Nursing as a Second Career...can I get financial aid with a graduate degree.

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I have an MBA and MHA and I am considering getting an RN license. I currently work in a hospital on the administration management side and I would like to work on the clinical side. However, I am not a clinical person. I have always wanted to be a nurse but decided to go a different route. I have a strong compassion for patient care. I have looked into various bachelors and masters program for those who are considering nursing as a second career. However, they are all on a full-time basis. Therefore, I am considering an ADN program whereas I can attend part-time. I will start taking my prerequisites this Fall. My question is if I already have a graduate degree will I been able to get financial aid for ADN or will I have a pay out of pocket? Thanks for your help.

Specializes in ICU.

Is this a for profit school? Run away as fast as you can. Don't walk, run. That is way, way, too much money. For profit schools are very much looked down upon and it will be rough to find a job afterwards, if at all.

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Yes, go to community college and get the health system to pay for it. My school has evening and weekend programs for people with full time jobs. Total cost for my ADN will be roughly 12K. If I had been a hospital employee before going to nursing school, they pretty much would have paid for it - as that is the case for many in my cohort.

You are correct. There is no free government money if you already have higher degrees, but I have paid for 95% of my ADN with scholarships from the community college. Scholarships that I got just by clicking on a link I found on the school webpage and following the simple directions for applying.

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As a prior degree holder, I was told by my Financial Aid office that all I was eligible for was certain loans.

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I'm doing an ABSN program now. I have a graduate degree already (and lots of loans for it!). I was able to borrow what everyone else borrowed, in terms of federal money. It had to do with how the FAFSA was submitted. Basically, we were listed as first year or freshman students again (we didn't do anything weird; this is how we were told to fill things out). I can't remember the exact options I chose on the FAFSA, but I know my friend accidentally selected the wrong thing and she wasn't going to get the full amount until she fixed it. It came out to around $6200 a semester (some subsidized, some unsubsidized). I agree with everyone else that this program seems WAY too expensive! Even if you went out of county to a CC, you'd still pay a ton less. Take the time to research all the options and it will (literally) pay off. Good luck with everything :)

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To be clear, what I mean by "free government money" is Pell grants - money you get to pay for school and do not have to pay back. The ship has sailed on that for you.

Now if you want to borrow money and pay back at the rates they set, sure just ask where to sign and they will be more than happy to give it to you.

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Thanks for you response. My issue is finding an evening program that will still allow me to work during the day. Nevertheless, I have inquired and my job will pay for me to go to nursing school full time once accepted.

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Thank you for your response. The 80k was a mis-calculation and the estimated cost is around 30k ADN and to continue with the Accelerated BSN with be the additional cost. However, I did some research and found out my job will pay for me to go to nursing school full time once accepted. Nevertheless, I appreciate you questioning my business background.

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Great advice...I really appreciate it.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Thank you for your response. The 80k was a mis-calculation and the estimated cost is around 30k ADN and to continue with the accelerated BSN with be the additional cost. However, I did some research and found out my job will pay for me to go to nursing school full time once accepted. Nevertheless, I appreciate you questioning my business background.

You do not go to ASN then ABSN. You do one or the other. Option B is ASN, pass NCLEX-RN then an RN-BSN program (many very affordable like Western Governors University that would cut your cost in half)

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Thank you...this website is amazing. I really appreciate your comment.

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Yep. Once you have your ADN then you can complete a "bridge" program in a year or two online and get the BSN for a very reasonable additional 10K or so.

I already have a bachelor's so I am actually getting my ADN and BSN at the same time. Total cost is less than 25K.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Thank you for your response. The 80k was a mis-calculation and the estimated cost is around 30k ADN and to continue with the accelerated BSN with be the additional cost. However, I did some research and found out my job will pay for me to go to nursing school full time once accepted. Nevertheless, I appreciate you questioning my business background.

It's not both, its either or, either an ADN then RN to BSN or an Accelerated BSN. The accelerated BSN is the better route, but have you considered a direct entry MSN RN-NP program where you could become an RN and then a NP. These programs may be harder to find, but depending on your goals may be something to consider!

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