Samuel Merritt College

rochelle740 · Jun 6, 2007

I am starting this summer and yes it is very, very expensive. I hear SMC has a really good reputation, so I think it is woth it. However, you will be the one with the debt... so make a decision that is best for you and your future. Although, it is a lot of money, you will make it back easily. A recent graduate said she will be making 45 an hour, so it you will be able to pay it back. Only take what you need and live as cheap as possible.

Good Luck

Elena33 · Jun 6, 2007

Congrats on getting into SMC's SF ABSN program jZZY88 I also just found out that I got in (few weeks back). This was my dream school since my junior year at the university. I can't wait to start!!!! I put my deposit in the next day! I only applied to this school as a long shot..and boy was I excited to see that yellow manilla envelope. Are you from SF? I'm trying to figure out if on-campus housing in Oakland will be cheaper and driving to class in SF, or if I should rent and live in SF close to class and not take a car at all. Any ideas anyone?

amzyRN · Jun 6, 2007

That is so wonderful that you got accepted! I think you should try to find housing in the city if that is possible. Driving into SF can be really annoying and I think it will probably be less expensive than on campus housing. Congrats again and will probably see you at the new student orientation. Take care,

jzzy

gdelrosa · Jun 8, 2007

I got accepted to this school in 2005 and I didn't end up going there because of the cost. I ended up going to MSU and came out with $20K of debt. I'm paying $1000/month to get rid of it and it's going down soooo slow. Just a caution for you in case you don't want to be dealing w/ student debt for the rest of your life.

Rianna1 · Aug 4, 2007

Hi gdelrosa,

What/where is MSU?

imhopeful · Aug 4, 2007

samuel merritt college ... teachers have favorite, discrimination problems, very expensive, teachers ... not that good, nice people in the offices except registrar, good P.A. program, nursing program ... not that good, dorm was old, no cafeteria except in the hospital.

labfreak · Aug 5, 2007

I would look elsewhere. The school has great reputation but the absn program is unorganized. very unorganized. they dont help you

with career assistance. Last years SF class didnt even have a building and were actually in oakland for the first five months. No one is in charge and problems are basically ignored. Also because the program is acclerated you do not get to do a summer externship, work as a CNA or

help with a professor's research to build your resume. I would go for the other school, but if you do chose this school I would make the best of

this and expect total chaos.

gdelrosa · Aug 7, 2007

Hi gdelrosa,
What/where is MSU?

MSU is Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. I moved out of state for the 12 month program and I'm back in CA.

I estimate that it might take me 3 years to pay off the debt. I found that it doesn't really matter where you go to school. Just that you can pass the NCLEX. It makes basically no difference in your pay whether you are a ADN or BSN. I get 4% more for my BSN but it works out to be $1 or $2 per hour. So... Samuel Merritt probably would be turned down by me just because of the expense. Everyone who says that you can pay that kind of debt off in a reasonable amount of time forgets that you have other expenses like car payments, kids, and you need to have time off. Once you start working it's hard to get the motivation to work extra shifts because of fatigue. I work maybe one extra shift a month for overtime or incentive pay but sometimes I don't. When you work extra a good portion goes to taxes so you don't even see it until next year. Ugh... debt sucks.

Rianna1 · Aug 7, 2007

Hi Labfreak, what about the Oakland ABSN program, are they disorganized as well?

gdelrosa: i have a friend who works at oakland children's hospital and she advised that if i was planning on going into management or to have nursing as a career, then BSN was the way to go. if not, then an ADN was the way to go. your thoughts?

gdelrosa · Aug 8, 2007

Nathanielandarianna,

I agree with your friend. The BSN will lead you into management jobs while the ADN will serve you well if you want to be a bedside nurse. However, we all start as bedside nurses so right now, I don't make much more than an ADN prepared nurse who paid community college tuition. You can always get your bsn as a bridge program later if you're short on money now.

Eventually, I think everyone should get their BSN if they can afford it money and time wise. It's always good to get more education. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go to Samuel Merritt by the way. I'm just cautioning you into thinking seriously about being able to pay off w/in 1 yr like everyone seems to think that rns should be able to. By my calculations, it should take me 3-4 years to pay off my $25K loan and I pay off approximately $800-1000 per month.

Gail

BerkeleyMom · Aug 10, 2007

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