Paying for School

missnurse01, MSN, RN · May 28, 2009

Just in my reading threads over the years I have seen a few people say that they paid upfront. With today's financial market, and private loans for grad school more difficult to come by, I am delaying school to save up more...all of our living expenses ( i am the only income earner in my fam of 5) and part or all of the actual school costs. But if I have to take loans out, I have no problem with that but to work and extra year to not have to pay interest and have that majorily hanging over me has value to me, so I guess my big hope is to not come out with a ton of loans.

hopefully others will chime in! you planning on saving up to take out less?

radrn2001 · May 29, 2009

I have saved up enough money to pay for school but I will accept the Stafford loans just incase I need the money. I could probably get by without loans and just live off my husbands income but it would be a struggle and I just don't want to have that hanging over my head while I'm in school.... there will be enough stress. Right now you can get $20,500 in Stafford loans (6.8% interest), per year, and don't have to start paying until 6 months post graduation. You can also get $17,735 in Grad PLUS loans (8.5% interest) for a total of $38,235 (at least at my school). If you need more that this, you will have to search for private loans.... harder to come by these days. Good luck!

Manurse715 · May 30, 2009

My personal goal is to entirely pay for school cash. Which is doable. My wife is also an RN and we are both young with no kids. I just paid off my undergrad Sallie Mae yesterday (feels amazing :loveya: ) and we'll have hers paid off in September. We rent, don't have car payments and no other debt after her loan is done...so that leaves us with cash flow to save for CRNA school. It's been hard and there's been personal sacrifice, but I feel like in addition to prepping for CRNA school with CCRN and GRE's that financially it's important to be ready. Not to mention the strain finances has on marital relationships.

I was just wondering what other folks were doing.

olderthandirt2 · May 31, 2009

Army is paying for my school and my wage :)

USAGPAN!!!!! 2nd in the nation,

Hooah!

c.

missnurse01, MSN, RN · May 31, 2009

i always imagine that once you are a crna that you end up making less that u would in the civilian sector, which is true of other professionals... which for a short amount of time would I guess you would come out ahead b/c of going to school for free. Glad that people do it though!

olderthandirt2 · Jun 1, 2009

i always imagine that once you are a crna that you end up making less that u would in the civilian sector, which is true of other professionals... which for a short amount of time would I guess you would come out ahead b/c of going to school for free. Glad that people do it though!

Well, as a military CRNA you are eligible for a $40,000 a year bonus plus your wages/housing which is about for me at this level (1LT....low ranking) would be approximately $110,000/yr......it is an estimation, because 1/3rd our salary is not taxed and our insurance is free.....

I checked the CRNA program at OSHU (which is rather expensive) at $80,000 tuition plus 2.5 yrs of living expenses.....another $100,000 which is =====$180,000 for a CRNA education in Oregon.

I am getting paid for 2.5 yrs during school.......roughly ($62,000/yr) x 2.5 yrs = $155,000

So, instead of incurring $180,000 of debt plus interest, I am earning for 2.5 yrs and when I am a practicing CRNA (with garanteed employment, I will earn roughly $110,000 ~more as I rank higher) and I will be able to "moonlight" making Per diem wages at a civilian hospital while fulfilling my military obligation......

Not so bad.....

c.

Manurse715 · Jun 15, 2009

You say $150K. I'm looking at a school that quotes 52K as their tuition for a 28 month program. Of you 150K how much of that is tuition and how much is other expenses?

Manurse715 · Jun 16, 2009

TCU in Fort Worth Texas quotes 52,000 for the program. And TWU in FTW is supposed to be less expensive. Thank you very much for the input. I earnestly desire to have as few student loan debt if any at the end of CRNA school. My wife is an L&D nurse so we could both travel. I was just looking to see how much more is typically spent over and above tuition. That gives me a good idea.

How long do you stay at particular clinical site? Is is for the duration of the education, or do you change cities every semester?

missnurse01, MSN, RN · Jun 19, 2009

yeah, while taking some extra chem classes and certs the next few years, I am also trying to beef up the finances. Like i said in the initial post, I am the only income earner for my fam of 5-so need to sell the house, get a paid for car, as well as pay off the other debt we have and save quite a bit of money to live on. I figure in 3 years I will be ready! I think that my choice might be different if personal loans were still readily avail, altho i cringe at the thought of coming out with so much debt. at the average starting wages it seems that my income will not be much higher than it is now (as I am a traveler and work 48-60 hours a week), except of course i wont be working overtime! that is my big goal right now, to not have to work overtime.

thanks everyone for posting, it's good to hear how others are doing it. I am also really trying to not consider schools where I would have to stay overnight out of town for clinical sites-or at least that they pay for your housing when out of town. there will not be money enough for all those hotels like the other poster said! I know most programs seem to have lotsa out of town clinicals, but I am trying to keep them fairly close...

APwips · Jun 20, 2009

Kaiser's School in California is 21K total (including books and health insurance) and takes 24 months. There are optional clinical sites in places like san diego, but they arrange housing for you at no extra cost. There is a lot of commuting around LA but at least you'll get to come home every night. Also, it's a great program.