Nursing loans really that bad? 120K

Dranger · Jun 5, 2015

Mine was close to 190k

It's not worth it unless you are looking at grad school apps for the future

roser13, ASN, RN · Jun 5, 2015

It is not, and likely will never be, worth $100,000+ in student loans for a nursing degree.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2015

If you were going into investment banking and had good connections and therefore good assurances you would be placed into a top firm, I'd say sure, go for it.

For nursing?! I'm speechless.

You need to look carefully at the terms of the loans and translate that into how much per month you will be paying after graduation. I think you will find that most nursing salaries will not support that well without making you feel you are an absolute slave to your student loans.

Surely you would need to get a co-signer for that kind of debt. I don't think students alone can qualify for that much money.

guest769224 · Jun 5, 2015

Mine was close to 190k
It's not worth it unless you are looking at grad school apps for the future

For clarification purposes, it's worth mentioning the Army paid for most of this, on this particular poster.

120k out of your own pocket is insanity.

Oceanpacific · Jun 5, 2015

Don't do it. If your goal is to have a clinical nursing career, you can get a great education for a fraction of the cost. Unless you are planning to stay in academia this is just overkill. Plus, you never know what the future will bring. You could have personal circumstances which prevent you from completing the program and you will be stuck with that huge bill. Defaulting on student loans is a nightmare.

Your patients will never care where you received your nursing education; they just want good care. Employers aren't going to pay you extra either. Just my 0.02.

krRN86 · Jun 5, 2015

Omg... I would pass out. So I went to a less crowded college than some of the bigger ones in our area. I think if you look into hospitals or organizations in your area who partner with certain colleges you will find you can cut a deal to get it covered by agreeing to work for a period of time ( usually two years). Between that and state grants, I BARELY came out of pocket. Please do not spend that kind of $$$. Being a new grad will be stressful enough.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 5, 2015

Do NOT do this. 120k for a nursing degree is insane. I would expect that debt from lawyers and doctors, but a bedside nurse? I wouldn't even take that much out for a CRNA program, much less for a BSN.

Find another program. You will thank yourself in the long haul.

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 5, 2015

Don't do it.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 5, 2015

My first degree was from NYU. That was back in the day where tuition was only 18k/year, and I was poor enough to get decent financial aid. I only had to take out 14k in loans TOTAL for the entire time. If I was intelligent, I would have pursued nursing that first time around and I almost did, but since I was the first one in the family to go to college, my parents had set the bar pretty high: doctor, lawyer, vet or bust. So I was swayed away from it.

NYU is a great school. I'm not sure it's worth it's current tuition rate, to be honest. And the reality is that even with a degree from NYU in hand, the nursing job market is VERY tough for new grads to get into. Many new grads take 6-12 months to get hired, even longer. Competition in a big city like NYU is tough. And don't think that being a NYU grad means an automatic job at NYU Medical Center, as swarms of nurses of all experiences are beating the doors down to get hired there.

If you don't want to be burdened with 120k in debt, I would seriously reconsider attending. There are many nursing programs that cost less and result in the same degree at the end--all that changes is the institution issuing it.

If you still want to go to NYU, I would live as frugally as possible while you are in school. Start building up an emergency fund NOW to cover you in case it takes several months to get hired. If you have family in town, live with them. If you don't, consider a roommate or two to help decrease living costs. Live in one of the outer boros because it's a lot cheaper than living in Manhattan. Scale the social life WAY back. NYC is a very expensive town--it is the land of my birth and I've lived there 25 years, so I know this firsthand. Every time I go back to visit the parents, I'm amazed at how much more things cost.

Expect to keep that frugal lifestyle up after you get that nursing job and start paying back those loans. If you don't have a job yet, you can defer the loans for a few months, but that means extra interest is added to the total amount. (or you can just pay the interest). Also, you can't defer them forever, so have a backup plan just in case it's been a year after graduation and you still don't have a job.

I would also consider getting a job while in school, both for the income as well as for the networking/internal hire advantage (FYI, that's also not any guarantee of a job in this market).

Best of luck whatever you decide.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 5, 2015

The only one way to stop this insanity is NOT to go to schools which value their education, which is, while great, is not in any way superior to one delivered by hundreds of other similar schools for a fraction of the price, so high.

So, just send them a nice letter and go your own way.

caliotter3 · Jun 5, 2015

It is not, and likely will never be, worth $100,000+ in student loans for a nursing degree.

This. Since becoming a nurse has provided me with perpetual unemployment, I can definitely say that no nursing degree is worth that kind of debt. I could have faced being unemployed with no student debt at all, nada, zilch, nothing whatsoever. A big bargain for the same result.