So how much do you owe?

Nurses New Nurse

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How much do you owe in student loans if you have any after nursing school? I'm already pretty far in debt with prereqs. I was wondering how much is "average" after you graduate from nursing school?

Specializes in Cath Lab/Critical Care.

With my husband being in the military and having 4 kids, we are "poor" enough that I got a "free ride" to college, but still had to take out a small student loan each semester to keep our heads above water since I didn't work while I was in nursing school...I just graduated last week $14k in debt, but that is a small price to pay to better our lives considerably. In 2 years, my husband is going back to college to get his nursing degree, and I will work while he goes to school...and he will graduate just in time for us to start paying for our teenager to start college...God, we shoulda listened to our parents and did this the easy way right out of high school, heehee!

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well pell grant paid for my books and tuition but i took out students loans of $6500 and let's not even talk about the credit card bills i racked up on gas, food, living, etc. since i wasn't working while in school.

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Specializes in Float.

I am fortunate to get a nice PELL grant and a state grant that covers all my tuition and books. I didn't get the state grant my first year (applied too late) and took out a small Stafford. I think all in all I have maybe 3000 in loans but it's subsidized, so at least it's not incurring any interest. My school now doesn't participate in Stafford. I sometimes wish I could get a little bit of a student loan just to help out with living expenses.

Anyway, one hospital I'm looking at offers $250 monthly loan reimbursement. They will pay that on your loans each month until paid off as long as you work there. Might be good to look into that as a potential benefit if you have a lot of debt to pay off ... that is a nice benefit.

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

So far I owe 11K, and I graduate Dec 06. My roomie has a whopping 65K.

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Specializes in Telemetry/Med Surg.

$20K for 3 yrs of nursing school. the hospital I'm planning on working in will help pay some of this off.

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Don't owe anything...Hubby worked extra OT...so just paid each semester in full...

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Specializes in Onc/Hem, School/Community.

Oh gosh, I'm still in school and have been afraid to pull all of the paperwork and start counting! :chair:

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Specializes in Neuro, Acute, Geriatrics, Rehab, Oncology.

I owe my employer one year of indentured servitude!!With wages of course. What my employer did not pay, I worked overtime to get the funds for what tuition reimbursement did not cover...books and the like.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

Approx $30,000

Personally I dont think its that bad- I went to a private 4 year college for my BSN- 25,000 per sememester. All the rest I had in scholarships.

Not too bad :)

Sometimes debt can be a good thing- it got me my BSN and a great career.

-Meghan :nurse:

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i owed nothing.

the last 2 semesters (spring/fall) were full time, and i somehow worked pretty much full time. paid "usual bills" from dh's checks, but my checks went to my tuition. was worth it, too. :D

suebird :p

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Specializes in OR.

I don't owe anything-I worked fulltime while in school and while sometimes I was exhausted, it feels good to know that I don't have a huge loan hanging over me. My BSN I will be getting through my employer-they pay for most of it.

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Specializes in Ortho/Neuro.

As of right now, I owe $18,000, but I am going back next year for my BSN, so add another $7,000, total of $25,000! YIKES! I will be retireing when I get that paid off!!!:lol2:

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