St. Joe's Tuition

nurse2009 · Apr 9, 2009

I graduate this year from ST Joe's and the tuition is really affordable. The more classes you do on your own the such as anatomy and phys and micro the less the cost is as they add those classes in the cost of the tuition. with student loans alone you can pay for the intire tuition if you need to.

I love the school and think it is the best school for nursing in the country. you will do things on clinical that you will not do anywhere else.

it is an adventure stick to it its not an easy ride but well worth it in the end.

good luck:yeah:

48mystic · Apr 13, 2009

Do they base tuition by the credit, like colleges do? For example, the first semester the only class I will need is nursing 100 which is 10 credits. Do they charge X dollars per credit and multiply it by ten to come up with my tuition amount? How do they calculate your bill?

I'm a bit worried about the last year where you have nursing 300 and 301 which is a ton of hours, has no credits listed and they don't post tuition amounts for the 2nd and 3rd year, even in the catalog. I don't want to accumulate a ton of debt... :crying2:

nurse2009 · Apr 13, 2009

No one wants to accumulate debt but if it is the only way to get through nursing school now instead of waiting on the crazy wait lists every were else then you do what you have to do....there are a ton pf programs out there that you can apply for that will help pay part or all of student loans off. Including one if you stay and work at Fatima Hospital. Apply for scholarships if you need to. As for tuition that changes yearly sometimes it goes down sometime it goes up it depends on what the schools are doing around the area. 300 and 301 are a long way in the future to worry about those classes... focus on your first year first. It will all fall into place if you want it bad enough;)

48mystic · Apr 13, 2009

Oh I completely agree...it's better to have some loans than it is to wait around forever trying to get into the cheaper state programs. We all know how frustrating that is!!! I actually work at a hospital that HAD one of those programs...for next year it may be done away with (which I know thanks to a friend in HR :devil: ), which is why I started questioning affordability in the first place. That was a HUGE chunk of money that we'll be responsible for now. I have a family and a mortgage to pay...and those things have to come first. I know I'm going to accumulate some debt....I just need to make sure it doesnt' put us on the street or in the poorhouse, now or in a few years :uhoh3:

*sigh* why can't I just hit powerball LOL

creamyitalian · May 28, 2009

Hey there Mystic, I was in the same boat as you when I got into St. Joe's, worried about how much it would cost. But to be honest, the cost of an education should not stand in the way of getting that education. The tuition for my first year was 7300 and that included microbiology at CCRI. Here is the breakdown of costs for the FIRST semester:

Freshman Health Fee 125

Freshman Library Fee 50

Freshman Background CHeck Fee 40

RN Comprehensive Tests 65

Freshman Instructional Media Fee 250

Freshman Lab Fee 300

NSNA Dues 25

RN Nutrition (a first semester class) 600

FR Recognition Fee 60

Freshman Student Class Fee 50

RN Nursing tuition 2100

So you can see that there are a lot of fees and tuition itself comes out to 2,700. I don't know the breakdown of the second semester but it worked out to be about the same amount of money just different fees.

I don't have the bill for second year yet but I'd imagine it would be in the 7,000 range for me because I don't have any other CCRI classes to take. So if you are done with all the other classes, expect to pay 21,000 to 24,000 for the three years. That may sound like a lot compared to CCRI and considering the fact that you are not getting a degree, but the education is worth it. St. Joes is a great school and it will prepare you to be a great nurse. The next closest diploma program is Brockton hospital and a girl I know is paying more than double St' Joes tuition there.

Bottom line, education is an investment. You pay a lot up front but you get a lifetime of returns. You should have access to student loans and scholarships that will help you pay for it and you don't have to make a payment until you graduate. I know that when I graduate from nursing school that I will get a job (eventually) and I will be able to pay those loans back so I am not worried about it one bit. Hell I already have 30,000 in student loans from Providence College but I had no qualms about adding to that debt. My wife has thousands in student loans from URI grad school but her job as a physical therapist more than takes care of that. But we are very smart with our money, we save a lot and we don't have any credit card debt. We know that in the long run the student loans are more a help for us to accomplish are goals than they are a burden on our wallet.

Anyway enough blabbering from me. I think you will be attending orientation soon, right? Like the end of June or something...how fun. Get ready for summer reading and a nice book report due the first day of class! I look forward to meeting you in August.

nkara, CNA · May 31, 2009

once you finish St Joe's can you transfer your credits to get an ASN from CCRI?

creamyitalian · May 31, 2009

I don't think CCRI will take any nursing credits from St. Joe's but that fact is you wouldn't want to do that anyway. There is no point in getting an ASN if you have graduated from a diploma program like St Joes. No employer would ever consider St. Joe's program inferior to CCRI just because there isn't an associates degree given. I'd say the extra year of education and countless hours more of clinical preparation would be an advatage for St. Joes grads, though both schools obviously do a good job of creating nurses.

Instead, once you have your RN, you can enroll in an RN to BSN program at URI, RIC, Salve, or online. In fact St. Joes has started a relationship with Salve Regina that will make it easier for St. Joe's grads to get their BSN from Salve. Depending on what classes you took outside of nursing already (chemistry, psych, etc) there may only be a handful of classes needed to get the BSN in such a program.