Terrified about student loan debt. ADVICE

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It has always been my dream to be a nurse and I'm hoping to one day become a nurse practitioner or CRNA (nurse anesthetist). Right now I'm in my second year of college, but I will probably be in school for three more years for my BSN due to some unsatisfactory grades and immaturity my freshman year, and I wasn't able to get a scholarship. I have been financing my education solely on student loans. Tuition and living expenses add up to about 22K per year. My parent's income is too high for me to get grants, but they can't afford to fund my education because they're in debt and only one parent is employed. I tried getting a job but it was just too overwhelming with the difficult classes, and the money didn't amount to much. I also am unable to live at home due to some family problems, won't go into detail but it's really not an option. I've been trying to get good grades to get this full ride nursing scholarship, but there's no guarantee it will work out. I'm currently about 30K in debt, if I finish school solely on loans it will be 130K in debt. This idea makes me cringe and I don't know if I should stay in school or it's just a bad idea! I'm trying to get an education ad achieve my dream of becoming a nurse, but I don't want to ruin my life! :banghead:

Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup. What did you think it would be?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO the math....reality bites. They make it so easy to sign and divert your attention. Choose wisely and carefully.
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Yup. What did you think it would be?

I'm paying for my loan while going to school. Just the interest part. I pay $55. I know that won't be forever, but I was thinking like $150-$200 max. I'm sure I can arrange that and not have to pay it off by 10 years, right?

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I'm paying for my loan while going to school. Just the interest part. I pay $55. I know that won't be forever, but I was thinking like $150-$200 max. I'm sure I can arrange that and not have to pay it off by 10 years, right?

The longer you extend the loan, the more you are going to be paying in interest. If the 10 year loan resulted in interest of almost 27K, how much do you think you'll be paying if it's a 20 or 30 year loan?

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
I'm paying for my loan while going to school. Just the interest part. I pay $55. I know that won't be forever, but I was thinking like $150-$200 max. I'm sure I can arrange that and not have to pay it off by 10 years, right?

It's very smart that you're paying the interest while you're in school. That will save you a lot in the end. That said, the longer you try to stretch out your loan, as OCRN63 said, the more interest you will still pay in the end. You're much better off making over payments than you are stretching it out for as long as possible. Like I said, I'm planning to pay $1000/month (or more) toward mine whenever possible. Student loan debt is no joke. Do a student loan payment calculator (you can Google these) and experiment with different numbers, but recognize what you're paying in interest over all that time. It adds up.

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It's very smart that you're paying the interest while you're in school. That will save you a lot in the end. That said, the longer you try to stretch out your loan, as OCRN63 said, the more interest you will still pay in the end. You're much better off making over payments than you are stretching it out for as long as possible. Like I said, I'm planning to pay $1000/month (or more) toward mine whenever possible. Student loan debt is no joke. Do a student loan payment calculator (you can Google these) and experiment with different numbers, but recognize what you're paying in interest over all that time. It adds up.

Thank you! I definitely gotta check into that. Being a mother to 3 kids, it's hard to pay that much a month as of now. Hopefully in the future, my husband and I will be making enough money to make that big of a payment. Thanks for everyone's input!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I'm paying for my loan while going to school. Just the interest part. I pay $55. I know that won't be forever, but I was thinking like $150-$200 max. I'm sure I can arrange that and not have to pay it off by 10 years, right?
Even if you switch it to 20 years...and keep it at 6.8%......your payment will be $534.33 per month for 20 years. Your total interest paid will be $80,150.00 plus the $70,000.00 your borrowed..you will have paid $115,000.00 dollars total. IN 20 years your children will be in college or just graduating college. This is for a bridge program for an ADN right? You do realize that many facilities are hiring BSN grads only....the job market is poor right now...I wish you the best.

Go to this page and there is a calculator...Student loan repayment calculator

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Specializes in Home Health, PDN, LTC, subacute.

If you default on a gov loan, it can affect your nurse license. There is a section on the application regarding this. Just an FYI.

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Specializes in Antepartm and Mother-Baby.

I have $53k in student loans. My payments begin in June. My student loans petrify me. My plan was to stay living with my mom and pay off as much as I could as quickly as I could, but 3 weeks after graduation she died unexpectedly and with no other family I'm on my own. I'm going make it work and I'm looking into different loan forgiveness programs, but it's definitely daunting.

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Even if you switch it to 20 years...and keep it at 6.8%......your payment will be $534.33 per month for 20 years. Your total interest paid will be $80,150.00 plus the $70,000.00 your borrowed..you will have paid $115,000.00 dollars total. IN 20 years your children will be in college or just graduating college. This is for a bridge program for an ADN right? You do realize that many facilities are hiring BSN grads only....the job market is poor right now...I wish you the best.

Go to this page and there is a calculator...Student loan repayment calculator

You do realize that my adn program is not 60-70k and that if I do get to that much it will be including my bsn... I'm fully aware of the job market right now. Thanks for letting me know.

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I didn't read all of the comments on here, sorry! But, has anyone mentioned joining the military? You could do the Navy Nurse Corps ROTC program. This will pay you a little during school and then help you pay for tuition. I would do it in a heart beat but I have too many tattoos. They just passed a regulation stating no tattoos that show while wearing PT uniforms and perhaps no tattoos for officers. I could be completely wrong there, so double check it. I just know I cannot because I have a full sleeve. Anyways, you come out with very minimal debt and then serve a number of years as an officer. With the free healthcare, you will make as much or more than the civilian counterpart AND be guaranteed a job upon graduation.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I have $53k in student loans. My payments begin in June. My student loans petrify me. My plan was to stay living with my mom and pay off as much as I could as quickly as I could, but 3 weeks after graduation she died unexpectedly and with no other family I'm on my own. I'm going make it work and I'm looking into different loan forgiveness programs, but it's definitely daunting.

Oh, how terrible! I feel so sorry for you! My thoughts are with you; I hope you have good co-workers to support you.

Come here if you ever need support. (((Heather)))

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