How much are nurses typically in the hole after completing their education? I'm having some plapitations after signing for the money for my 1st year RN-to MSN program. $15,000 more to add to the bucket.
One year is gonna cost me more than the four years it took to get my ADN! I'm not sure if I can laugh at that or not right now.
Do you pay on your student loans/interest as you go, or do you defer them all through school and consolidate/start paying when you're done?
I'm happy to say I owe nothing. My husband received his GI Bill money, which paid for not only his school, but mine as well (he received $1400/month while in school from Uncle Sam). So we both attended school full time while he was working full time and I worked part time. It was a horrible 2 years being a family of 4 on a small income, but we made it. We rewarded ourselves well this Christmas, when our income went from $45,000 to $110,000!! Those 2 years were worth every minute (but I'd never want to do it again!!!)
It seems a lot of people think you can't go to school without student loans. My LPN to ADN program cost around $7,000 and I didn't take a loan out for any of it. Yea, I was kind of poor for awhile because I was paying everything out of pocket, but it is a big relief to get out of school and be able to use the money for something other than paying debt for school.
And people who think they need to go to these expensive private schools...that is ridiculous! In the nursing field it isn't going to help you get any better of a job than the next one who went to Joe's School of Nursing.. I know someone who is in the hole over $60K for a BSN. It is beyond foolish.
Let me first start by saying I ABHOR DEBT. I think most Westerners save too little and spend to much.
Sure, worked 3-midnight 5 days a week going through school and lived on rice, beans, mac and cheese and the veggies in my apt. patio garden. I had no cable, internet, or cell phone and used a $15 a month long distance card to call mum and dad overseas. I sold my headboard, footboard, nightstand, sofa and 'fancy' coffee table for cash and kept my love seat and a homeade (but nice) coffee table. I wore the same 3 pairs of jeans and t-shirts for 2 years, did odd chores for my landlord for a $50 reduction in rent, got underwear for myself as a Christmas present and only ate out once a month with friends on the .99c menu at Wendy's. If they wanted me to go out more than that I told them straight up they would have to pay!
Once the rent and electric were paid, I felt rich! I had retrained my thinking (READ-Self brainwashing) ! I lived on $13.2K for 12 months (and paid tuition/ books/fees/misc out of that), but I had no kids or responsibilites. I could do that.
In these days of waitlist and impacted schools if they want to get into nursing school lots of folks have no choice BUT to attend a private school or move. Those of use in areas with non-impacted cheap community college/universities should fall on the ground in thanks every day. Some folks have previous degrees and have exhausted all financial grants or federal aid. Some community colleges won't give you aid once you reach a certain credit max with no degree.
In most parts of the country even a new nurse makes a decent enough salary to more than justify loans for school needs. Education in a long term investment.
As a financial advisor I tell folks to count the cost. As a semstress I tell my financial clients to measure the cloth ten times before they cut. Keep the borrowing to a bare minimum and work out an agressive 2-5 year plan to pay, BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. Don't live like you did before nursing school, live like someone with a goal. Once you graduate you can ease up, but only slightly. Pay of those loans in quick time.
IF loans are the ONLY way you can get through nursing school, TAKE THE MONEY! It's not foolish.
In most parts of the country even a new nurse makes a decent enough salary to more than justify loans for school needs. Education in a long tem investment.
IF loans are the ONLY way you can get through nursing school, TAKE THE MONEY! It's not foolish.
I totally agree. Take the money if it is what you really really need. As you said, Measure the Cost Most Carefully
I agree, education is ALWAYS a wise investment. I sure admire those who are able to pay as they go, or work out ways to not accumulate debt while getting through school, and I really wish I could have managed it. I actually paid up front for most of my first two years of school, but it became impossible when I had to go full time. So I am glad there are loans available, my education is worth it completely.
I finished my LPN to RN at age 46. I paid for it all out of pocket as I went along, which wasn't always easy. When I graduated my parents gave me a check for $11,000 to cover all that I had paid out. They included a note in the card. No matter how old you get we feel obligated to provide you with an education. Put this in your savings account for a rainy day.
I had not expected that check. They told me they were waiting to make sure I'd finish before paying me back. I thought that was very very nice.
I just finished my diploma program. It took me 3 yrs to complete. I am 18,000 in the hole.:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire
That's ridiculous. Even though I agree with one of the previous posters that taking out school loans is a long-term investment, you're SUNK if anything happens and are unable to repay them. I've read a lot of horror stories where
people are going through living HELL with loans funded through Sallie Mae and are being harassed and forced into bankruptcy. And, in my state, nurses are having their licenses suspended for going into default with their student loans which makes absolutely NO sense. How are they supposed to make a living and even be given a remote chance of repaying these loans...if our state government takes away that ability? :angryfire I don't get it!
It seems a lot of people think you can't go to school without student loans. My LPN to ADN program cost around $7,000 and I didn't take a loan out for any of it. Yea, I was kind of poor for awhile because I was paying everything out of pocket, but it is a big relief to get out of school and be able to use the money for something other than paying debt for school.
And people who think they need to go to these expensive private schools...that is ridiculous! In the nursing field it isn't going to help you get any better of a job than the next one who went to Joe's School of Nursing.. I know someone who is in the hole over $60K for a BSN. It is beyond foolish.
I'm in debt over 60K for nsg school and I went to one of the cheapest State schools in the NorthEast.
A couple of posters have called graduating with huge student loans ridiculous. It may not be the choice you would have made, but you can't count the cost for someone else.
Here's something else to consider. There are other career fields out there--social work, for example--that cost just as much to enter. In fact, a bachelor's in social work is barely considered entry level and it comes with subsistence pay compared to what a new nursing grad can make. And the positions are usually salaried, meaning no overtime.
To get a decent job in social work, you need a masters. That doesn't come cheap. A brand new associate degree nurse can easily earn more than a masters prepared social worker with years of experience. That's a pretty good bang for the buck.
The comparison holds true for a surprising number of degree programs. There are some careers where the beginning wage might be equal to, or even higher than, that of a new nurse, but there might be one job for every dozen applicants. And again, many, if not most, positions for which a degree is required are SALARIED positions. You can work your tail off--fifty, sixty, seventy hours a week--and not see a dime extra for a good chunk of it. At least in nursing, the concept of hourly pay makes working overtime worth our while.
There are an awful lot of restaurant and retail workers with degrees in all kinds of fields. I'll bet you won't find many nurses among them.
I've recently finished an Associates degree in general health science and will be beginning my BSN in January and am already nearly $10,000 in debt and I fully expect to be at least $40,000 in debt by the time I graduate in 2008 (and this is a state school). Every penny of it will be worth it to me. Of course I'm hoping to find a tuition reimbursment plan and an employer who will pay for my MSN but if I don't that won't stop me from reaching my goal!
Undergrad I graduated with about 6K in debt....most of which was accumulated before we got married. After marriage, Dh supported us for a year while I finished school.
I am currently in grad school and taking one class at a time and paying cash all the way. I will graduate about 1.5-2 years slower this way, but I will not be in ANY debt and I prefer it that way.
$15,000 more to add to the bucket.
! I lived on $13.2K for 12 months (and paid tuition/ books/fees/misc out of that), but I had no kids or responsibilites. I could do that.
LilRedRN1973
1,062 Posts
I'm happy to say I owe nothing. My husband received his GI Bill money, which paid for not only his school, but mine as well (he received $1400/month while in school from Uncle Sam). So we both attended school full time while he was working full time and I worked part time. It was a horrible 2 years being a family of 4 on a small income, but we made it. We rewarded ourselves well this Christmas, when our income went from $45,000 to $110,000!! Those 2 years were worth every minute (but I'd never want to do it again!!!)
Melanie = )