Nursing School?! I need your help nurses!

[jj187]

So I am currently a freshman at a university and they have an amazing nursing program which is also very difficult to get into. I am currently a second semester freshman and I am on a business track. However, I've been having second thoughts about what I want to do with my life. I don't want to end up sitting behind a desk for hours, hating my life. I have always considered nursing to be an option and I've been seriously considering it. I am very intrigued by the medical field and am inclined to helping people. Therefore, I enrolled in a nursing chemistry class while also taking business courses. If I decide I want to apply to nursing, I need to do it soon!

This is a very difficult decision for me. Especially because I am paying 30k a YEAR to go here. If I apply to the nursing school and get in, I will have to start as a freshman next year. I am paying for college through loans. Is it worth the lost 30k and the extra year of schooling? Will I ever be able to repay the debt?

This is a 4 year BSN program.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

$120, 000 for a nursing degree? Totally not worth it. Find a less expensive school ASAP

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

$30k a year for an undergrad is expensive! Is this a private university?

[heatherisbetter, BSN]

Do what you want... I got a bachelors in health science and then immediately enrolled into a nursing program... I will have over 100k in debt but it's just money and I will be able to pay it off in 2.5 years and enjoy what I am doing! So I say go with your gut, and do what you feel will make you happy in the long rub

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to prenursing

[jj187]

Its a public university but one of the most expensive ones! It is 21k a year without room and board. But I am paying 30k this year WITH room and board.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

That still seems like a lot of money. And $19,000 a year for room and board is robbery. You could live in an off campus apartment for much less than that.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

Whoops. My math was off. It's $9,000, not $19k. Makes a little more sense[emoji16]

[jj187]

Yes it is a lot. It is actually 10k for room & board. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

[jj187]

It would be 21k for the next 4 years essentially... Unless if I am able to finance it somehow through scholarships, if I am lucky. I applied to be a resident assistant for next year so room & board will be free, as well as a free meal plan.

[jj187]

Thank you! Will you be living with your parents in the meantime? Or with someone who can help financially while you repay your student loan debt?

[ariel285]

If you want to work as a nurse then yes, do switch to nursing. It's better to cut your losses now than to get your business degree and then go back for a second degree after that. I already have one undergrad in Graphic Design and a partially completed Masters in Business but finally figured out that it's not what I want. Fortunately I have already paid off my undergrad loans and my work paid for the masters classes I took so I'm not going to be too badly in debt. I'll only accrue the cost of nursing school. But trust me, if you don't want to go into business and you know you want to do nursing then switch as soon as possible. It seems scary to have to restart as a freshman and be in school an extra year, but once you graduate it really isn't going to matter. You will have saved so much more by switching earlier than later.

But I definitely agree with other posters about going to a cheaper school. Unless this $120,000 is GUARANTEED to get you an abnormally high paying nursing job then just switch to a place you can afford without paying loans the rest of your life.