NELRP 2010

Hey Fellow Nurses (or soon to be),

I just want to start the thread on this year's NELRP application- anything about it. The process, the amount of paperwork, our debt/income ratio's, status, etc.

Here's mine: the paperwork was a pain. SallieMae took 3 weeks to send me my info and just to be sure I had everything, I called HRSA. I asked the representative what a disbursement report was and if it was the promissary note. His response, "You're lender will know." I asked him 3 different ways, but that's all I got each time. Then I called SallieMae and got "Ruth" in India who had no clue what I was talking about so I asked if I could be connected to someone here in the states. Thankfully the woman I spoke to here knew what I needed and e-mailed it to me. The application says disbursement report or promissary note, but because SallieMae forgot what a promissary note is and they took 3 weeks to send me the wrong info, the disbursement report had to do.

I triple and quadruple-checked everything. I even had my lawyer fiance check everything over to make sure it was done right. When I dropped it off at the post office, I remember walking out with my heart pounding and feeling like I was about to burst into tears... as if I knew I sent everything and it was all wrong. I also mailed it with delivery confirmation just to make sure I didn't get some bull crap "we didn't get it" response because I have proof!

As for debt/income ratio, mine is 483%... let me repeat, 483%! No joke. Despite applying for financial aid and my parent's low income, I barely got anything for funding so I needed to borrow $40,000+ each year for 5 years (I was in a co-op program) to cover my expenses. So that's me. I'm a pedi nurse in NH and I love my job. I wish I could find out sooner than later if I got accepted. I've heard mixed things about the program and basically all of us who apply are all in the same boat: lots of debt, not enough income.

I hope this thread will help us get through!