School Advisor says I shouldn't work???

Nursing Students General Students

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Hello!

I was speaking with my nursing advisor and she told me that only a handful of students work while attending the bsn program, and that she would highly reccommend that i do not work while going because it is very intense. Is it possible to live off of loans for the next two years? Do they pay for your personal expenses as well as educational? I still need to be able to pay insurance, buy groceries, etc.

Thank you for your help!

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Personally, I think working part time as a CNA would greatly help you, unless you've already done that type of work.

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Specializes in LTC.

I'm currently working however I don't recommend. In fact I'm quitting my job next month because my clinical may switch over to days.

Good luck.

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It really depends on what other responsibilities you have. I have two kids and work 15 hours a week and don't think I could handle any more as it is a bit of a puzzle now. But, without kids or other major responsibilities I could probably do another 10 hours a week, but Ft would be too much for me. Everyone is different though

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If you need the income, then you must figure out how to balance school with work. All nursing advisors and instructors warn students not to work, but you will never see any of them handing out mortgage or rent payments and baskets of groceries. You do what you have to do.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I quit everything when I went to our BSN program. Wouldnt have it any other way

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

As long as you get a decent loan package, you should get enough to pay rent, groceries, etc. Just remember that you'll have to pay all that back after you get your RN.

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Just be careful how much you take out in loans. A relative of mine got enough loans to pay her living expenses and school costs assuming that she could get reimbursed for those loans when she started working. The reimbursement program did not pay as much as she expected, so she now has about $100k in loans to repay.

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Keep in mind to that getting private student loans is not an easy feat in the current credit crunch. Unless you can live off of your Stafford loans you may be out of luck. I even had a co-signer w/ great credit and there wasn't anything out there.

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Certain jobs such as CNA or student nurse at a local hospital could actually reinforce what you are learning. Also some hospitals will hire you per diem so you can adjust you work hours based on school. I worked 24 hours a week during my first three semesters and as many hours as I could get on breaks. This and a small amount of student loans has allowed me to take my final semester off.

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Specializes in Case management, occupational health.

They told us the same thing, but I work full time, most of the studentsage 30+ work full time. In this ecomony student loans are getting harder and harder to get so some people have no other choice. I think for at least the first 2-3 semesters you will be fine to work.

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Specializes in NICU.

They told us the same thing when I was in school. It's a great plan--if you have unlimited funds. Most of us didn't and worked because we had to. We got through and so can you if you need to. I worked 24 hours a week (usually); full-time would have been too hard in school as I had a good-sized family, but there were some of my classmates who did work full-time, again because they had to.

I would also caution against getting too much into debt. I know nurses who spend years working off their college loans and it is so nice to not have to repay loans once you finally start pulling a decent paycheck :).

You know what you're capable of better than any of us here. I'd use that to guide your decision.

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