cjsiege

Yes. Los Angeles, CA.

Hey folks. I attended WCU for a bit over a year. Did all my prerequisites and started in the first clinical term. However, I've been battling with depression for many years and it unfortunately got the better of me for a while there, and so I ended up leaving school. I've been working in my previous field, in which I have two other degrees, for the last year, but some folks around me have been pushing me to give chasing my nursing career another chance. Financially, I would be fine. The GI bill will pay for tuition and I would continue working to support myself and my kiddo. Mercifully, I walked away from WCU with minimal debt. Can any other older working folks who have done the WGU program speak to what life is like during the program? For example, managing competing demands on your time, how the lab and clinical times are structured, what your assignment schedules and timelines look like, and so on. Basically, I'm looking for a real-world overview of what to expect so I can make a good decision as to whether it could be a good fit for someone like me. Thanks!

Just a quick update: it looks like, after talking to you guys and to other people, that I'll be starting at National in October, and working as well (since their pre-nursing schedule is only 2 evenings a week). No loans required. Yay. Thanks for all the great feedback!

Thank you. I'm also the type to knock out a bit of overtime here and there, and your tale gives me confidence. I'd like to escape with as little student debt as possible! I'm most likely going to remain in the greater LA area so hopefully I can do very well for myself in that regard.

Yep this is on my agenda. Isn't gonna happen, no worries :) A quick glance at jobs sites suggests this might not be the case...but I can't relocate either way so we'll see. My "perfect world, if-I-ruled-the-world" scenario is having GI bill cover all my tuition and using only federal loans. Combined with the GI bill housing allowance and my drill pay from the guard (~$10k/year) that should be enough to subsist on. I have joint custody of my child. Relocating out of state is absolutely not an option, period. I'd consider it if I could, but I can't. I don't have great credit or a lot of savings. Will check into this, but I don't think I can handle burning it at both ends. Especially when taking out loans, I'd strongly prefer to be focused on making sure I get the education I'll be paying for either way :) Disregard - no pell grants for second degrees

Thank you. WGU wants all the prerequisites done first, but National it looks like bakes them in AND has a post-bacc format. They're still expensive, but less so than WCU by a large margin (GI Bill will probably cover it). I went ahead and set myself up for their sales pitch, so I'll see what I find out... babeinboots, I saw elsewhere that you're an NU LA student? What can you tell me about that, as I'd be applying for the same?

I want to be an NP. Eventually, I'd like to work in an ER. My initial entry wish is pediatrics, but I'm pretty flexible in that regard.

To be clear, talking about $150k in loans was exaggerated. Assuming no other aid, I'd need more like $50k for tuition, and then I'd have to figure out living expenses, which are defrayed quite a bit by the GI Bill, thankfully.

Makes sense; however, relocating is not an option.

Thanks. I was mostly thinking of folks who aren't fortunate enough to have the Gi bill and how they could make it work when I do have that and I'm still uncertain. I doubt I could GET 150k in student loans, haha, but I don't need that much. I'm hoping someone with some experience at the school will chime in and share what their experiences were.

Well done, that's very impressive...but I've spent 10 years unhappy already, and I'm not willing to spend another 10 to enter the ground floor of my chosen profession. Ya know? I don't disagree about the GI Bill, though...

Yes, really $130k. Crazy, I know, but compared to trying to get into CSU or UC it's at least worth considering, depending on your goals and life situation. I'd be at community college for a year or more before even entering the lottery for a spot - at that point I might as well give up on my dream and work in my other degree field.

Haha. Perhaps so! I'm too old for that even if it were something I'd do.

Hi everyone, I'm getting ready to start at West Coast University in a couple of months, and I'm trying to work out how I'm gonna make ends meet while going to school for ~2.5 years. If you don't know, WCU quotes $130k for their full 39 months, which includes everything and also factors in you taking prerequisites with them (e.g. A&P, Micro, etc). I have a bachelor's degree already so I won't be taking most of those, which I expect will cut my cost down to $90-100k. However, because I have a bachelor's degree already, I'm most likely not going to receive Pell Grants or anything like that (it's a possibility, but I have to apply for the timeline extension and all that - not guaranteed). I do have the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which covers just over $20k per academic year and gives me some money to use to subsist on. Call it $50k from the GI Bill. So I guess what I'm wondering is...what else is there? WCU, like most schools, strongly recommends you not work during the program. How do people meet these tuition costs and still make ends meet while not working for 2-3 years? My GI Bill and drill pay are helpful, but they're not enough to live on alone in LA, at least not for an older student with an established life. Do people get scholarships, float $150k in loans, what? Tell me what I'm getting into here! :)

Rio Salado offers nutrition but not orgo. It's going to be tough to find an online-only orgo, I think.