Smart Financial Aid Choices

[kmcsis]

Starting Vandy NP program in Fall and wondering about Financial Aid.

I have a scholarship but Vandy is very expensive. Am approved for Plus and Stafford loans but open to advice about smarter options, other scholarships or grants.

I know my bank offers Student Loans and I know there are websites that offer private bidding for better rates.

[eymilin, MSN]

I just got done with the Vandy PNP program. I had a little scholarship help and grant assistance along with a part-time job. I went straight through undergrad to grad school. The financial strain now is large - I am single and working as a NICU rn. I love my job and can afford to pay my loans, but I look back and wonder how much easier it would be if I had stockpiled money for a year working odd jobs. I had to opportunity to get a great degree and took it without a second thought. Who knows whether I would have gone back to school if I had taken that time off... ... budgets are a part of life either way. Good luck with your decision.

PS Apply to every scholarship imagineable... Nursing organizations, Target (my sister got $500 for writing short essays 3 years in a row), everywhere.