Paying back $100, 000 back in loans

SharonH, RN · May 15, 2007

I plan to defer my loans after I graduate and get my MSN, but by the time I finish I will owe over $100, 000.
I see alot of people who are really freaked out by that number, but I think I have a good repayment plan.
I'll admit I don't know exactly how you do the math, but I figure that's about 25,000 a year. I can get that by working agency or at a nursing home every other weekend. I can work 3 12's at a regular job and take PRN shifts at around 36-40 an hour doing 16 hour shifts every other weekend.
I'll still have two days off and on the off weeks, I'll be off on the weekend.
If I do this for 4 years my loan should be close to paid off. It may still have a 15,000 - 20,000 balance, but that's alot better than 100,000.
I do realize I need a year of experience before I work agency or PRN shifts and that's where my MSN comes in; My loans will be derrered during that time.
Does this sound reasonable? I was thinking of doing the same to save up for a house, except I'll just work one weekned a month and put that money away.

$100,000 is for both your graduate and undergraduate schooling? Wow, that's a lot. My daughter will be going to college in 4 years and I am nowhere near prepared.

I admire your planning and your perserverance. However, I must ask do you have a back-up plan? The reason I ask is that I don't want you to underestimate how strenous those first couple years of nursing is while trying to pay back loans, pursue a graduate degree and have time for your family. Working extra plus agency/per diem will be an added stressor. I'm not sure if you realize how much. And trust me, I've done it so I speak from experience.

I am not suggesting in anyway that you cannot achieve your goals, I'm just asking you if you have a contingency in case you find your plans to be too emotionally/physically draining. Again, I understand that you've had a lot on your plate in the past and that you've dealt with it but I do feel that you are going to be surprised by those first couple years out of school. I think you'll be shocked by how much that extra double shift is going to take out of you. Good luck to you, I'm mighty impressed.........

jeremyRN · May 15, 2007

My plan is take out an extra $500. in student loans and invest all of it in lottery tickets!! Can't miss!

ooooh! What a great idea. It almost makes me want to go back to school. Ha Ha!!

Lisa CCU RN, RN · May 15, 2007

$100,000 is for both your graduate and undergraduate schooling? Wow, that's a lot. My daughter will be going to college in 4 years and I am nowhere near prepared.
I admire your planning and your perserverance. However, I must ask do you have a back-up plan? The reason I ask is that I don't want you to underestimate how strenous those first couple years of nursing is while trying to pay back loans, pursue a graduate degree and have time for your family. Working extra plus agency/per diem will be an added stressor. I'm not sure if you realize how much. And trust me, I've done it so I speak from experience.
I am not suggesting in anyway that you cannot achieve your goals, I'm just asking you if you have a contingency in case you find your plans to be too emotionally/physically draining. Again, I understand that you've had a lot on your plate in the past and that you've dealt with it but I do feel that you are going to be surprised by those first couple years out of school. I think you'll be shocked by how much that extra double shift is going to take out of you. Good luck to you, I'm mighty impressed.........

No. It's just BSN.

Ya'll are making me feel like I have to go back for my CRNA right now rather than wait until my kids are in college.

Ok, I can't work per diem shifts and pay off my loan?

When I worked agency, I knew one LPN who worked 6 12's a week for 6 months, then took six months off, so she could watch her son play footbal during footbal season.

I also knew RN's and CNA's who routinely worked 11p-7a then worked 7a-3p.

Even I wouldn't do that! If anything it was always 7a- 11p.

You guys are telling me no one here has done this kind of stuff? I thought that was the beauty of being a nurse. Agency work is so flexible and well paying.

Maybe those nurses are too busy to get on allnurses and browse?

llg, PhD, RN · May 15, 2007

Of course people have done the type of thing you are planning to do. It's just that those of us who have been around for a while have seen lots of new nurses with plans such as yours struggle more than they anticipated.

Sometimes, life just doesn't work out the way we plan ... and we encourage you to have some back-up plans "just in case."

Lisa CCU RN, RN · May 15, 2007

Of course people have done the type of thing you are planning to do. It's just that those of us who have been around for a while have seen lots of new nurses with plans such as yours struggle more than they anticipated.
Sometimes, life just doesn't work out the way we plan ... and we encourage you to have some back-up plans "just in case."

Well, I don't have any back up plans. When I was issued the loans people expect me to work and pay it back and that's all I know to do. I can live with my parents. I guess that's the back up. Or go to CRNA school right now.

But, what I realize is that anything can go wrong. My parents could die (God forbid) then no house there. If I start CRNA school now, I may not be able to finish, then no $100,000+ job. I could fail NCLEX, I could fail nursing school, or I could drop dead.

I took out the loans because I needed money to live on. My husband decided he didn't want to do his part, I had to move to another city and leave behind my 6,000 a semester scholarship, my family, my FREE apartment. All to do what I love. Oh, yeah, I flunked completely out of school the first time around (not in the nursing program yet and due to multiple factors).

I am gonna do this because I have to. I love my kids and no one else is gonna take care of them, so I have no choice but to bust my behind to make this work.

Sorry, I'm getting all emotional, but I've been through much worse than working a few extra hours a week.

I love nursing, every little thing about it. I even like what most people find seriously annoying. But that's just me.

I really expected someone to say my numbers were off, but now I'm being told that this is not possible because I will burn out. I don't know. I just don't give up that easily. I know full I could probably just quit and get a degree in a MUCH better paying field, but I want to be a nurse.

I say nothing risked, nothing gained.

llg, PhD, RN · May 15, 2007

Well, I don't have any back up plans.
...
I really expected someone to say my numbers were off, but now I'm being told that this is not possible because I will burn out. .

I don't see people telling you that it is not possible. I just see people telling you to be prepared for a few bumps in the road that may require you to alter your plans. There is a big difference.

I see people trying to help you avoid a major life crisis down the road by warning you of a few "dangers" along your chosen path and advising you to be prepared to encounter a few of them along the way. I don't see anyone telling you that you should not be a nurse or that you should abandon your career goals.

For example, you might not like your first job out of school and have to find another one that suits you better. You might develop a health problem that prevents you from working as many extra hours as you would like. It may take you 8 years to pay off that loan instead of 4. etc. etc. etc.

That doesn't mean you failed, or that you shouldn't be a nurse, or anything so dramatic as that. It just means that you may need to be flexible in your timetable for meeting all of your goals -- and think about how you will handle it if you run into a few snags along the way.

Approximately 16% of all new grad RN's fail NCLEX on the first try. Approximately 30% don't stay in the same job for the first year after graduation. While the odds are in your favor, it is unwise to assume that you could not possibly be a part of those statistics someday. That's why there are so many old sayings that can be applied to this situation: people have learned through experience that it's best to have a few back-up plans.

1. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

2. Forewarned is forearmed.

3. A stitch in time, saves nine.

4. Don't count your chickens until they are hatched.

5. Pride goeth before a fall.

6. The best laid plans of mice and men oft gang aft aglee.

7. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

SharonH, RN · May 16, 2007

Sorry, I'm getting all emotional, but I've been through much worse than working a few extra hours a week.
I really expected someone to say my numbers were off, but now I'm being told that this is not possible because I will burn out.

No, not all. I am the last person to tell someone they cannot do it. I'm just suggesting you should consider the possibility that things will not proceed as planned. And yes, I know all about the nurses who work double shifts and agency. It's a whole subculture of nursing. When I worked per diem and agency, I met the same people over and over at various hospitals and different floors. Some can do it. Most cannot, at least not for an extended period of time. Don't take my words of caution as discouragement, that is not what they are intended to be.

BlueberryGirl · May 13, 2008

I'm on the same boat after a Master's and a BA. Good luck to you and good luck to me! I'm sure with hard work and planning anything is possible.

2bNurses22 · May 13, 2008

How did you get so much in debt? Did you go to a private college?

BlueberryGirl · May 13, 2008

How did you get so much in debt? Did you go to a private college?

Yes, private college. Both degrees are for HR. I thought a Master's would help me out in HR and it didn't. If I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have gotten it. But isn't that always the case? Now I'm doing a career change. Even though it depresses me to think about it, I try not to get so depressed. What's done is done. :cry: