there are very limited/competitive bsn programs here in new orleans. i spent most of my college career doing my pre-reqs elsewhere and then applying to the well-known programs. charity is adn--and frankly, i've gone too far in my pre-reqs to turn back now for an associates. lsu has different pre-req requirements, so that's out-unless i want to take several classes over. those 2 programs are the only affordable options for me, but i have been accepted for the our lady of holy cross bsn program starting in august, tuition is roughly 16k a year. the point of this post is that, of course, i went to the cheapest school ever to do my pre-reqs but still accepted loans (it was a situation where i sort of had to), so i'm already entering with 30k in debt. olhcc is expensive...i am calculating that when all is said and done, i will owe roughly 70k. my soul dies a little more each time i say it out loud, but what am i supposed to do now? i was accepted somewhere, and in 3 years, i will be a rn bsn. i've never even had a car note, so i'm consistently worrying about the debt when i come out. i don't want to starve to death. i just need someone to tell me that i will be ok. that if i'm willing to work my a$$ off via prn and float shifts etc...that i can do this. i don't have children/car note/other debts, and i intend on seeking my msn as well. i am also considering the navel nurse officer program, and am open to any programs seeking my time in exchange for repayment of a % of my loans. will i be ok?
You shouldn't depend on any loan forgiveness program because you may not get it. You said you made a lot of mistakes when you were a New Orleans party girl, well getting 70k in debt is going to fix anything! Part of being an adult is acting like one. Getting 70k in debt just because you don't want want to wait a year sounds a bit childish to me. You can go to a CC get your ADN and immediately go for your BSN. It's the exact same thing. What happens if your 70k in debt and can't find a job? It's happened to a lot of people and it could happen to you. Please think about this. Debt is no joke.
I don't understand why some people who have options (might not be the best or easiest options, but they are still perfectly good options) still prefer the one with the most risks...just for the sake of convenience. This is one of the reasons why America is in the financial state it's in...people are not willing to accept cheaper options, wait, and/or live within their means. This isn't an attack on you OP, I just have to be honest with you. You are saying that waiting for one year is not an option. But for the life of me I don't understand why you would even want to accept 70 k in debt for at least the next 20 to 30 years!!! If you go to the Community college, you will still be an RN! And you will be at an advantage because you can get your employer to actually help you PAY for your BSN. *think about it* You are literally giving up a very sweet deal to accept a 'prison sentence'. At most, if you take the RN to BSN route...it will take a few years, but you will see a quick cash return of your choice and you will not regret it. But blindly choosing to walk into 70,000 dollars with no absolute way of making sure it will be paid off is really dumb and you will be a financial slave for years to come.... all because you couldn't wait for 365 days.
Have to fix something, I was half wrong about bankruptcy. I remember student loans being eligible for chapter 13 and there are chances for some student loans to be dropped in ch 7. I was thinking it was changed that private loans are to be dropped now because of several bills that had gone thru, but in the end were not voted on as of now.....
Regardless, bankruptcy would really screw up your chances for grad school loans if you end up filing it.
Yes, the issue with private student loans is that they have to be secured, and for someone already in debt, they would require a co-signer. So the big problem is that if someone did default on that loan, which would be very difficult, the co-signer would still be responsible for paying it off. It's a real racket out there, they gouge you any way they can. I wouldn't want to drag another person, a co-signer, into that mess.
Better to spend that year off getting some real world experience that would make it easier to get a job after graduation.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
All you have to do is go to hospital sites and look at job postings and how often they change.
A 'job opening' means absolutely nothing if the hospital is not planning on hiring anyone.
Major hospitals are known for listing positions that they never have any intention of filling. Internal policies and procedures mandate that the human resources departments advertise their job openings and interview a few qualified candidates. However, no one will be hired if the budget does not allow for it, and the nurses who are currently employed will pick up the slack and work harder with more patients.
For example, the small hospital where I am employed has had seven (7) RN job openings that have been posted for the past year. They have received hundreds of online and paper applications and have interviewed qualified nurses. However, they don't want to hire anybody because it is cheaper to keep us running short-staffed and shorthanded.
You can ask almost any unemployed, long-term job seeker and he/she will tell you about the same stale openings being advertised by the same old facilities month after month, year after year.
A 'job opening' means absolutely nothing if the hospital is not planning on hiring anyone.
Major hospitals are known for listing positions that they never have any intention of filling. Internal policies and procedures mandate that the human resources departments advertise their job openings and interview a few qualified candidates. However, no one will be hired if the budget does not allow for it, and the nurses who are currently employed will pick up the slack and work harder with more patients.
For example, the small hospital where I am employed has had seven (7) RN job openings that have been posted for the past year. They have received hundreds of online and paper applications and have interviewed qualified nurses. However, they don't want to hire anybody because it is cheaper to keep us running short-staffed and shorthanded.
You can ask almost any unemployed, long-term job seeker and he/she will tell you about the same stale openings being advertised by the same old facilities month after month, year after year.
That is very true, I know some hospitals do that. All the more important to research with ppl working in the hospital about the hiring situations.
That kind of debt is crazy when you can wait a year to do the adn and then later to the bsn. You can probably get your employer to pay for part of the bsn if you work ft for them for a year. I wouldn't be willing to take on that kind of debt for what nursing pays with no promise of a job when you graduate. What happens if you have $70K and no job or just a weekend gig? You still have to pay the loans. AND your bills. I know you WANT the BSN and do not WANT to wait a year, but for that many thousand dollars, it makes sense. Do whatever courses over the next year you can at the community college before starting the ADN program. There is no shame in that.
Yep, same stale job postings posted by the same old employers, year after year. And the ones that describe the job to a T and when you inquire, you are told there is no such job.
Why is waiting a year not an option? So what if you graduate at 30?
One of my good friends has more than $100k in nursing school debt. She has a good full time job, she pulls as much OT as she can and she volunteers to work every holiday. She moved to Texas partly because of a much lower cost of living, because she couldn't afford to work where she graduated from. She cannot get an apartment on her own and has to live with roommates instead because she has so little money for rent. Forget going out often, contributing much to her 401k, etc. She is going to be under this debt for years.
Why is waiting a year not an option? So what if you graduate at 30?
One of my good friends has more than $100k in nursing school debt. She has a good full time job, she pulls as much OT as she can and she volunteers to work every holiday. She moved to Texas partly because of a much lower cost of living, because she couldn't afford to work where she graduated from. She cannot get an apartment on her own and has to live with roommates instead because she has so little money for rent. Forget going out often, contributing much to her 401k, etc. She is going to be under this debt for years.
Over 100,000 dollars?!?! Abso-freaking-lutely INSANE!
Why is waiting a year not an option? So what if you graduate at 30?
One of my good friends has more than $100k in nursing school debt. She has a good full time job, she pulls as much OT as she can and she volunteers to work every holiday. She moved to Texas partly because of a much lower cost of living, because she couldn't afford to work where she graduated from. She cannot get an apartment on her own and has to live with roommates instead because she has so little money for rent. Forget going out often, contributing much to her 401k, etc. She is going to be under this debt for years.
Unless someone has gone to a private university, I can hardly understand the $100,000 price tag (!?!). Was this an Ivy League school? wow.
Highschoolfuturenurs
158 Posts
You shouldn't depend on any loan forgiveness program because you may not get it. You said you made a lot of mistakes when you were a New Orleans party girl, well getting 70k in debt is going to fix anything! Part of being an adult is acting like one. Getting 70k in debt just because you don't want want to wait a year sounds a bit childish to me. You can go to a CC get your ADN and immediately go for your BSN. It's the exact same thing. What happens if your 70k in debt and can't find a job? It's happened to a lot of people and it could happen to you. Please think about this. Debt is no joke.