Is it common nowadays for nursing students to graduate with >100K in student loan debt? I am trying to wrap my head around how this is happening so let me throw a few questions out there.
Did you go to a public or private university?
If you chose a private university what advantages did you expect over a public university?
Did cost play any role in selecting what university you went to?
What was the cost of tuition per year?
Did you use the student loan money for anything other than tuition, books or school fees?
When you signed for the loans, did you have any idea how much the payments per month would be?
If you are a working RN, what percentage of your monthly take home pay goes to servicing your school loans?
If you are a working RN, knowing what you know now what if anything would you have done differently to keep the debt to a minimum?
I'm getting help with my student loans, but they are about 1/2 of my take home pay.
it's really easy to judge other people and say that a BSN is not worth $100,000, but I feel very fortunate that student loans made it possible for someone like me to have the experience I did. My family was really struggling financially and I was still able to pursue my dream (and I still am!) I would have loved to have been able to get my BSN with less debt, but everything has worked out so far and I feel very blessed.
Thank you for answering my questions. And no I'm not judging you at all. Whether something is worth it or not is absolutely up to the person who made the decision.
One thing I do want to point out though is that there are some grads out there who seem to be shocked when the bill comes due and it is half of their take home pay. People that is a lot of money.
It is one thing to take on that amount of debt, be able to manage it, and feel like it was worth it, but an entirely different thing to whine, complain, and claim to be a victim when the bill comes in the mail.
One common theme I read though is that nobody was aware of how much the payments would be when everything was said and done. I'm starting to think it is by design more than accident.
To be honest, this isn't always possible when you have children. I have a 12, 10, and 6 year old. I refuse to work long hours in addition to school and ignore their childhoods, because by the time I graduate my oldest 2 will be nearly grown, my youngest entering middle school. Debt sucks, but missing out on your kid's childhoods sucks even more. That's time I won't be able to get back. I can ALWAYS pay debt back. I cannot go back in time and go to my 6 year old's ballet recital or help my soon to be 13 year old prepare for her first formal or cheer my son on in his first hockey game. That makes the debt worth it to me.
This is true when you go back to school as a parent of 3 kids. I truly hope this works out for you, it's a gamble that you won't be able to get out of. And how it turns out will have a huge impact on what you hope to see your kids do.
I don't know how many industries rely or rather can take advantage of a labor pool of a significant percentage of 2nd career single parents with huge student loan debt but it definitely takes the wind out of nursing's hard ball negotiating sails. Too many people can't walk away from poor working conditions.
One thing I do want to point out though is that there are some grads out there who seem to be shocked when the bill comes due and it is half of their take home pay. People that is a lot of money.
It is one thing to take on that amount of debt, be able to manage it, and feel like it was worth it, but an entirely different thing to whine, complain, and claim to be a victim when the bill comes in the mail.
One common theme I read though is that nobody was aware of how much the payments would be when everything was said and done. I'm starting to think it is by design more than accident.
Yes, I agree. I knew I would be in terrible debt going into college, and that was a choice I made. That being said, I definitely wasn't aware of how much my monthly payments would be, but I probably could have found out if I really wanted to.. Ignorance was bliss for a little while there until graduation lol. I think what ends up happening a lot of the time is that people have so many different loans at once from various lenders within their financial aid package.. $1,000 here, $2,000 there, and don't realize how much they are adding up. You don't really find out what the total monthly damage is until you do the repayment counseling.
For me part of the shock was also that I had no idea how much I would be making as an RN. If I had stayed in the same city where I went to school, my paychecks would be almost double what they are now. I had a job offer there at a great hospital but I didn't want to stay in a big city and I wanted to work in public health, so alas the debt burden is pretty huge. I get paid very little for an RN but I truly love what I do so it's worth it for me. I would have been back to the big teaching hospital city life if I didn't get the HRSA award though, living in the suburbs where rent is less and commuting 3 hours round-trip every day on the train. There's just no way to pay back this kind of debt on a PHN salary.
when i did my ADN i graduated with no debt. When i finished my BSN i graduated with 45000 debt. im now on pmt plan but i wish their was a way it could be paid off. I haven't really investigated my options but im going to this year. Its been 2 years since i hadmy bsn. just started paying the loan 3 mths ago.
I am curious what does a "prestigious" school offer that your average school does not? I am asking this in all sincerity. What do they provide to justify the added cost?
Bragging rights.
No, I just explained in another post that I work for a top 10 teaching facility and with employee benefits, it is not costing me that much. I am still making my payments and, as I said, it will cost me less than an "average" school would.
Some of the top schools give very generous financial aid. It can be cheaper than going to your state university if you have the stats but not the finances.
That said, if you can't get scholarships or generous FA, I would not recommend going into a huge amount of debt for a nursing degree.
I had a friend who was accepted at a very prestigious private school (tuition 60K a year). She wanted to go into nursing. I told her that if she or her parents were going to have to go into great debt to do this, it would not be smart, but if they had the money and just wanted her to have that type of college experience, no harm no foul. Turns out her grandparents were very wealthy and could send her there and not miss the check. So, that made sense. Otherwise...probably not.
I have student loans, but from my first stint in college, which I went not knowing what I wanted to do, spent a few years and ended up with an associate in General Studies. So, I haven't been able to pay much on it and it's just gained interest because I worked in childcare for several years and of course paid not much over minimum wage. It's gone from $36,000 to $54,000.... Luckily, I haven't had to take out any loans for nursing school, it's a technical school for LPN program...so it's cheaper and Pell Grant and another Grant has paid majority but it scares me when/if I graduate and start working and having to pay off that other loan....54,000 dollars is more than a fancy car, I would never buy. Am I going to be just as poor as I was before??
As a student I can completely understand how crazy it is to go into this much into debt for a degree.
To answer your questions...
1. I go to a private university.
2. I chose this university because I wasn't just a number here, each and every one of my professors knows exactly who I am. They also care so much because there is that personal connection. I also knew I would be able to gain the skills in a smaller setting, sometimes there are 6 people in my classes!!!!
3. The cost did play a role in me deciding my university, to be honest, it was cheaper for my to go to a private school out of state than it was for me to go to a public university in state. (Thanks high school me for the good grades)
4. The cost of tuition at my university is about 45,000 a year for our undergrad. However, because it is a private university they are able to give a few more scholarships, so I pay around 32,000 a year.
5. I have not added any of my extras to my student loans. All the good stuff such as books and supplies I have either got for gifts for christmas or birthdays or I have bought them myself using money from my current job. It hasn't been the easiest way to obtain these items however I do not want to have to pay interest on them later.
5. I had somewhat of an idea at how much the monthly payment would be, but the fact is that I want to be a nurse practitioner and that outweighed the thoughts of not going to school.
I am not a working RN (yet!!) so i can't say much more!
I hope this helps you grasp some of the craziness that is student loans!!
So far I have $0 debt from RN school. I graduated with ADN in October 2015. I started in May 14. I went to the local community college. I worked full time while going to school. No loans. No grants except what the state gives anyone in an associate's program. I started RN-BSN last week at a in state university. It's on line so no class attendance. Tuition is affordable. I pay out of pocket. No debt so far. It can be done.
2. Very small classroom sizes, very caring teachers, one-on-one nearly any reasonable time you need with teachers who will work with you until a solution is found for whatever you're seeing them for, teachers actually email you back right away or call you back, no adjuncts, affiliated with a major hospital system in my state.
3. Yes. But due to this being a private school, I get more financial aid and scholarships than I would have at a public one. The cost is about equal in the end. I don't think everyone realizes this when they chose public over private!
4. I have no loans but my scholarship/aid doesn't cover my books, although I know students for who it does.
5. I looked at 2 loans and how much payments would be.
6. Not a working RN
Edit:
After I read some other answers I realized I forgot a question. I pay $1800 per semester not including books. I get a scholarship from my school that covers a huge chunk of my tuition and I applied to a few more essay type scholarships and 1 science scholarship. I transferred from a county college where I took a lot of my prereqs. I sacrificed and worked hard to earn this scholarship..without it I couldn't go to this school probably or at least not without $$ loans.
And if this helps anyone needing money for school...I tried to build some kind of connection or show a lot of respect and interest with every teacher I had. I can't say enough that this will help you!!! And I don't mean to get an easy A because that's not going to happen, but it helps you because the teachers recommend you for scholarships, honors programs, and other things that benefit you and your future!
I went to a large, private university that costs around $240,000 for a 4-year BSN degree. It's insane, I know. I chose to attend this university because it's a great school and very prestigious with amazing hospitals right in the area. I could have gone to a public university for cheaper tuition but the school I attended ended up giving me a ton of financial aid after my younger brother started college. I also won many local scholarships in my area when I graduated high school. My family was terrified about what my loans would look like but as it turns out, I have very little. I worked 3 jobs during college to help pay for my books, housing, food, etc. I wouldn't trade the education I got for anything though! I love my university and the opportunities it has given me. It may seem like a public university is the way to go, but I wools definitely recommend checking out private universities and the financial/merit aid that they award.
. Luckily, I haven't had to take out any loans for nursing school, it's a technical school for LPN program...so it's cheaper and Pell Grant and another Grant has paid majority but it scares me when/if I graduate and start working and having to pay off that other loan....54,000 dollars is more than a fancy car, I would never buy. Am I going to be just as poor as I was before??
KeepItRealRN, BSN, RN
379 Posts
Thank you for answering my questions. And no I'm not judging you at all. Whether something is worth it or not is absolutely up to the person who made the decision.
One thing I do want to point out though is that there are some grads out there who seem to be shocked when the bill comes due and it is half of their take home pay. People that is a lot of money.
It is one thing to take on that amount of debt, be able to manage it, and feel like it was worth it, but an entirely different thing to whine, complain, and claim to be a victim when the bill comes in the mail.
One common theme I read though is that nobody was aware of how much the payments would be when everything was said and done. I'm starting to think it is by design more than accident.