NP school, did you pull a loan or paid in cash?

Specialties NP

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I am debating myself. I could work some shifts and pay the tuition in cash, or I could just pull a loan because I see job posts saying tuition reimbursement, is it really reliable? The loan interest rate is like 6.8%, for $650 x 48 credits, and some books and other service fee, it could be a lot. How hard is it to find a NP job that would reimburse my tuition? I would not mind relocating to a small place. But where should I go as a new NP would be a better choice? Thanks!

The military is an option. Enter as an RN and either attending NP school while active duty or use the post 911 GI bill after separation. AD nursing is an experience you cannot get anywhere else.

Specializes in Advanced Practice Critical Care and Family Nursing.

Student loans are the worst. They are government owned, and you cannot default or even chapter 11. And good luck trying to prove "undue hardship" with the land of the free to get out of one. Students are given very little guidance on this critical issue. Seriously, with a few FAFSA screen computer clicks you're eligible for nearly 100k. Of course everyone in healthcare thinks they will be rich so this is chump change to pay back. Or the loan repayment options look enticing, but are insanely competitive and appear to good to be true because they are.

Take it from someone with a lot of credentials, who just payed off their loans finally. Don't do it. Not a single dollar. You'll pay enough to the government in taxes during your long and successful career.

Check out Dave Ramsey's take on these. He's old and opinionated, reminds me of my mean uncle in many ways, but helped my spouse and I alot on this matter. Wish you the best.

2 Votes
On 5/7/2020 at 10:29 AM, umbdude said:

I paid some out of pocket, took some loan, and got a bit of Scholarship money.

I ended up taking out around $30k loan for my $70k NP education

How much was a credit for your NP program? I was thinking my $650 x 48 credits is too much already. Now I feel lucky, it is also face-to-face classes only.

5 hours ago, OllieW said:

The military is an option. Enter as an RN and either attending NP school while active duty or use the post 911 GI bill after separation. AD nursing is an experience you cannot get anywhere else.

I applied for Air Force couple years ago after I had my BSN. They flew me to MO to have an interview with a colonel, but I did not impress her I guess. HAHAH. the recruiter told me in the end that he sent in 5 applications and none of us got picked. After NP school I will be 43..........

3 hours ago, Uroboros said:

Student loans are the worst. They are government owned, and you cannot default or even chapter 11. And good luck trying to prove "undue hardship" with the land of the free to get out of one.

I did not have much clue of how does student loans actually work when I borrowed alot for my ADN and BSN, then I ended up with $64,000 loan, good thing is that usually my husband pays all the bills, and I worked my butt off and paid all my loans back within 26 months. Now I am like can I do that again? Or I should use up my savings to pay cash... I think I will pay cash now.

1 Votes
Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.
1 hour ago, wongshuwei said:

How much was a credit for your NP program? I was thinking my $650 x 48 credits is too much already. Now I feel lucky, it is also face-to-face classes only.

I think it was around $1400 per credit. Not cheap, but all the programs in my area cost around the same or more.

21 hours ago, umbdude said:

I think it was around $1400 per credit. Not cheap, but all the programs in my area cost around the same or more.

Mine was around 700 a credit a 5 years ago. I am doing my DNP now and it is 850$ a credit (DNP always seems to cost more than straight graduate courses) (different school) . I paid 25 thousand for my MSN and am paying around that for my DNP.

1 Votes
Specializes in MS, Emergency.

I work as a travel nurse every weekend while in school for 3 years and paid as I go. It was hard but I’m glad I didn’t take large loans. It was 1,900 per credit. It’s insane. ???

1 Votes
15 hours ago, Rnis said:

Mine was around 700 a credit a 5 years ago. I am doing my DNP now and it is 850$ a credit (DNP always seems to cost more than straight graduate courses) (different school) . I paid 25 thousand for my MSN and am paying around that for my DNP.

WOW!, that's a bargain. I graduated two years ago and one credit was just shy of $1,000 when I started, which has obviously gone up by now.

1 Votes
On 5/14/2020 at 9:29 PM, renzlao said:

I work as a travel nurse every weekend while in school for 3 years and paid as I go. It was hard but I’m glad I didn’t take large loans. It was 1,900 per credit. It’s insane. ???

oh my! Now I am glad I live in Indiana, they do pay much less.

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1 Votes
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

I know NPs that paid all cash for their NP school. They worked as RNs for a few years and saved some money, then went to NP school part-time while working as an RN part-time or even full-time. However, my program was very difficult, so most of the NP students did not work during the last 2 semesters, as the didactic content combined with clinical rotations was just too much work for a full-time student.

There is nothing wrong with getting some loans. You need to calculate how much in loans you are comfortable with. As an NP, you should be making good money and can afford to repay some reasonable loans. You already proved you can do this. I think most NPs should be able to easily repay a small loan, say $30,000 or less.

As for loan repayment and loan forgiveness, I want to clarify:

1. The federal government and many state governments have loan repayment programs. These are competitive, so not everyone who applies gets it. But for the people who do get it, it is a great benefit. In return, you must work in an underserved area. This doesn't mean you have to go work in the middle of nowhere. Every city and town has facilities that qualify. For example, I now live in Sacramento, population in greater metro area is 2 million. There are many, many clinics and hospitals in this area that would qualify for loan repayment, and they are not "crappy." FQHCs and Native American clinics are very common and most are very nice - this is where I have worked. And many of these clinics that are in rural areas are still within 50 miles of a larger city. Even in Sacramento, where I now live, you can drive just 10 miles and be in total farm country.

2. Some employers also offer loan repayment. The Veterans Administration is a big one. Some of the larger hospitals (and many of them also provide primary care) also offer loan repayment. In addition, many state and local governments offer this and they also employ NPs.

3. Loan forgiveness is different. This one can be tricky to qualify for, but basically, someone who works in an underserved area for a certain period of time can qualify. This is different from loan repayment.

Also look into scholarships. HRSA offers the Nurse Corps scholarship program and many states have an equivalent program. These are full-ride scholarships that also pay a living stipend. In return, you must work in an underserved area for awhile. I got one of these. These are also highly competitive.

Good luck.

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