Nursing salary not that useful to pay back loans?!

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I'm a prenursing student and I have been asking for advice regarding financial aid advice too.

And.......... i'm freaking out. ^^;

I am going in a second degree program and since I already have my first BA degree, I know that financial aid for me is most likely going to be loans and loans and more loans until I actually graduate.

However, I would like to work and go school at the same time halfway into the program so I have a salary to support myself (even though I know not being in school full time will result in waiting longer to graduate).

But with loans from my BA degree and now more loans from my second degree, someone told me that students make a big mistake taking out loans for nursing school and thinking that their RN job after graduation will help a lot in paying back their loans. She advised me to work hard and save up A LOT of money for school before hand since it will be a nightmare paying it back after graduation even if I do land an RN job.

After hearing this, I'm scared thinking that whatever job I get after graduation won't be sufficient enough to pay back my loans.

I know I will be paying back the loans for a while but I know that upfront already and I don't mind as long as I have a decent salary to support myself and my family first.

But to have someone say that ANY RN job I get will be very minimal in helping pay back my loans shook my confidence making me think that I will drown in debt or something.

So sorry for the long rant but may I please ask you to share your own financial advice and you guys are doing to manage and control your loans as well?

Thanks!

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

How much is tuition at this private university compared to tuition at a local public university, or even an ADN program at a community college? How much would you realistically be able to earn during this LOA, and would it be offset by lower tuition somewhere else, that would allow you to be able to be working as an RN that much sooner by not needing to take a LOA.

Are there any ABSN programs available in your area, where you can jam through and get your BSN in 12-15 months?

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for responding to share your advice with me. Below are the reasons why I'm probably facing more loans:

1) I'm pursuing nursing as a second degree since I already have BA in biology. that alone gives me less grants and more loans

2) Still have some loans on my BA in biology (but I can manage it)

3) ....................... my program is in a private university (there are several reasons for this: program details, location, leave of absence granted halfway through to work to earn money etc)

I am working and saving up as much as I can right now to pay as much as I can to go along the way.

One thing that reassures me the most is that my program allows a leave of absence for student to work. This takes place halfway through the program (and a good portion of the students do!) and that leave can be granted for several months up to a year!!! So I will take out say..... about 1 year or so ish worth of loans before requesting to go on leave. then I can either work fulltime or work part time and school part time.

So at that time, I will have about a year or so worth of loans.......... and can focus on finding a RN job or really, any job to earn more to pay back that 1st year and my future years to come.

So with that said....... I have some savings I earned from work for the past few years, my lifestyle is kept to a minimum (no extravagant spendings), and I am relying on that leave of absence halfway through to work to first pay off the 1 year of school first and save more to pay off future years.

But of course, this is all wishful thinking and my plans might not go to plan (i'm praying it will).

May I ask your opinions on this?

Thank you for calming down my fears, everyone. I hope everything will turn out not as bad as I think. :)

Be aware that if you are not in school a set minimum amount of time, you will be required to make payments on the loans that you have taken out for the first part of the program. If you take the full year off, you will be beyond the standard grace period. Something else to consider about the costs.

Specializes in Medical Surgical/Addiction/Mental Health.

I'll trade you- 215K for 70K. Cayenne is correct. There are a multitude of repayment options along with loan forgiveness. Here is a link worth looking into: https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans I hope this is enough information to help you make an informed decision.

You can put your federal loans in deferment until you get a job, and if you are not making a lot of money, you can do an income-based repayment schedule. Of course it ends up being more in the long run, but you can always make extra payments.

I'm going to have probably 70K+ when I finish my CNM certification program. 40K is from my undergrad. It's scary, but totally doable on an RN salary.

Specializes in Med-Surg and Neuro.

You're getting a second bachelor's in nursing that costs $90,000? I'm stunned. Have you researched all other possibilities? There's no way I would take out $90,000 in loans for a nursing degree.

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

In my opinion, the smart options are: do an ADN/RN program at a community college and don't lose an arm and a leg doing it, then bridge to BSN later while working (this is assuming your area has jobs for ADN-prepared nurses, some research of your local market would be good). Second option: accelerated BSN program, at least it'll be over quickly! But putting yourself further into big big debt? Never a good thing. Don't drown yourself. If there is another way, even if it takes longer (such as waiting for a spot in a community college nursing program), that would be a wise option.

Dear ParkerBC,

Thank you for your reply to advise me. I will look into your link for more information. I wish you the best in your career and life after nursing school! :)

A good deal of the reason that people caution about loans for nursing school is the fact that new grads have a hard time getting a nursing job at all. In some places, at some points in time, new grads have gone as long as two years or more before getting their first RN job. And that is not even taking into account that a job in a local retail outlet may be hard to find either. Just something to seriously consider and plan for, not something to freak out about.

Dear caliotter3,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, the hard job market is one of the main reasons why new grads need to have their loans deferred time and time again. But I hope to take a break/LoA half way through to work (really anything I can find to earn money) so I can pay off more of my previous debt as well as earning for future schooling.

I hope it goes well.

Thank you again for your reply. :)

Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Nursing is my second career..I did an Accelerated BSN. I looked at costs for all the programs in my area and that was the best choice ($30k). It did take me a while to land a job but was still paying my interests. My RN salary is doing well for me in terms of paying my mortgage, loans, and other bills and expenses! I make more as an RN than I did in my previous career.

It's good to have some savings before starting any program. Good luck!

Hi iPink!

Thanks for your reply! May I please ask if it took a while to land a job for you because you were looking at a specific position, or did you take any job and then moved to a RN role after that? Did you have to apply for new grad positions, is that why it took a while? A

lso, did you have to defer your loans a lot of times if it took so long to find a job?

I'm glad things worked out for you and I hope I can be like that too. THanks again for replying!

Much luck to you in life! :)

Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Tina...I moved out of state once I graduated. The state I moved to preferred graduates from schools within their state. I refused to apply to nursing homes, etc which limited my job search net. I wanted the hospital where new grad residency programs were common. Finally landed one thanks to someone I knew.

I deferred my loans while I was job hunting. When I got my first paycheck, I got out of deferment and haven't needed to go back in deferment since.

Good luck to you too.

iPink, thanks again for your reply!

Congratulations on your job! For a new grad program? Don't they receive hundreds of applications just for a few spots? Was it difficult getting the spot? I understand that you knew someone but since hundreds of applicants apply, I didn't even know that anyone internally (except HR who does the hiring) will be able to influence the outcome that much?

Sorry for my ignorance, but since only new grads apply to those positions, what criteria is used to judge applicants? Like GPA? What else since experience is obviously not considered right?

Thank you again for your time! :)

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