Paying for NP school

BirkieGirl · Dec 18, 2014

Tuition reimbursement from employer- I took advantage of this by taking one class per semester early on, and rolling the money over to the next semester so I had my first several classes totally paid for.

now that i'm about to start the final few semesters and going to be leaving my job, i am doing small student loans and planning (and praying) that i land one of the dozens of positions in my area that qualify for total loan forgiveness (rural AND underserved!)

guest769224 · Dec 18, 2014

I know of one poster on here (can't remember the name), who told me he financed NP school also with tuition reimbursement. He told me they paid 20K. Holy smokes. In AZ.

Jules A, MSN · Dec 18, 2014

I worked 16h shifts on weekends while in NP school so I paid out of pocket.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Dec 19, 2014

I'm taking out private loans and busting my ass per diem to pay for CNM school. However, I did a gestational surrogacy during nursing school to help pay for that. I have a friend who donated her eggs to help pay for her doctorate.

Obviously this is NOT something you do to make a quick buck. It is time consuming and takes a serious amount of emotional investment. But my surrogacy was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and the extra money made a BIG difference in getting me through nursing school.

Jules A, MSN · Dec 19, 2014

I'm taking out private loans and busting my ass per diem to pay for CNM school. However, I did a gestational surrogacy during nursing school to help pay for that. I have a friend who donated her eggs to help pay for her doctorate.
Obviously this is NOT something you do to make a quick buck. It is time consuming and takes a serious amount of emotional investment. But my surrogacy was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and the extra money made a BIG difference in getting me through nursing school.

Wow thats an original idea!! :)

MikeFNPC, MSN · Dec 20, 2014

Mine was free here in Texas due to a little known Act for veterans. Check out if you qualify for something like that. I have two other friends who had college paid for. One was a woman who somehow found a benefit for single mothers (not sure what it was). And another friend who qualified for financial aid by the state due to being laid-off.

OBigdog26, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 21, 2014

Mine was free here in Texas due to a little known Act for veterans. Check out if you qualify for something like that. I have two other friends who had college paid for. One was a woman who somehow found a benefit for single mothers (not sure what it was). And another friend who qualified for financial aid by the state due to being laid-off.

I'm prior service and have exhausted my GI Bill. What Act are you referring to?

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Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP · Dec 21, 2014

I paid for my NP program the old fashioned way. Worked my butt off doing at least 40 hours a week in critical care, and applied for several scholarships. The total cost of my FNP program in a large public university was about $20k. $4000 was covered as tuition reimbursement from my employer, I got about $4000 in scholarships, and paid the remaining $12k out of pocket over the 6 semesters it took me to get my degree. It was the hardest I have ever worked in my life, but now that it's all over, I have my life/sanity back, and ZERO tuition debt. Totally worth the struggle in the end.

MikeFNPC, MSN · Dec 21, 2014

Hazlewood Act, only available in Texas.

rn2728 · Dec 21, 2014

Ribnurn3 what kind of scholarships did you apply for?

allnurses Guide · Dec 29, 2014

I mostly paid out of pocket. I did the MSN over 4 years part time, and received tuition reimbursement by my employer ($3500/yr, now it's $5000/yr). I won a couple of awards through my school with small financial awards. I won some online nursing scholarship I applied for that was a few hundred dollars. I didn't qualify for any federal loans as a non-citizen. Otherwise, worked throughout and came up with the money. Wasn't cheap but ended up with no debt, and my salary immediately increased by over $20k/yr so it was worth it to me.