I'm pulling this discussion over from another non nursing board that I'm active on because it is relavant to some points I am trying to unsuccessfully make. In particular the amount of student loan debt one is willing to take on for an education.'
In the interest of transparency I do attend a private school but it meets some needs and goals for me other than just the subject of study. However I feel the amount of debt I will end up in to be reasonable.
This article caught my eye as it about a student that got into $200,000 in student loan debt for a Bachelors degree that has no real market value. Her average monthly payment for the next 155 months ( 13 years) is $2,300
It shows how much she owes and how much her monthly payments are. She actually only took out $170k in loans 30k alone is interest over 4 years
I already have a BS in a non-related field and nursing will be a second career for me. I am headed into a diploma program (provided I get accepted) the tuition for which costs around $11,000 for the program. My chosen program forgives 80% up front if you state an intent to work in their hospital system after grad. If you are hired (about 60% get hired currently) they will forgive 100% on a 1 semester forgiven for 4 months worked basis. My accelerated program will be 4 semesters so it would take me 16 months to work off my loan. If I am lucky I will come out of this with no loan debt at all. Everyone talks about the importance of a BSN, and that may well be true, but for me this route makes more sense. I also would gladly have considered my local community college program but they were on probation a few years ago and their NCLEX pass rates are still kind of poor. My program of choice has a 100% pass rate for current year on 76 students whereas my local has 21 for 25 on current year for a pass rate of 84%. IF I ultimately decide to pursue a masters I'll do the RN to MSN program available in my state and figure out how to swing that financially when the time comes. I am 40 years old and I do not have 35 years in the job market to repay student loan debt so it is uber-important that I avoid it as much as possible. I'm taking my pre-reqs locally and paying cash for it while I work full-time at my pre-nursing career job. Meanwhile I'm saving $ for the 4 semesters I'll be in NS. Each person's path is different and each person has to consider for themselves what amount of debt they can handle. What I will tell you from the perspective of someone who has been in the working world and lived with debt as an adult, it is really difficult to dig yourself out of a hole once you get in it. If you consider that you'll need a replacement car ( notice I did NOT say a NEW car) every 5 to 10 years depending on how much you drive each year, if you consider that you'll need 20% to pay down on a house and will need to save $30K to $60K for that, if you consider that raising a child these days costs you about $200,000, and if you consider that you really need about $1 million for retirement/end of life care then you REALLY come to realize that you need to minimize student loan debt as much as is humanly possible!
I think the article mentions that she was a first generation college student so I'm assuming that she had no real advice. To a lot of families who have traditionally never gone to college they think a college degree is a winning lottery ticket. College = the good life.
Also if you don't come from money you have no concept of how much $200k is though I'm sure it was rake up in $30k a years bumps.
Not buying it. I am also a first generation college graduate who did not come from money. I borrowed wisely and conservatively and worked all through college. Did a quick google search on this girl and read an interview where she said in no uncertain terms that she gave herself the kind of college experience most people don't get to have. For example, she studied abroad. When I was in school 10 years ago, I backpacked through Europe for a month on $800 I'd saved up from an internship. Her issue is not ignorance, it's entitlement.
Me = Going to a private and getting 65-70k in debt from it. I'm not going to lie, this was my mistake. Part of it was entitlement, part of it was pressure from friends/family, part of it was being 17/immature/not knowing how the world works, and part of it was these fairy dreams of going to med school and making the big bucks. Now my life has changed. I work 2 jobs while going to nursing school, work my butt off. Doing everything possible to succeed so that I can have a job and pay back my debt. There is nothing I can do now anymore, it was a bad decision and a hard lesson to learn. I figured right now I am living on about or less than 10k a year (share a small apartment, old car and work is 5 mins away, never going shopping, rarely go out, etc), so hopefully I can live in poverty for a few years and really put a dent into my loans once (hopefully!!) I start working as an RN.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I think the article mentions that she was a first generation college student so I'm assuming that she had no real advice. To a lot of families who have traditionally never gone to college they think a college degree is a winning lottery ticket. College = the good life.
Also if you don't come from money you have no concept of how much $200k is though I'm sure it was rake up in $30k a years bumps.
People I went to LVN school thought THAT was their ticket to making bank gobbling up everything the recruiters told them without taking it all with a grain of salt. I earn 1/2 of what they told me I would/could earn and I knew that going in. I had reasons other than money for going LVN first.
I have to disagree with that, in fact, I have seen people that DO come from money devalue it's worth a lot more. Will drop tons on whatever just because they have it. I have seen it go 2 different ways depending if the person came from money or was rich but started from the bottom up. I didn't come from money but I have met a lot of people that are multi-millionaires. My husband works with them in the winter.
Although I didn't come from money and I am a first time college student, I would never go into debt that much (outside of a home). I grew up poor, now I have money, I like nice things and I will indulge on myself now and again, but again, I wouldn't do something like this. Shoot I don't even believe in buying brand new cars anymore.
I don't look down on student loans, I have them, it's how I can afford childcare for my daughter to go to school since my husband is the only one that works and we have 4 kids. I think an education is a valid reason for a debt. But there should be a cap. Crazyness.
I read about that and I don't remember where but they had published a breakdown of her expenses. A lot of the debt accrued was related to "the college experience" expenses. She had taken out loans for a semester in Europe, and some of that money was going toward living experiences, and I guess she was living fairly well, and I think she also bought a car.
I can't remember if she was going to a private or public school, but no state university would cost that much. She just wanted what she wanted and decided to think about the consequences later.
Anybody who is smart enough to go to college should be smart enough to realize that you don't take on that kind of debt. I don't know what she was thinking.
I heard she has started a website soliciting donations to pay off her loan, which is especially galling in this day and age when people are going hungry and losing their homes.
The woman in the article went to a private school (Northeastern University, I think). I can't have any sympathy for her, she purchased an education she couldn't afford along with what sounds like a whole lot of other things she couldn't afford. Those "study abroad" programs are such a rip-off, you get charged the astronomical price of a semester at your American private school only to get a semester at a much cheaper European school! For the money a student spends on that "semester in Europe" they could probably travel through Europe on their own for a whole year! And setting up a website asking for donations?? There are flood victims in Pakistan and earthquake victims in Haiti, and she thinks people will donate to her because she lived beyond her means? Give me a break.
I am at around $50,000 for my original bachelors and not taking any more aid for my ADN. I am lucky to have an employer who pays for 6 credits of tuition a semester. I am paying the leftover out of pocket. I did borrow from husband's student loans to help pay for books for the first semester. If I can manage to get my graduate degree paid for as well, that will be even better.
I paid off my first college degree in two years, but now I am tacking on another 20k for my second degree (living expenses, books, and class). I would draw the line anything over 50k.
Higher education is affordable, so I'm not sure how people rack up 150k+ in student loans other than going to a University for a psychology degree that they could have gotten for 90% cheaper at an instate school. Honestly most classes are taught the same, given the same merit, and basically use all the same text book. I'm sorry spending 300$ a credit for an English 101 calss that cost 150 total at the local community college and transfers just the same is just economically stupid.
THe only reason anyone racks this much in debt is due to the fact they are there for networking, even though now new nurses need some networking for their first job, its nothing compared to that of someone with an Engineering degree.
This woman is a fool and I don't really feel sorry for her. She knew how much she was borrowing. It was her responsibility to figure out if she could afford the payments. For some reason she just thought she could rack up a ton of debt and live it up during her college years and now she is faced with the consequence of those decisions.
I most certainly agree that she has some nerve asking for donations when there are people on the street and children without food.
Age and not coming from money are not excuses for pure stupidity. I'm in my lower 20's and I came from a very poor family. I know how much $200k and I would never rack up that amount for a 4 year degree. I think people who have money would be more likely to not understand how much $200k is. $200k would be a life changing amount for me, but for a rich person, it's chump change.
I agree that you should never have more in student loans than what you will make with that degree.
I hear so many of these stories floating around and I have zero sympathy for any of them. In this day and age, nothing is stopping you from educating yourself. There are no excuses. If I don't know something, I do some research. Something as important as a college education should not be taken lightly. I think her excuse was that she was young and the first in her family to go to college. Uh, same here girlfriend. I took the time to educate myself and make smart decisions. Four years later, I am at the brink of getting my degree and have no debt whatsoever. In fact, I have been MAKING money while I'm in college. People love to make excuses instead of taking responsibility for their actions. There are so many options out there, but people want to take the easy way out and somehow avoid the consequences.
I draw the line at 0. Before you go taking out loans...look at grants and scholarships. My entire BSN was paid for by the school and my work with no contract or me signing an agreement to work for them for a certain length of time. It was academically based, so grades in school matter. Also my grad school is being paid for by my work. This I do have to work off, BUT...I can work it off WHILE im in school so I'm not stuck after graduation if I want to move.
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RevolutioN2013
185 Posts
I already have a BS in a non-related field and nursing will be a second career for me. I am headed into a diploma program (provided I get accepted) the tuition for which costs around $11,000 for the program. My chosen program forgives 80% up front if you state an intent to work in their hospital system after grad. If you are hired (about 60% get hired currently) they will forgive 100% on a 1 semester forgiven for 4 months worked basis. My accelerated program will be 4 semesters so it would take me 16 months to work off my loan. If I am lucky I will come out of this with no loan debt at all. Everyone talks about the importance of a BSN, and that may well be true, but for me this route makes more sense. I also would gladly have considered my local community college program but they were on probation a few years ago and their NCLEX pass rates are still kind of poor. My program of choice has a 100% pass rate for current year on 76 students whereas my local has 21 for 25 on current year for a pass rate of 84%. IF I ultimately decide to pursue a masters I'll do the RN to MSN program available in my state and figure out how to swing that financially when the time comes. I am 40 years old and I do not have 35 years in the job market to repay student loan debt so it is uber-important that I avoid it as much as possible. I'm taking my pre-reqs locally and paying cash for it while I work full-time at my pre-nursing career job. Meanwhile I'm saving $ for the 4 semesters I'll be in NS. Each person's path is different and each person has to consider for themselves what amount of debt they can handle. What I will tell you from the perspective of someone who has been in the working world and lived with debt as an adult, it is really difficult to dig yourself out of a hole once you get in it. If you consider that you'll need a replacement car ( notice I did NOT say a NEW car) every 5 to 10 years depending on how much you drive each year, if you consider that you'll need 20% to pay down on a house and will need to save $30K to $60K for that, if you consider that raising a child these days costs you about $200,000, and if you consider that you really need about $1 million for retirement/end of life care then you REALLY come to realize that you need to minimize student loan debt as much as is humanly possible!