Nursing loans really that bad? 120K

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi all!

I was recently accepted into NYU's accelerated nursing program and initially was super excited to begin this journey. When I received the bill all the excitement was kicked out of me by the whopping $20K I would need to take out in loans PER SEMESTER. This means I would graduate in 2017 with about $120K TOTAL in loans.

I've talked to several nurses that I know and they have nothing but great things to say about the NYU College of Nursing. HOWEVER, none of them had to take out excessive loans because their parents covered the cost. This is an AMAZING opportunity for me but frankly the thought of having a $120K loan hanging over my head makes me want to drink myself to sleep.

I could go on and on about how unfair the educational system is (because it is) but that's not what I want this thread to be about. This is my situation right now and I want to make the best decision for myself.

If anyone else has been in this situation PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY. IF YOU'VE TAKEN OUT EXCESSIVE LOANS TELL ME YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THAT. IS IT WORTH IT? IS IT TOUGH TO BE A NURSE AND KEEP UP WITH SO MUCH DEBT?

Thank you guys so much in advance!

I love that you did the math Whispera! :up:

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Specializes in Cardiac Step-down, NICU.

As my husband says, "you can't put a price on job satisfaction". If nursing is something you love and will provide you much happiness for years to come, perhaps it is worth it. That being said, I will say that having a significant other (two salary household) made the decision much easier for me. If I was on my own and lost my job, there would be no way I would be able to keep up with bills, student loans, food, etc. However having another person bringing home a paycheck gives a safety net if something were to happen in our family - Illness, Job loss, etc. In my case, I went back to school for nursing after getting a bachelors in another field and ended up with a very high $$$ in student loans.

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Specializes in public health.

A nurse is a nurse, why do you have to get your degree from NYU?

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Specializes in hospice.
A nurse is a nurse, why do you have to get your degree from NYU?

Cuz prestEEEEEEEEEEE-juh.

See:

But...it's New York University. The name alone kind of justifies the cost.
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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Public Health.

For that much, I'd take the MCATS and go to med school....Just saying. Insane. Don't do it because the return on investment, job market and rising costs of everything and I mean everything will just put you in a bad situation when you graduate...that's just my two cents.

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Public Health.
If you can I would go... it's also about the lifelong friends you'll meet etc.

you'll have a good name on your resume.

also, i hate to say... potential in finding a better husband.

Is this for real??

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Specializes in Mental Health, Maternity & Well-Woman Care.

Man, with that cash I could complete my BSN, MPH, DNP and whatever else letter-wise I can tack on... plus buy a motorcycle (and make a garage for it to go into), go to Walt Disney World (several times over, with and without the wee ones), travel to almost every continent (I'm not touching Antarctica), and hire a maid just because I've always wanted to.

That's all I've got for the moment, when I take another break from studying I'll daydream some more... or maybe clean, not sure yet.

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My wife just graduated with her BSN and has over 80k in loans. She is paying about 500$ a month for her loans. Your payment will be a lil more. Keep that in mind.

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I thought rutgers was around 40k in total for the program

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I just received my ASN (ADN) from a local community college. My student loan debt after the 2 years is around $13,000.

I can't even fathom paying $120,000

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Specializes in ER.

120k? To get my ADN, BSN, MSN, and 3 semesters of psych classes (and living expenses) cost 90k.

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Specializes in LTC, Med-surg.

Drexel's accelerated BSN program costs just a little over $43k and its an 11-month program. Of course, you can expect to pay an additional $3k or so for other "fees" but at least that's just about $45-50k you'll spend for the whole degree. That is more than less than NYU's program. has a great reputation too.

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