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?
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!
Here is the facts:
1. You can never bankrupt a student loan. Never...think about that over the course of a lifetime.
2. Statistically, if you take out loans equaling more than what you will ever make in a year, the chances of you NOT ever paying that off is over 95%. The rate starts to decrease if you make over $100,000 a year...this is why most physicians are able to pay their loans off.
Many lawyers default, because many of them are not making over $100K
There is NO WAY I would do that to myself. I don't care how good the program is. No nursing program is worth $120K.
Period.
It would financially ruin you if you did this. No "loan repayment' program is going to offset that...not even half. DO NOT go through that program thinking you can go that route and get someone else to pay it because all of those programs have limits.
Your best bet is either a community college ADN followed by RN to BSN looking for the cheapest program. WGU has about the cheapest RN to BSN program out there. It is online. A state college would be your next option. Only go to a private school if they are willing to give you really good grants or scholarships where you wouldn't pay full price. Even if they offer you a substantial scholarship they may pull it back after you've been there the first two years figuring you'll stay and pay full price to get your BS from them!
Full freight is really too much. It is truly insane to take out $100,000+ in student loans. Don't do it! You will have a lifetime of regrets and in essence have a mortgage without a house to show for it! These colleges are banking on students naivity and ignorance about student loans and average household income in the US! The average household income is only around $50,000 and that may be for two breadwinners working. Granted RN's make in the top third of income in the US and can make more with overtime, but its still not worth it to saddle yourself with such huge loans. You're not going to get paid more for having gone to NYU. Hospitals pay as little as possible, are cutting benefits left and right and many are increasing staffing ratios making it even harder to actually work as a nurse.
Lastly student loans are the worst debt out there. There is no bankruptcy option. For $100,000+ in student loans you will have to take out private loans as well and probably need a cosigner. You have just saddled that loved one with your debt till death! If you died unexpectedly, they would still be stuck with the debt. They would need an insurance policy just for the purposes of paying off your private student loans that they cosigned on! It is that dangerous of debt! Also private student loans do not have income based repayment and are very rigid, where at least govt loans have income based repayment, possible forgiveness of loans after ten years, but they don't advertise how to get said forgiveness, it is not easy. Lastly they have deferment/forbearance options, but should be used as a last resort because they usually cause the interest to capitalize and increase the size of your debt exponentially. You can only consolidate your loans once and are stuck with whatever interest rates are at that time. Please read The Student Loan Scam by Allan Collinge before you take out these loans it exposes the truth and the thousands of people already in default and facing wage garnishment, inability to get govt jobs, and ruined lives. Check out the website StudentLoanJustice.org before you take out these monstrous loans.
I highly implore you and anybody else to think twice and find another way to get your RN! It really isn't worth it! You don't know the future how long it will take to get a job, what your starting pay will be, if you will have an accident, injury or illness that could derail your job and you will still be forced to pay the student loans. There is no way out! If you become disabled and social security gives you disability, you will still have to prove to the lenders that you are disabled before they will stop garnishing your social security. I'm not kidding you! I know someone who was in this boat and it took her a couple years to get them to finally forgive the student loan. The person was a librarian, went back for her MS per work requirements and then was laid off and never got another job in her field. Instead working $10/hr as a secretary. Last I saw her she was critically ill and transferred to the ICU. I don't know if she is even alive anymore. What was crazy is she took out only around $13,000 and after all the interest they forgave around $65,000 in the end. Then she was faced with a tax bill as this was considered income and she would have to prove she was insolvent or face taxes on the forgiven debt. If she is still alive that is!
From what I've read there are over 100,000 senior citizens having their social security garnished for student loans. It will literally stay with you till you die or pay it off. Just don't do it! It is not worth it!
It is not! Especially if you plan to work in New York City afterwards as employment here is rough. Did you only apply to NYU? There are other great schools such as CUNYS like Hunter College or Lehman. There is also SUNY Downstate. Please consider all your options.
I graduated with $90K ish in loans. I have been a nurse for 8 years. I still owe around $35K. I haven't found it to be a hindrance though. I bought my house 4 years ago on my own.
Commendable, but think about all of the interest you have paid, money that you could have put toward retirement or your home.
I graduated from an ADN program and was able to pay cash because my tuition was only $1200 a semester at a community college and I worked 15 hours a week and was able to pay cash for my books. That was easy enough to come up with .
I used the hospital tuition reimbursement for my RN-BSN, so that was free too. It was only $3500 a semester.
My MSN program, I use the monthly payment program with the college. Things were tight...$850 a month, however, I was debt free when I finished.
Is $120000 about median price of accelerated BSN in New York city and near it? Mine non-accelerated BSN in mortar-and-brick 4 years State university AND MSN in a top-10 nationwide school are going to be like a third of that... maybe, moving would make sense?
there are multiple state schools both in NYC and the surrounding metro area that are less than 35K for an Accelerated BSN. these include hunter college, suny downstate, rutgers, and njcu. many of these programs are very competitive, and i've heard many of them are a lot more competitive to get into than NYU, precisely because they are a much better deal.
Did you apply anywhere else? If not, can you apply to those NY state BSN programs where the education will be the same but much cheaper? I could have applied to JHU Nursing but am going to University of MD for the cheap price tag (20k) ..It's not worth it for the name. And I know NYU has a great program but honestly...no.
Unless you have some secret plan to pay them off or a possible secret inheritance? You'll be miserable trying to make a good wage, live, enjoy life, take care of bills, AND pay loans. Even if it means delaying another semester or year, it would prob be in your very best interest to not do this.
But...it's New York University. The name alone kind of justifies the cost. If you're looking for grad school or even placement in residency programs you will probably have an edge.
But, there are also Accelerated BSN programs from other top schools in the area (like Rutgers, my alma mater) with significantly less cost
Choose wisely. College debt is no joke (I'm sure you know that).
I totally agree with the posters above. $120K is simply too much. As a previous poster said, the general "rule of thumb" used by many financial advisers about student loans is that your total loan amount should not exceed what you can reasonably expect to earn in your first year after graduation. Let that be your guide.
When you are wiping butts and playing pill jockey , it won't matter where you got your degree. Community colleges can prepare you just as well for nclex as a fancier college can.
You will be sorry you have that kind of debt hanging over your head. A friend of mine got her masters for teaching, and only could find 9$ hour catholic school jobs. her bill- 80,000. She'll be indentured servant for the rest of her life.
You probably don't want to make the same mistake. Seems that the good paying nursing jobs are hard to come by.
I have a good friend about to graduate Nyu's Accelerated BSN in January, and for what it's worth nyu langone prefers nurses from their programs over others.
Don't want to be rude but did you seriously not calculate the cost of the program before you submitted your application? I wouldn't even consider applying to certain programs due to their high tuition. Think about how those loans can affect your future. Your student loans will affect your chance at applying for a loan on a house. God forbid you screw up your credit. This can go far enough to affect your future family should you choose to have one. Your nurses salary wI'll suffocate under your monster loan.
Also just because you would graduate from NYU I don't know if that will present you any superior advantages beside your other BSN peers. Might make employers look twice but I don't think it will ever land you a job.
I think a better route to take would be to find a cheaper program (by at least 50%) and then apply for a masters program once you've worked a little as an RN and know what direction you want to take. A masters degree will give you more benefits than a BSN at NYU.
$120K is what many people owe on their mortgage. How will you pay for housing after you graduate and those loans come due? Rent or a mortgage, PLUS a student loan payment equivalent to another house/apartment payment? My husband makes good money, more than a nurse with a BSN, and we couldn't afford that. Be realistic.
Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM
1,486 Posts
Here is the facts:
1. You can never bankrupt a student loan. Never...think about that over the course of a lifetime.
2. Statistically, if you take out loans equaling more than what you will ever make in a year, the chances of you NOT ever paying that off is over 95%. The rate starts to decrease if you make over $100,000 a year...this is why most physicians are able to pay their loans off.
Many lawyers default, because many of them are not making over $100K
There is NO WAY I would do that to myself. I don't care how good the program is. No nursing program is worth $120K.
Period.
It would financially ruin you if you did this. No "loan repayment' program is going to offset that...not even half. DO NOT go through that program thinking you can go that route and get someone else to pay it because all of those programs have limits.