Paying for your program & living expenses

[aprilfresh]

Hey there, I am currently taking some general MSN courses in preparation for starting my anesthesia courses in January. Something that has been keeping me up at night is being able to pay for myself to eat/live/have a vehicle. I was not the best at saving money while working as an RN because I was paying off my student loan debt, etc. I obviously have received my Stafford and PLUS loans. I just feel like I will be barely making ends meet (if I'm lucky) by the end of first semester, waiting for summer loan disbursement, and I didn't know what your experiences are with private loans.

I have been researching some private loans and I maybe just don't understand - they all say that you can apply for up to 100% of your cost of attendance, but my school's cost of attendance doesn't cover my rent and car payment. I'm just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat as me out there, as in single, 24 year olds, limited savings, with parents that can't afford to help too much, and how you are managing.

[MatyIce]

I'm not an expert in this as I have yet to go through it myself. With that said, the students that spoke to me during my interview stated that your disbursement will total $10,250 every 4 months, which will leave you with approximately $2,000 extra after tuition and books to spread out over those 4 months. These figures are with basic loans that most students will receive for CRNA school. If you elect to take out more that's your choice, but of course those loans usually come with signing away an arm and leg. It will be tight, but we can do it....

[naptime14]

I was in the same boat as you and had the same concerns. I thought I would have to take private loans, but turns out, I never had to. It all ends up working out in the end. I had no savings before school and parents that could not help, I had a $370/month car payment, paid half the mortgage, $165/month cell phone bill, cable bill, electric bill, groceries and I did it with a little money left over each semester. After tuition was paid for the semester, the left-over money was disbursed and it was anywhere from 9 to $11,000 for spring and 9 to 11 grand for fall semester. I believe in the summer semester, it was about 4 to 5 grand left-over after tuition was paid. It's a little tight and you have to be pretty careful with what you spend. But take into consideration that your undergrad loans will be in deferment and you won't have time to go out and spend money. That right there will save you tons. I honesty feel as though I had more money in anesthesia school than I did as an RN (crazy, I know). But don't lose sleep over it! It will all work out and be worth it in the end. For 2.5 years of living poor, you will gain a career you love and have a wonderful income once done. That is well worth the dinky 2.5 years of school.

[Garrett1987]

Most of the time Grad plus loans can cover everything. Making a few sacrifices helps a ton. I changed cell phone plans, dropped cable, and bought a cheaper car. One misconception is that if you don't have enough from the grad plus then you can get a private loan. That is false. It's a one or the other situation. You can only borrow up to the cost of attendance regardless of what loans they may be. So if the federal loans and grad plus reach your cost of attendance, then you will not be eligible for private loans.