Student Loans and Debt

[jnniemeyer]

I am wondering if there are any NPs that can advise me on student debt.

I would like to pursue an entry level masters program to become a family nurse practitioner - however all of the options are very expensive and I would have to take out a very significant student loan.

I have done a lot of financial planning, and it that seems worse case scenario - I would be paying the loans off on an Income-base repayment plan for 20 years.

For those of you with outstanding student debt - how much of an impact does it have on your life? For example - does it affect things like buying a house, starting a family, and other big life decisions..?

[nursedee]

I understand CA is probably more expensive and I am not very familiar with the cost of things there. I will say 175K to get your NP is insane to me. For reference I am in NY. I went to one of the most expensive schools in my area for my ADN and walked away with 45K in debt. This was being young, total lapse in judgment, changing my major and taking all the loan money they would give me even if I didn't need it. I hate that I have this much debt now, if I was smarter I could have done this for so much less! My BSN was paid for through tuition reimbursement with my job, I maybe took a loan to pay for 1 or 2 classes so I could speed up when I decided to go for my NP. I am starting my NP this fall and the cost is apx 25K total. I am taking out some loans for personal reasons, but my tuition reimbursement through my job will pay about half of this. I know it seems like it will take longer to start from the bottom up, but financially just seems to make so much more sense. As for being 30....you are young! I am 35 and just starting my NP and plan to take about 3 years to do it. My own healthcare provider is an NP and told me she decided to get her BSN and pursue her NP when she was 40! You have soooo much time! Someone touched on experience...I am not sure what prospective jobs will think without any prior RN experience either....and taking a few years to work as an RN while you do your BSN will give you the opportunity to really find what area you think you might be interested in specializing in afterwards! Best of luck to you.