I'm a current student making a transition to Nursing. Previous degree in Psychology. Overall GPA is a 2.7. Last 60 a 3.0. Worked for two hospice companies as a patient care representative, one volunteer and one paid. No CNA license (yet).
I'm not even sure I will get accepted at any accelerated nursing programs but i'm going to apply anyway for the spring/summer semester of 2017. My biggest problem, though, is that i've already racked up 60k in student loan debt. Now i'm looking at applying to programs that are around the same sum of money for a year's worth of education. Being six figures in debt is terrifying..
However, i'd feel much better if I knew there were hospitals that would pay a good chunk of if not all of my student loan debt from that nursing degree. Do some hospitals do this? Also, i'm looking in to the Rural health initiative to see if there are programs that will pay for my student loans in exchange for 3-4 years or more of service in an underserved part of the country...Do these opportunities exist?
I'm dreading having to skip out on a one year program to apply at a 2-year CC program just because I can't afford to pay the tuition.
I just got off the phone with the director at Denver School of Nursing. He more or less tried to convince me to go the BSN route (predictably I guess). Didn't realize the overall tuition there was 55k for BSN and 44k for ADN. Woah...
Anyway, he also said the ADN programs don't do clinicals (wut??) and that states like CO and others are switching to mainly hiring BSN's. Said I could do ADN but i'd have to work in a big city hospital, probably couldn't get a job in a clinic, and somewhere other than denver because they are switching to the magnet program.
I feel like the obvious answer is staring me in the face...but also wondering if the BSN option would be better long-term. I don't know how easy it is to go from ADN to MSN. I eventually want to be a CFNP but I don't know if i'd be as competitive with an associates degree in nursing and a lower gpa.
Sorry, just thinking out loud at this point...
ETA: DSN has a RN to BSN option that takes 9 quarters and most of it is online. That program cost 25k. Might be more viable. Also the reason I am looking into DSN/Colorado schools this much is because my family is moving there next year
If you work for a non-profit hospital or organization, you will eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. You are required to be on an income contingent payment plan. After you have made 120 payments, the rest of your loans are forgiven. This is 10 years. This may seem like a long time, but you wind up having a lot of your debt forgiven.
For example, I am currently working for a government organization and have been for 3 years. (Government falls under public service loan forgiveness, as does public schools, non profit hospitals, public safety like police and fire depts., libraries, etc) I make around 35k a year and am a single mother. My loan payments based on my income are less than $100 a month. I plan on going back to school to be a nurse. When I go to work at a non profit hospital, I will carry with me the 3 years of payments I made while working at a government organization and have 7 years of payments left. I owe 60k, and I am going to have about 40k forgiven.
Specializes in Oncology (Prior: Ortho-Neuro, Metabolic Surgery).
I am in Colorado and I don't know of any ASN programs that don't offer clinicals. If you do find one in Denver, then simply don't bother with them. You need clinicals! Also there is nothing wrong with taking a hospital job while you're finishing the BSN. You can get a hospital job with an ASN as long as you can show that you are working towards a BSN. Many Colorado universities offer completely online BSN bridge after ASN. All of the major hospitals in my region also offer tuition assistance. To use tuition assistance you'll need to pay out of pocket initially, but your employer will reimburse part or all of the expense. Another thing to keep in mind is there are many, many private nursing schools in Colorado, especially in the Denver area. These are simply not good schools. Consistently they are more expensive and have lower NCLEX pass rates and lower hire rates for new grads.
I understand the temptation to go the accelerated route. I also have a prior BA. I've paid off my prior debt, but I'm not eligible to take on more stafford loans. For me the accelerated program is simply too expensive. I was also stressing about it, but a good friend of mine who has been working at a local hospital for many years told me that the students from these accelerated programs are often less prepared from ASN/traditional BSN students. This is not to say that it can't be done or that anyone here who went that route are bad nurses. It can be done, and I'm sure that there are excellent nurses that came from these programs. However, these new grads will have a rougher start, and the hospitals here put a higher preference for hiring ASN or traditional BSN students.
rock hopper
83 Posts
I just got off the phone with the director at Denver School of Nursing. He more or less tried to convince me to go the BSN route (predictably I guess). Didn't realize the overall tuition there was 55k for BSN and 44k for ADN. Woah...
Anyway, he also said the ADN programs don't do clinicals (wut??) and that states like CO and others are switching to mainly hiring BSN's. Said I could do ADN but i'd have to work in a big city hospital, probably couldn't get a job in a clinic, and somewhere other than denver because they are switching to the magnet program.
I feel like the obvious answer is staring me in the face...but also wondering if the BSN option would be better long-term. I don't know how easy it is to go from ADN to MSN. I eventually want to be a CFNP but I don't know if i'd be as competitive with an associates degree in nursing and a lower gpa.
Sorry, just thinking out loud at this point...
ETA: DSN has a RN to BSN option that takes 9 quarters and most of it is online. That program cost 25k. Might be more viable. Also the reason I am looking into DSN/Colorado schools this much is because my family is moving there next year