New to Chicago for Grad School, can I afford it?!

[mks22]

I am moving to Chicago this summer to pursue the DNP program at Rush, but am worried about the affordability of paying for school and living in Chicago. I plan to attend school on a part-time basis, and hope to get a part-time RN job at a local hospital to subsidize the costs. Any advice on how to make this process affordable? Which hospitals do you recommend for a part-time job? Do any hospitals offer tuition assistance? Any living recommendations for a mid-20s single girl are also appreciated! I want to afford my rent, but also maintain some sort of social life! In regards to a car, is this reasonable in the city? Or just an extra expense? Any advice is greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

[ArtisticNurse]

I am moving to Chicago this summer to pursue the DNP program at Rush but am worried about the affordability of paying for school and living in Chicago. I plan to attend school on a part-time basis, and hope to get a part-time RN job at a local hospital to subsidize the costs. Any advice on how to make this process affordable? Which hospitals do you recommend for a part-time job? Do any hospitals offer tuition assistance? Any living recommendations for a mid-20s single girl are also appreciated! I want to afford my rent, but also maintain some sort of social life! In regards to a car, is this reasonable in the city? Or just an extra expense? Any advice is greatly appreciated!! Thanks![/quote']

Check out scholarships:

http://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/nursing-scholarships-and-nursing-grants/

[elkpark]

Does the university offer any graduate student housing? That would probably be your cheapest option, if you think you could make that work for yourself. I moved to an expensive Northeastern city to go to grad school years ago. I moved with my long-time boyfriend at the time, so we were able to split housing expenses. I worked prn at the medical center attached to the university, mostly on weekends and worked as much time as I could get on holiday breaks and during the summer. We got the cheapest apartment we thought we could stand to live in. BF and I had two cars at home, but we only brought one with us to school and walked a lot. Fortunately, most everything we needed, or needed to do, was within walking distance, including his job, so we were able to use the car very little (I had to drive to my clinical placement and to a decent place to get groceries). He was working full-time, but I made so much more per hour as an RN that we came out about even in terms of income. I made enough $$ working to cover my living expenses, and got a couple scholarships and took out federal student loans to cover (just) my school expenses. It was challenging, but we both made the effort to live a "starving student" lifestyle during that time rather than run up a lot of extra bills/loans (as I saw a lot of my classmates do).

Best wishes for your journey!