Here's my story: I have completed all the nursing pre-reqs, and am (hopefully) awaiting entrance to nursing school beginning early January 2011. I have been working full time and saving up money, and I am nearing the point where I have enough saved to pay tuition out of pocket for the next two years. However, I know that there are many other expenses (books, fees, car insurance, gas, medical insurance, etc) so I know that this money will not cover all of it. I am still living at home with my parents to keep expenses low. There is a good chance that I will work part time during the course of nursing school.
My question is this: I have heard that most hospitals will forgive loans of new graduates if you agree to work for them for a specified period of time - and if the hospitals agree to pay them off, wouldn't it be financially smart to max out the loans? (Since they would, in effect, be free money that I don't have to pay back.) Is there any reason not to have loans? (For example, can you get sign on bonuses that you wouldn't get otherwise, or raises or something of that nature?) I already talked to my financial aid office at my school, and they said I don't qualify for grants, only loans. If I did take out loans, they would most likely only be in the $5,000-7,000 range.
Would it be financially sound to take out these federal loans that I may or may not need, or to just try and scrape by on a part time job completely debt-free?
Thank you for reading my post, and I look forward to hearing everyone's responses!
