherever. Any suggestions? Anyone ever had a very hard time getting to go with money and all and still found a way?
Sorry so long...
Thank you in advance.
Amy

Amy--

Around here if you are accepted into a nursing program several local hospitals will pay for it if you sign a contract. Please check into it in your area. This is mainly for those seeking RN programs. I would suggest you take out a student loan...you should qualify for one. The first step is to contact the financial aid office at the school you wish to attend and they can give you many options. Don't give up on your dream even if you must take out a student loan. Some states as well as employers will pay off your student loans if you work for them so long as well. Seems strange to me that you aren't able to get a pell grant at all. I got a pell grant working part time and my husband was working full time...and we have 2 kids. Before you say you can't get anything get the word directly from the financial aid office. Scholarships are also available...do some homework and I think you will find some great options!

p.s. I was born the within a month of you...and I also have learned that I should have listened to my parents...I graduated in 90 from H.S., the LPN program in 1995, and now the RN program in March of this year. It took me awhile but my dreams are slowly happening...next it is on to BSN :)

Dee

luv4nursing · Sep 17, 2005

Hey there,

I dont have any children but I definitely know where you are coming from bc Ive struggled all my life financially! I never qualified for grants either, even though I barely made enough to scrape by, up until I was 24 it went by my parents income even though they didnt help me out. Then I worked full time and that put me over the bracket to get aid too when I was considered independant. Student loans are the best type of loans you can get if u have to get a loan. The interest rate is low and you dont have to begin to pay it back until 6 months after graduation. Ill bet you are trying to go to a vocational school though, and many dont allow student loans. I just graduated LPN school, and when I started the program, my school had a financial need based scholarship for those who didnt qualify for grants. It paid for the whole program, all I was responsible for were books and uniforms. Also, through my local workforce education center, I qualified for a program where they are paying for my state boards, a state board review class, and my IV certification. This is over $1000 I wouldnt have been able to come up with and Im very thankful!

The money you are talking sounds expensive, please check into local vocational/technical schools for LPN programs. They are much cheaper, mine was just over $3000 in all and no pre reqs. When you find one, talk to the financial aid department about what is available to you. Also find out about your local workforce center and go to them. They are there for situations like yours. They even have special programs for displaced homemakers who want to enter the workforce and provide funding for training and even money to live on, and if Im not mistaken, even daycare expenses. Please look into these. I know what its like to only barely keep your head above water and I know it would cost more in daycare than you would make in a minimum wage job. You can double or triple your income potential with just one year of school. It will be hard but it will be so worth it in the end.

best of luck to you.

L&D_2b · Sep 17, 2005

Around here (Western PA), many of the nursing homes will hire you and train you to become a CNA. However, some also will let you work weekends as a CNA while THEY pay for you to go to LPN or RN school during the week. Of course, you have to sign a contract with them stating that you will work for them for X amount of time after you graduate. Just a thought.

Hi,
I hope I have posted this in a OK place, my name is Amy and I am a happily married stay at home mom of 3. An 8 yr old girl, a 7 yr old boy and a 9 month old boy, my 2 oldest are almost 15 months apart, so as you can see I have had my hands full for years. After the birth of our 3rd (well actually while I was pregnant), I came to realize that my dream of having a nursing degree had to happen, not only for myself but for my family as well. I have been looking for work lately and can't seem to find a job anywhere, I babysit to bring in gas money alone (gas price, grrrrrr), and whats worse is I am out here with NO degree in anything and eventually with the way the economy is today, there won't even be any McDonalds jobs available in the future, those will end up being extra income for people.
So I signed up for financial aid this past spring and got turned down. My husband works for the state, but.... we still live paycheck to paycheck, he is a corrections officer and only makes almost $15.00 and hour for a family of 5, now if I had a job that would be ok and I could see getting turned down for financial aid, but since we got an extra child tax credit it put us over limit, it was something small like $300 or $500 over limit, I would have to get out my paper to be for sure, but I absolutely can not pay for books by myself let alone pay for school.
I wish my parents would have encouraged me to go right after school, I come from a family who's mother or father did not graduate high school, so it was enough for them that I did, and I want better for my children than that, but I have been out since 1990 and in need of refresher courses, my grades weren't even that great back then so I am sure a scholarship etc would be out of the question, my grade point average was only a 1.777, ( I had a boyfriend all the way thru high school, I thought I knew better than my parents about studying, hmmmm, wish I would have listened to them, and NO he is not my husband, haven't seen him in years) but my parents didn't have the money to send me then either.. funny how things get more important as you grow up, So here I am, wanting to make something of my life, so eager to learn (now) and be a good role model for my children to go to college (plus save money for them to go), but I can't go, I have no money at all literally paycheck to paycheck, we are still paying off medical bills from when we had our son, slowly but surely, what am I to do? We recently had to file bankruptcy in Feb due to hubby being laid off a few years ago, we were playing catch up and never caught up ( he worked at a factory then) and we had to credit card everything (food and some utilities) because his unemployment check were small and then we couldn't even collect any public assistance for food or anything even though his unemployment checks still had tax's taken out to pay into the *system*, so see we have had bad luck all around.
I am not having a pitty party for myself, but I reallllly want to go to LPN school, and don't know how it is possible. I realize all schools are probably different , but I checked into it here and it is almost $8,300 for the core courses, and I am guessing you have to pay extra for the refresher courses and the seperate classes such as nursing assitant, med term etc, they are all prereqs here. About how much do you think you paid to get clear through school, I am talking till your first day of actual paid work in a hospital or wherever. Any suggestions? Anyone ever had a very hard time getting to go with money and all and still found a way?
Sorry so long...
Thank you in advance.
Amy

smk1, LPN · Sep 17, 2005

when you looked at financial aid did you apply for student loans and work study? Work study is a parttime deal and you get paid for your work and you get a financial aid award to pay for school and books. I know you may not want loans, but sometimes it is the only way, and the interest rate is very low and yo don't have to pay them back until 6 months after you quit going to school, or graduate. When you applied for financial aid did you apply right away (well before the deadline?) because the money can run out and that may be why you didn't get an award. A family of 5 on 15/hour certainly should be eligible. Also another idea is to try for a job at the school because you may get free tuition. An unconventional idea that someone I know did, was to take on a newspaper route (paid about 650 per month) and she saved for about 1 year and then paid for her program out of pocket. (you need a good running vehicle). Good luck and don't give up. Go and talk to an advisor there may be programs that aren't advertised taht can help you.

LPNMomma · Sep 17, 2005

The LPN school I go to is a state funded program, the criteria to get accepted is hard but once accepted you only pay for books! I am a mother of two with no job so it can be done!

gauge14iv, MSN, APRN, NP · Sep 17, 2005

Did you apply just for grants? Pretty much EVERYONE qualifies for loans. Grants are reserved for the poorest of the poor in most cases. Anything - even a dollar - over poverty will put you out of the grant range. Be sure you fill out a fafsa every year online at the fafsa site. Don't pay someone else to do it for you. Even if you don't plan to apply for aid, you may change your mind and having that fafsa already available to the aid office speeds things up immensely. Just applying through the college without filling out the fafsa will pretty much get you nothing at all unless they just happen to have an extra scholarship floating around. Between me and my 4 kids in college, I fill out 5 fafsas a year right now! Not all of them need it, but it is always there jsut in case.

Also - universities have MUCH more financial aid available than jr. colleges. For instance. My son who goes to a university - gets about 17k a year in fin aid of various types, about 8k of that goes to tuition and fees, the rest towards living expenses. My son who is at the jr. college only gets 2400 a year in financial aid and 1000.00 of that goes to tuition and fees. While the community colleges may be cheaper, you may not be able to get enough aid at a jr. college to keep yourself afloat while you go to school so in the long run you may be better off at a university.

There are also private loans - salliemae.com, bofa.com, wellsfargo.com to name a few. They are pretty much "here's your money - we don't ask questions" kind of thing. You tell them how much you want and they tell you how much they will give you.

I know loans can be concerning, but many hospitals offer sign on bonuses or loan repayment programs after graduation. Also you might check into the loan repayment system offered by the NIH for people who plan to work in high shortage areas/specialties.

As another poster said there are also many employers who will pay for your tution and books while you go to school in return for a committment to work for them for a specified period of time afterwards - Usually 6 mos to a year of committment for each semester they pay for. OR You could get a part time job at one of the hospitals as ward clerk or aid and get it paid for that way. Tuition reimbursement is a pretty common employee beneift at hospitals.

got2be · Sep 18, 2005

amy,
first of all, i am sorry to hear how hard life is for you. sometimes life is hard, but believe me, if you keep trying to figure out why, you will end up feeling worse! did you get turned down for grants or student loans? if you only were turned down for grants then i suggest you get a student loan. you will start paying back a student loan 6 months after you graduate, so by then you will have a job. if you can not get a loan because of your bankruptcy, then my best suggestion would be to focus right now to get your finances back on track...A DELAYED DREAM IS BETTER THAN AN UNATTAINED DREAM! i know it is easier said than done, but sometimes that is what it takes to reach our goal. in order to lose 80 pounds you have to lose 1 first!
what i did was take a FREE cna class from a nearby nursing home. this way i could work as a cna while going to nursing school. i personally feel everyone should be a cna before working as a nurse (just MY opinion) anyway. so is this an option for you in your area. i know in this area nursing homes always need cna's that is why they offer free classes. if you can't go to their day class they will actually pay for you to get your cna certification from a nearby technical college! AND HERE IS THE GREAT PART, after you get into your nursing program they will reimburse you for every semester that you get a C or better in. of course you have to stay with that place for like a year after you graduate, but hey, small price to pay for a FREE education and obtaining a DREAM.
i truly hope that i have helped you somehow. please, never give up. you will obtain your dream if you look for the detours in the road and ignore the stop signs. another bit of advice, my school had us sign our names with RN behind it and it sent chills up my spine. i say do this, sign your name with LPN behind it (or whatever your goal is) and put it on your bedroom mirror to see everyday. that way you never lose sight of the goal.
i wish you much success and can't wait to see a post from you on this sight that says I GRADUATED TODAY!!
best wishes,
jay

just wanted to let you know i am going for my lpn, maybe rn if we can figure out the money situation also. but i wrote my name with lpn behind then with rn behind it and keep it in my purse(well diaper bag for now) so that i know this is what i want to do with my life, that i AM going to do this even if i have to wait til my kids are grown. LOL! :rotfl: anyhow that was good advice!

mchanrice · Sep 18, 2005

amy,
first of all, i am sorry to hear how hard life is for you. sometimes life is hard, but believe me, if you keep trying to figure out why, you will end up feeling worse! did you get turned down for grants or student loans? if you only were turned down for grants then i suggest you get a student loan. you will start paying back a student loan 6 months after you graduate, so by then you will have a job. if you can not get a loan because of your bankruptcy, then my best suggestion would be to focus right now to get your finances back on track...A DELAYED DREAM IS BETTER THAN AN UNATTAINED DREAM! i know it is easier said than done, but sometimes that is what it takes to reach our goal. in order to lose 80 pounds you have to lose 1 first!
what i did was take a FREE cna class from a nearby nursing home. this way i could work as a cna while going to nursing school. i personally feel everyone should be a cna before working as a nurse (just MY opinion) anyway. so is this an option for you in your area. i know in this area nursing homes always need cna's that is why they offer free classes. if you can't go to their day class they will actually pay for you to get your cna certification from a nearby technical college! AND HERE IS THE GREAT PART, after you get into your nursing program they will reimburse you for every semester that you get a C or better in. of course you have to stay with that place for like a year after you graduate, but hey, small price to pay for a FREE education and obtaining a DREAM.
i truly hope that i have helped you somehow. please, never give up. you will obtain your dream if you look for the detours in the road and ignore the stop signs. another bit of advice, my school had us sign our names with RN behind it and it sent chills up my spine. i say do this, sign your name with LPN behind it (or whatever your goal is) and put it on your bedroom mirror to see everyday. that way you never lose sight of the goal.
i wish you much success and can't wait to see a post from you on this sight that says I GRADUATED TODAY!!
best wishes,
jay

How did you find a nursing home that offered a free CNA class?

Southern_Male_Nurse · Sep 19, 2005

I hope you are able to make your dream come true. It may take time, but keep working at it.

Since i do not know where you live, I can give some information for Maryland. Whereever you live, try your state board of nursing website. I am sure they will have some great information or links to help you out. Also, check your local nursing homes (talk to them) and see if they offer any educational benefits.

as far financial: I know tha State of Maryland offers up to $6000 for you to go to nursing, if you would go into the mental health or into the DD field. It is based upon funds available, anyone can apply. And if you aren't given the funds right away, they will put you on a waiting list until funds become up for available. AND you can renew the grant every year w/o any problems. More information is available at one of their websites:

http://www.mhec.state.md.us/financialAid/ProgramDescriptions/prog_devdis.asp

also try these: http://www.marylandhealthcareers.org/html/student/scholarships.at.md.hospitals.students.htm

I am not pushing this one, but I posted this here to help people out, plus in hopes that you will search other facilities to learn more about what they can do to help. Alot of facilities offer free cna classes, cmt training, even sending you to school for an lpn or rn, you just have to ask them:

http://genesishcc.com/careers/benefits.cfm

here is a VA (Veterans Admin) benefit link:

http://www.vacareers.com/l2_assistance.cfm

I hope these will help somebody out there.

Alibaba · Sep 19, 2005

I can not say enough about government loans. Yeah, it's not a grant so you have to pay it back, but you get 6 months from graduation to start paying back. And... they don't go by your credit. to only thing that matters is that you haven't defaulted on any government loans. Trust me when I say these loans are a GOD send for poor students. talk to the financial aid office of the schools you want to attend and they can help you out. As previous posters stated, many nursing homes will be glad to hire you and train you as a CNA so you can make money while going to school. (BTW this is from experience. My school cost $18k for LPN! and all of it was paid for with FAFSA loans. I get to pay like $200/mnth for the rest of my life but it's worth it). Good luck in your persuits!