Terrified about student loan debt. ADVICE

[becca94]

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!

[RunBabyRN]

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.

Debt alone is not a good reason to join the military. It's not something to take lightly. Plus, new grads aren't often being accepted right now, as the military is trying to downsize. You basically sell yourself to the government (I assure you, once you're in, they remind you CONSTANTLY that you are government property). It's not a contract without its strings. Not to mention the perils of war and deployments.

[RunBabyRN]

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.

Wow, how devastating! I hope you're able to find a way to make things work. I'm so sorry for your loss!

[RubySlippers06]

Debt alone is not a good reason to join the military. It's not something to take lightly. Plus, new grads aren't often being accepted right now, as the military is trying to downsize. You basically sell yourself to the government (I assure you, once you're in, they remind you CONSTANTLY that you are government property). It's not a contract without its strings. Not to mention the perils of war and deployments.

We're a military family. No contract comes without strings. Personally, I believe it is a lot better option than having $130K in student loan debt. With the Airforce, you can go the neonatal route instead of the trauma route. That gives a bigger chance of doing humanitarian-type missions vs war zone deployments.

No, debt alone is not a good reason to join. However, you get school at a fraction of a cost and a career. That is a good reason to join, among what being a service member entails.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Can I ask what is so wrong about obtaining a private student loan compared to a federal loan? I've heard this from multiple sources but not one has given me a decent answer.

I had a private student loan many moons ago. The interest rate was variable, meaning that my payment fluctuated monthly. Also, the interest rate was higher than federal loans. Moreover, private loans do not have the same flexibility or protections as federal loans.