A company called FitBUX can actually help you "run the numbers" and get feedback on how much debt you can take without putting yourself in a bad financial position. They have all the salary data for the different programs so you can see the trade-off you're making when you go to a higher ranking school that costs more. They work with a lot of PT's but their analysis works for nurses and other medical professionals too. Go to the FitBUX website and request and invite to their pilot program.