Please help if you can. I am not about to step on any toes out there. I know that many well meaning nurses worked hard for their degrees so they could offer a lot. I offer something superficial, and I apologize in advance. I offer Botox and cosmetic injectables, and I am very good at it. It's really not that easy to do. But anyways, I must convert to being an NP at some point. Oh, how I dread this. I have a background in Labor and Delivery, so I thought I should take the Womens Health Care NP road, but, I was told that getting clinicals on this is very hard. And that the Adult Gerontology was easier. Is this true? If so, please let me in on where? The system does not let me accept PM as of yet, so please, please post. I am so sorry to bother you all and I appreciate this very much!!
I suppose I could have been much more clear on the "arm and a leg" comment! =) I felt that the average "for-profit" schools do not give adequate quality for the price, therefore you spend an "arm and a leg" for subpar education. That is simply my opinion and nothing more. Private schools are expensive period, but I'd gladly pay the tuition I'm paying for the quality of the education I'm receiving. I'd be leary about paying a quarter of what I'm paying to go to a for profit school that doesn't give a crap about my education, makes me hunt down my own preceptors, and offers no student support. I figured that out while researching the schools I found that offered FNP for me. I was dead set at first on South and Maryville as a matter of fact because I hadn't researched enough and grabbed the app for the first school that seemed easiest. It was only after speaking with those NP's on this board, other NP students and colleagues that I changed my mind. To each his own. This is a discussion board, meant for opinions and facts to be shared so whatever.
Tasha,
I have one question for you. We live in the same area; why not apply to UF, UNF or JU which all are good school with reasonable tuition? We have three brick and mortar schools that are a fraction of the price you are paying at Simmons. And they find preceptors for you!
I don't have time to argue with anyone on these threads. I was simply making a comment about a post. SO, you guys can continue to pay your arm and leg for your education, it's your business. I paid a reasonable amount for ME at my state school in the swamp. Go Gators!
In those 6+ years of advanced practice have you made a salary sufficient to repay your school debts?
Boston,
Let me end this real quick with you because I don't have time for this. My schooling, from the beginning to the end was paid for by my parents. My parents own several businesses, so money was never an issue for me growing up or now. Even with that being said, I still wouldn't spend a crazy amount of money per credit hour for school. My parents work very hard for their money and taught me at an early age how to spend money WISELY.
Everglades, why do you care how much someone else pays for a school? You are so lucky to have parents to pay for your education. Most people don't have that option. Glad to see you are a NP, maybe you should worry about your career instead of where other people attend school?
It is always interesting to me when people pick fights or talk out of their hind quarters about something they don't understand clearly, and then suddenly "don't have time" to continue the discussion when they get called out for it.
I have always said on this forum and IRL, go to the very best school that will take you. Money should not be an object pursuing education. What on earth is worth more than education? NOTHING! It is the best investment parents can make in their childrens' futures, and the best investment adults can make in themselves. I went to NYU (non-nursing), UPenn and Duke. My wife went to William & Mary, Yale and MIT. All our kids have gone to the very best schools we could get them into K-grad school. Our oldest kids go to Cooper Union, Berkley and Princeton, and my next kid coming along is only applying early decision this fall to Yale. When it comes to education, we put our money where our mouth is. If Tasha got into an outstanding school, why would anyone suggest she ought to go to a lesser program? She did what I'd have advised her to do if she were my daughter. Mediocrity is not good enough for housing, food, travel or education, IMO.
It is always interesting to me when people pick fights or talk out of their hind quarters about something they don't understand clearly, and then suddenly "don't have time" to continue the discussion when they get called out for it.
I have always said on this forum and IRL, go to the very best school that will take you. Money should not be an object pursuing education. What on earth is worth more than education? NOTHING! It is the best investment parents can make in their childrens' futures, and the best investment adults can make in themselves. I went to NYU (non-nursing), UPenn and Duke. My wife went to William & Mary, Yale and MIT. All our kids have gone to the very best schools we could get them into K-grad school. Our oldest kids go to Cooper Union, Berkley and Princeton, and my next kid coming along is only applying early decision this fall to Yale. When it comes to education, we put our money where our mouth is. If Tasha got into an outstanding school, why would anyone suggest she ought to go to a lesser program? She did what I'd have advised her to do if she were my daughter. Mediocrity is not good enough for housing, food, travel or education, IMO.
Blue,
The reason why people in this country are in so much debt is because many people have a champagne taste with a beer budget. Investment, debt whatever you want to call it, it’s your choice. ME, personally, unless I’m going to get paid more for having a fancy college name on my resume, I will never pay or have my family pay an outrageous amount for school. We can agree to disagree on that.
OP,
If you want to pay an arm and a leg for NP school and get paid the same amount of money compared to someone who went to a state college, go ahead. May I suggest looking into Duke, Georgetown, Simmons,etc. I’m only telling you to think about having to pay this amount back. Most of the people on here are no spring chickens and have families to take care of. You will not get paid more money as an NP because of the school you attended. In the end, the choice and debt or INVESTMENT is yours. Do you want to repay back $30,000 or $70,000+?
LET ME BE CLEAR
I feel Duke, Georgetown and Simmons are good schools. I'm not debating if these schools are good, i'm saying I would never consider paying a high amount to have these schools on my resume. The reason why I even brought up the amount about schools in general is because Tasha said for-profit schools charge an arm and a leg. So, I brought to her attention that many people can say the same about her school and I personally didn't know of any for-profit schools with tuition rates as high as Simmons.
It's interesting to me how personal these arguments get. I think there is alot of truth to what BlueDevil says, at least in most cases, the better the school, the better the education, the more likely one is to be able to succeed in this world. That is a very true statement in most fields.
When it comes to say law school, going to Yale seems to be the ticket to the supreme court, and to high political office. If that's what you want going to the state university's law school is probably not going to get you there. The same can be said for top tier med schools giving you the best chance at the most selective residency programs. Of course some of those top med schools are state universities, so some are top tier and economical as well.
I also have to agree with the basic premise that I read in Everglades' posting, of spending your money wisely. If I'm choosing between two programs in the say top 20, or even top 50, where their is likely to be very little difference in the actual content I'm going to learn and if all other things are equal, I would pick the program that is less expensive if that saves me five to six figures. There are a lot of ifs in that sentence though! I would have to have two programs that both appear to be high quality programs, that would both give me an equal chance at learning what I need to know to have a solid foundation upon entering the workforce. I would also have to not have any interest in some of the intangibles that can come with the prestigious degree names, i.e. the networking and political aspects where these names help you get into an exclusive club of movers and shakers.
Fortunately, there are both ivy league educations and state universities for us to choose from, as well as many other options. These options allow us many selections from which to choose, and each individual can make those decisions on their own, based on their own criteria. BlueDevil's criteria is different than mine, I'm glad he has the ability to select those schools for himself and his family. I on the other hand choose to attend a state university and Frontier. Both provided quality education for an economical cost, there is nothing wrong with either choice. Everglade is right, I will be able to earn the same amount here in my community with my education as I would if I went to Duke or any other NP school.
As for the OP's request, there are many programs, I don't believe any are "easy" in that the knowledge you need to have to be able to pass the exam and to practice is not insignificant, you will need to work hard to become a NP. But, yes there are many that will allow you to work around your current work schedule and if you apply yourself you could become an NP if that is your choice.
Thank you! I don't understand how my comment turned into a debate about quality schools because I never bashed the quality of Simmons. I was trying to make a point to Tasha about the comment she made. I found her comment to be inaccurate about for-profits charging an arm and a leg for tuition. However, all these extra people jumped into my conversation and assumed I was saying Simmons wasn't a good school. I simply stated I would never spend that amount for NP school. I already know the answer to why Tasha didn't apply to the local colleges here because she stated this information in a previous post; I was trying to make a point with her. Until Simmons accepted her, she was all for these for-profit schools and that was the route she was taking.
Everglades, why do you care how much someone else pays for a school? You are so lucky to have parents to pay for your education. Most people don't have that option. Glad to see you are a NP, maybe you should worry about your career instead of where other people attend school?
Again, I was trying to make a point with Tasha before you guys jumped into my conversation. Like I said several times, I DO NOT CARE WHAT SCHOOL ANY OF YOU ATTEND!
EvergladesRN
16 Posts
Tasha,
I have one question for you. We live in the same area; why not apply to UF, UNF or JU which all are good school with reasonable tuition? We have three brick and mortar schools that are a fraction of the price you are paying at Simmons. And they find preceptors for you!