Private school or long wait list

goodstudentnowRN · Aug 19, 2009

If you make the decision to attend a private school, just make sure that you do well to pass the classes. You canot afford to fail or else you will lose all that money. Some of these private schools do not care about students being taught well but when exams are given they are expected to do well. I attend a great school and have no problems so far. I am very serious about my education and will not take nonsense when I am paying so much for tuition.

Jujubeaddict · Aug 19, 2009

My friend and I both start nursing school this month. I bypassed the waiting list at a community college by going for a bilingual program, while my friend decided to go the private school route (since she's not bilingual). The waiting time here in Phoenix, AZ is about 1.5 to 2 years for a community college, same for public university. Her school's tuition is 46,000 of which she's only responsible for 20k. The rest is being taken care of by grants (free money). To her, time is money. Putting school off for 2 more years is not worth it, even though it may be a little difficult to find a job at first. You don't have to take loans for the full amount. Grants and scholarships are also available. If you work for a hospital, they may also offer to reimburse a portion of your tuition. Good luck with whatever route you decide to take.

Teebee5 · Aug 19, 2009

I don't know about private schools in the states, but here in Canada you have to be careful. I live in BC and we have scam private schools. We also have a sort of monitored list of private schools which if you do your research you can see if your school is accreditated with the governing body ie. RN like the CRNBC which governs nurses and schools in this province.

Bottom line, do you research about the school before you sign your documents, and I agree with JuJu, apply for every bit of free money you can. It will help you cut you tution costs down.

Yes, time is money. But don't waste iton a piece of paper that might not lead to your job. Does this school offer an oppurtunity to talk to other students or graduates? Can you ask questions as to wheather or not these grads are working in the field they studied??

GOod luck.

sweetcheeks05 · Aug 19, 2009

THIS IS A REAL SCHOOL : go to www.samuelmerritt.edu

Visit if you want: Admissions Office is 370 Hawthorne Ave., First Floor, Oakland CA

I got to Samuel Merritt and graduating in December. Im going into my last semester of the BSN program and I like it a lot. After applying to 8 diferrent schools with a 3.8 GPA and getting rejected by every single one for 2 semesters...I almost gave up. I could either 1. keep trying and waiting and waiting or 2. do private school, pull out loans and get out faster.

I did option 2. I did get into Stanislaus State's BSN program but it was 3 years and theirs was new so I didnt go. Yes, its expensive but by the time you get into the program after years of being on the wait list, you probably would've been working for a year now. Samuel Merritt has a 0% default rate -- meaning every single student pay their loans on time without problems. So paying them back isnt a problem for most SMU students.

Almost, SMU grads get hired 4 times faster than grads from any other college. Its not guarantee you'll get a job but you're more likely to get hired than someone else.

The economy sucks and its hard to find a job right now -- but it will pick up and by the time you graduate from your program, Im sure you're most likely to get a job 2 years from now than right now.

And with the money -- their financial aide will do its best to help you get the money you need, whether through government/private loans, grants and scholarships to attend this college.

tuktuk · Aug 20, 2009

hi

i did my LVN in CA from a pvt. college, its cost me $26000. but was really serious about the prog. i had perfect attendance. i took the loan from school. and i paid it off in 5 mths by working 2 full time jobs...

so i would say don't waste time in waiting list.

goodluck

Goingthere · Aug 20, 2009

Private!

I did, tuition for 18 moths-51,000! And the price does not mean that you get the best equipment either. If i had to do it all over again I would...I just want to be out. I will pay it off in 1.5 years at 2100 a month, living at home (free food) and with a new car and savings!

dizzyheadspin · Aug 21, 2009

hah! I typed a bunch of stuff but deleted it.

In short, pretty much what Goingthere said.

JomoNurse · Aug 21, 2009

In my opinion, it is NOT worth going to private school unless you have extra money to spend. You wouldn't even recoop that money in the long run working as an RN. Apply to local CCs, stay on their wait list, and work someplace else in the mean time. Even though they say their wait lists are 3 years, the reality of it is that it will dwindle down over the next several months as other people on the wait list opt out of a particular school's nursing program (usually to start earlier some place else).

dogeatdog · Aug 23, 2009

It is a huge amount of money, but there are lots of options for paying school loans back. I am in the Oakland ABSN and I think it is a great way to do it. Three years is way too long to wait. You could pay back a huge part of your loan by then. There are programs that help you pay back your loan too. In Oakland there is a Kaiser scholarship that gives you 25k towards your loan while working at Kaiser. I felt a two years program would be too long for me. I am not worried about the job situation. Everything could change in a year.

luvbug080688 · Aug 23, 2009

I went the private school route. It will end up being 4 years at about $22,000/year. However I get about $9,500/year in scholarships so life isn't too horrible. It is about the same price as a state school. I will have about $60,000 in loans when all is said and done though ($6,500 of it is a trip to Ireland and Italy though....ha)