Paying for school?

mrsraisinkain · Mar 11, 2008

Occasionally employers such as LTCs will help pay tuition if you agree to work for them for a certain amount of time after you graduate. Also, I don't know anything about your current situation but have you filled out your FAFSA and applied for government grants (you don't have to pay those back). The best thing for you to do is to sit down with somebody from the financial aid office at your school. They should know all the ins and outs of helping you.

P.S. Count your blessings. I'm starting an LPN program that is costing a little over $20,000.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 11, 2008

If you have a BA degree in English, you might be able to gain acceptance into an accelerated RN program. Don't get me wrong, because I like being an LVN/LPN. However, the RN licensure will open up so many doors to opportunities that may never be available to LPNs. In addition, you'll have greater earning potential with the RN initials behind your name.

Anyhow, I financed the $20,000 tuition for my LVN program with a Sallie Mae private career training loan. I originated this loan back in 2004, and it has since been paid off. If you don't want to take loans out, you may wish to work 2 (or even 3) jobs until school starts to save as much money as possible. Also, search the internet to see if you qualify for any hidden scholarships. Good luck to you!

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Mar 11, 2008

There are tons of nursing scholarships out there, you just have to search them out.

I did not receive any pell grants due to income. In fact when I inquired about why I was not getting any state funds I was told my husbands 401k had too much $$ in it, and if we could save that much for retirement than we could afford to pay for my education. It was not even my 401k!!! I knew being a nurse would be a good thing for me and my family and I really wanted to do it, but I did not want to cause more of a financial strain on my family. It is hard enough having a mom/wife in nursing school. So I became a scholarship junkie.

1)Start with a community foundation with in your town. Mine gave me a scholarship for 2k every year+ a 250.00 cash stipend for books each semester!!!

2)Then I went to the local unemployment office, even though I was employed they hooked up me up with a state grant for 4000.00 total. i used 3000.00 for school bill and held back 1000.00 for uniforms, stethoscope, shoes and they even would have paid for my boards had I have asked them but their process was long to get a check in hand and I didnt want to have to wait. I did not even have to show proof of income, I only had to agree to work in my state as a nurse for 1 year!!!

3)One of my scholarships came from a national bank that worked in conjunction with a local theater, who knew, but they had a nursing scholarship too. I got 500.00 a semester from that one.

4)On top of all that my hospital agreed to pay X amount towards my bill each semester with a commitment that for every semester they paid, I am committed to them for 6 months. They paid for 4 semesters, so I must work for them for 2 years. If I leave with in 2 years I need to pay them back the balance for which I have not worked off.

5)I was actually able to negotiate with my university on some grants. I was a transfer student and was un decided on if I should transfer to a university from a state school. I kept emailing admissions back and forth that the cost was a concern of mine. I got a 5k transfer scholarship per semester with the requirement that I attend full time, and I got a 2500.00 academic scholarship per semester as long as I maintained a 3.0. Had I have got a 4.0 I could have received a 5k academic scholarship. I know of no one else in my graduating class that got this....you need to ask.

Not a single one of my scholarships did I have to show proof of income, they did have a budget sheet that I needed to fill out, but I did not have to show a W2. I was completely honest with my budget sheet. It doesnt matter how much you make, with a family of 6 you can show that it gets spent!!!

You have to ask ask ask and then ask some more where are people getting scholarships from. I didnt know about the unemployment office grant until someone I went to school about told me. Same with the bank one, someone I worked with told me they got that a few years before.

Trust me the schools want your tuition money as badly as you want thier degree. Go to the financial aid office and inquire about where students are receiving outside funding from.

The money is there, but you just have to hunt to find it.

galaj · Mar 11, 2008

Thank you I'm actually having a reallyhard time trying to find money to pay for school. I work full time but because I'm 21 and live on my own everything is super expensive. Car insurance, rent, car, etc, etc. How exactly did you get money from unemployment even though you had a job?

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Mar 11, 2008

Thank you I'm actually having a reallyhard time trying to find money to pay for school. I work full time but because I'm 21 and live on my own everything is super expensive. Car insurance, rent, car, etc, etc. How exactly did you get money from unemployment even though you had a job?

It was not through unemployment per say, but I went to the unemployment office, because they were the initial source for the program, it is a state assisted program and the local unemployment office is where i did my initial paperwork and was assigned a case worker. It had something to do with continuing education. I used all of their money for tuition, minus the thousand I held back for supplies, but I know others used some of their money for gas cards to get back and forth from home to school.

Log on to your states home page and look up continuing education, or call your local unemployment office and inquire about any grants/funds for continuing education.

Also I can not stress enough to call your schools financial aide dept, they can point you in the direction of lots of funding.

Jo Dirt · Mar 12, 2008

P.S. Count your blessings. I'm starting an LPN program that is costing a little over $20,000.

Why would anyone voluntarily be lead into this kind of slaughter house???

There is no way on earth ANY LPN program, ANY ASN program, should cost 20K.

That is beyond obscene. I have a feeling if you go through with this you will end up realizing you made a really bad decision.

My LPN program cost $2500 in 1999-2000. My ASN cost less than $8,000. I know things couldn't have changed that fast.

galaj · Mar 12, 2008

It was not through unemployment per say, but I went to the unemployment office, because they were the initial source for the program, it is a state assisted program and the local unemployment office is where i did my initial paperwork and was assigned a case worker. It had something to do with continuing education. I used all of their money for tuition, minus the thousand I held back for supplies, but I know others used some of their money for gas cards to get back and forth from home to school.
Log on to your states home page and look up continuing education, or call your local unemployment office and inquire about any grants/funds for continuing education.
Also I can not stress enough to call your schools financial aide dept, they can point you in the direction of lots of funding.

Thank you very much I will call today. Getting financial aid is just horrible for me though. My mother makes to much money for me to qualify for any but I don't even live near her. I support myself entirely however, the government still has me as if I was under her care. I have to have a child of be married or be 23? Don't quote me on the age but it's somthing to that effect.

Either way thank you very much for the help I will take anything I can get and run with it! :mad:

RN1989 · Mar 12, 2008

Personally I think you are wasting your money by going to LPN school when you already have a bachelor's. An LPN makes less money than an RN and has less autonomy. Because many hospitals are not hiring LPNs, often times you are stuck with nursing home work in some areas. Since you already have most of the courses needed for an RN, except for nursing courses, you should hold off until you can get into RN school. There is no reason to shortchange yourself when you already have so many credit hours already.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Mar 18, 2008

there is no way on earth any lpn program, any asn program, should cost 20k.my asn cost less than $8,000. i know things couldn't have changed that fast.

vanderbilt is $24,080 per 2 semester year not including books :scrm:what would possess someone to spend that much is beyond me.

my lpn cost $150.00, granted that was 1974. my asn costs me $9,000.