Please help - Costs of nursing school, & debts!

caliotter3 · Apr 28, 2012

There is no way to get a nursing education without paying for it unless you win a full ride scholarship. Usually those come with strings attached. You will have to decide whether the degree is worth the gamble. What are you doing to do with yourself if you decide not to attend nursing school? That is what you need to look at. Good luck with your decision.

PMFB-RN, RN · Apr 28, 2012

Hi. I have been accepted to two nursing schools but I am getting very afraid of the debt and may not attend.

I will be between 80,000-120,000 in debt for my BSN at either of these programs!!!!

*** That is a LOT of money! Way to much IMO.

How do you all justify this with nurse wages afterwards?

*** No way I justify spending 2-2.5 times a years wages for nursing school. In particular considering the difficulty new grads are having getting jobs today.

Is it worth it?

*** Certainly not IMO.

Can you all recommend ways to get my BSN without it killing me with debts?

I have a MA and am almost 40, so it is ABSN programs that I am entered into currently because they take only 1.5 years.

Traditional BSN programs take MUCH longer but what would you all recommend?

*** Why would a traditional BSN take MUCH longer? Usually an "accelerated" program is only half a year shorter than traditional BSN program. Traditional BSN programs are usualy 2 + 2. 2 years gen ends & pre-reqs then 2 years of nursing school. I imagine that the pre-reqs are going to be the same for either program. I would check into traditional BSN programs at state universities. I work with plenty of nurses who already had BS degrees in other fields and then entered the traditional BSN programs and finished them in 4 semesters. The programs you are looking at are MORE expensive than the CRNA and nurse practitioner programs in my state.

Student debt is forever. I know plenty of demoralized nurses who are working their tails off while suffering under crushing student debt. And those are the ones lucky enough to have jobs.

My suggestions are: First consider PA (physician assistant) school. You might find it considerably cheaper plus the employment prospects are better, pay is better, schedualy are typicaly better, plus you could qualify for HRSA sscholerships that you could not get as a student nurse. Home - NHSC. You might find the pre-reqs to make PA school not worth it but I suggest you at least visit the websites of programs you would consider and look into it. ARC-PA / Accreditation Programs.

Second look into traditional BSN programs at state universities. Talk to the program counselors and find out what you would have to do to be accepted.

There is also the ADN option then do RN to BSN. In my state an ADN program takes two years and cost about $6,500. I did RN to BSN at no cost to me. It depends on if the hospitals you want to work at will hire ADNs.

Katie71275 · Apr 29, 2012

I would look at a different program! That is ALOT of debt. My program is ADN, and I have a prev. Bachelors, and my program is about 2000$ a quarter, so 8k a year, total of 16k. I will have about 30k debt coming out though as I got loans to help cover expenses(we have 4 kids).

allnurses Guide · Apr 29, 2012

OP, The amounts you quoted sound unbelievably excessive. No way would I finance that much for a nursing degree. Never never never. You must be looking at a private school or trying to roll all your cost of living expenses into student loans and they must be also excessive for the life of a student.

Find a public school. No way should tuition be that much for a run-of-the-mill BSN. And if this is including cost-of-living expenses, you need to plan to work your way through school like so many have to these days. Financing that much given the average nurse salary is the very definition of insanity.

bluecloud · Apr 29, 2012

Thank you all SO MUCH! This is what my intuition has been telling me also! :)

bluecloud · Apr 29, 2012

@PMFB-RN,

How did you get your RN-BSN free? Paid by your employer?

Also, as an ADN-RN were you able to successfully find a job?

Thanks so much!

I appreciate every response here very much.

krsmarie · Apr 29, 2012

The program you are discussing seems very expensive, are you adding up the total cost of the program including living expenses? If its just the cost of school check out the accreditation of the school and see if it is a for profit school (they seem to prey on those that want to go into nursing with outrageous tuition costs).

Options for paying off school:

1. SCHOLARSHIPS Most Universities have direct scholarships for BSN students.

2. Large hospitals have tuition reimbursement if you choose to work during school.

3. Some hospitals have Scholarships where they will pay a portion of your tuition in exchange for working a couple years after graduation.

4. After graduation if you work for a public service agency (public health or others) you may be eligible for loan forgiveness.

5. Military Service offeres loan repayment, I think the cutoff is 42 but depends on the state.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

ADN is a lot cheaper route to go but in this area (Midwest) many hospitals require a BSN within 5 years after employment begins.

rubato, ASN, RN · Apr 29, 2012

That seems like an enormous amount of cost for nursing school. I can't even imagine starting out my career that in debt. I know that because of your age you want to hurry things along, but that's crazy. I'm 42 and starting an AN program this fall. I got a full scholarship because of my grades in my prereqs. I am then going to get a job and get tuition reimbursement for my bridge to either a BSN or MS program (haven't decided yet). I am just too old to be that in debt! :lol2:

brillohead, ADN, RN · Apr 29, 2012

I'm getting an ADN at a community college the next county over. Even with the extra "out of district" cost, I'm looking at about $10,000 to get my RN (including books/fees/tuition, not including gasoline).

Everyplace around here offers tuition reimbursement, so while working as an ADN-RN, I'll be able to get my BSN paid for.

No way would I spend six figures on a 1.5-year degree. That's insane!

steelerfan502 · Apr 29, 2012

most good points have been covered here, but PMFB-RN had a GREAT point about looking into PA programs (depending on where you live). Some places dont have as many PA programs as they dont utilize PAs much. But some states really do. Given that you already have an MA and I'm guessing a family, you might find you'd be happier being a PA (bc of things like level of respect, schedule, etc)

Sorry if you already know this but in case you don't, its IMPORTANT to remember: no matter WHAT school, WHAT type of program, is it REGIONALLY accredited?? I'm not against private schools. HOWEVER OMG that is a ridiculous amt of tuition. Make sure they dont claim they are things like "nationally accredited." be VERY CAREFUL- I would never go $1 into debt for a school that is anything other than REGIONALLY accredited. So many of these programs have popped up in my area in recent years bc they see that nursing is a hot major right now. Their credits do not transfer to regionally accredited schools, and I've seen some shut down completely after being exposed for scams. These fake schools can get national accreditation but not regional. (Not that ALL "nationally accredited" schools have a horror story attached, but why gamble? especially when they are usually more expensive). I have heard of some expensive private schools (I went to one), but (like everyone else said) I have never heard of NEAR the amounts that you are mentioning for 1.5 yrs of (undergrad) school. At those prices, its hard to believe that those schools are legit. I hope everything works out.

Murse70 · Apr 29, 2012

I was faced with the same dilema! Like yourself, I am 41, with an MBA degree but needed a secured profession, hence, nursing. I was ready to pay the 100k or more for the one year accelerated program for the second bachelors nursing program at Samuel Merritts University. However, after completing all the required repreqs, I had a second thought about it all. From my own personal analysis, I have to make at least 2k every month than a regular nurse's salary for four years to justify this hefty loan.

So, here is what I decided to do. I applied to a community college (Sac City) ADSN program. Luckily, I am accepted, and scheduled to start this August. With that program costing about 4k, or less with student's aide, since I am unemployed at the moment, after two years, I would only have spent 4k. Then, I will be enrolling for the RN to BSN program online, which takes less than a year to complete at several colleges, such as Western Governors University. That program is scheduled to cost me less than 10k. So in three years, I would have finished the BSN on a budget of less than 15k.

Now, hold your horses the idiom goes! It does not always happen that way for many, as getting accepted at community colleges, especially in Northern California, is like trying to get some cheese off the face of the moon with a scaple. However, I hope this little rant of mine could help some.

I wish you the best.