NCP vs. Waiting to Finish School--In Terms of Money

[tiedied]

Hi! I'm new to this site. I came across it doing google searches on the navy nurse candidate program. I have been thinking of the program ever since a recruiter came to my school (NYU college of nursing) a few weeks ago. My mom is very apprehensive, and feels as though I should wait to see what other options come along (because I'm only a sophomore) before signing away my first five years after college. (She wants me to wait until my senior year to start the NCP and only have a four year commitment) I agree that it is a big decision to make this far in advance but I am pretty much set on joining the navy at this point.

My question is:

If I join the NCP as a senior, I will receive up to 24k maximum (that is only if everything is processed on time and I actually start receiving my 1k per month) and have a four year commitment. I am just wondering how that compares to what I read on the Navy website "ARE YOU A PRACTICING NURSE? $25,000 WHEN YOU JOIN

A sign-on bonus of up to $25,000 is available to all practicing nurses who qualify as Nurse Corps applicants."

I am confused by this. Must you already have experience (not be a graduate) to get the 25k sign on bonus? Because that's more money up front than the NCP for the same time commitment. I already have a recruiter who I contact by phone and email, but I've already sent her two emails that she hasn't responded to yet so I'm going to wait to send another :typing...Does anyone know more about the 25k sign on bonus?

Thanks so much in advance. I have already learned a lot just by reading posts. This is such a wonderful community!

[surromom]

$25,000 WHEN YOU JOIN A sign-on bonus of up to $25,000 is available to all practicing nurses who qualify as Nurse Corps applicants. Talk to a Navy Officer Recruiter for details.

• UP TO $38,300 TO REPAY STUDENT LOANS
  There's no reason to be overwhelmed by the cost of your education. As an Active Duty Officer in the Nurse Corps, you can get up to $38,300 to repay your nursing school loans.
  

I am starting Nursing school in April and my tuition is going to be about $40k and my plan is to have the navy repay my student loans.

[The Little Greek]

I am a practicing nurse with three years experience and I will be getting both the sign-on bonus and the loan repayment. It seems like this might be a sweeter deal than the NCP since the total amount received it more, however, leaving school with 0ver $75K in student loans is a burden that I could have done without.

There are several things that you may want to consider:

1. Can you deal with having a huge amount of student loans if you don't do the NCP and just pay them off when you join as a direct commission?

2. If you choose both loan repayment and a bonus with a direct commission your commitment will be about 6 years depending on the branch. Do you want a lengthy commitment? (I'm not sure what the commitment is for NCP so it's something to consider.)

3. Are you willing to graduate from school and work for a year prior to entering or would you rather get started right away?

Just throwing some thoughts out there since I don't know your particular situation. These are all things I took into consideration before deciding to enter with experience. I was particular about the specialty I wanted (OB) so I wasn't really crazy about entering directly from graduation and having to work med-surg. That's not to say I'll never do med-surg, just that I wanted to enter as a specialist.

Hope this helps a little. There is a lot to think about when trying to decide which route to take!

[tiedied]

"There are several things that you may want to consider:

1. Can you deal with having a huge amount of student loans if you don't do the NCP and just pay them off when you join as a direct commission?"

I don't have any loans because my parents are paying for school in full. That being said...the loss of 200k is pretty painful. The money from the Navy would help get some money back in savings.

"2. If you choose both loan repayment and a bonus with a direct commission your commitment will be about 6 years depending on the branch. Do you want a lengthy commitment? (I'm not sure what the commitment is for NCP so it's something to consider.)"

NCP, if I join now, would be 5 years and 34k if all my paperwork gets in by May which my recruiter said was possible but seems unlikely by what I'm reading from other people who say it's taken months and years to get through the system. If I do NCP next year I will recieve 24k AT THE MOST and have a four year commitment.

"3. Are you willing to graduate from school and work for a year prior to entering or would you rather get started right away?"

I'd rather go straight in. I didn't know that for the direct commission you have to have experience.

[forchunet, BSN]

Hi,

I too am applying for the NCP program this year. Just waiting on one more reference and hopefully I'll have everything done by the end of April.

I would like to note that when they say you'll be recieving $1000 every month until you graduate it only refers to months in which you are in school Full time. So unless you plan to be taking a full courseload during the summers you will not be recieving the $1000 stipend. I know its a bummer when I found out. So in reality when they say 34k by the time you graduate they really mean about $25K+ depending on your school and how the summers go...

But Im pretty much bent on the Navy. Tried NROTC for a semester and hated it, love the Navy, just hated NROTC. Took too much of my time and prevented me from really studying. Anyway, NCP seemed like a decent alternative.

Just hoping I get in. Supposedly there are only 25 slots nationwide... Anybody know if this is true?

Thanks and let me know how the process goes.. Its a pain in the butt for sure.

-glenn