The Largest Student Loan Actually PAID OFF!

Nurses General Nursing

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I am just curious about something here.

I am very, very concerned and alarmed at the number of folks that I have seen on the board that have student loans of $60K $80K $100K for an undergrad.

The payments on that are so incredibly staggaring I don't see how anyone can make those payments and live a decent standard of living unless you have a spouse that is rolling some money in.

I think it would be a very, very healthy thing to know if anyone has ever finished paying off their student loans, the amount you paid off, and if you have, let's say, over $60K and are currently in payback, would you advise it to others?

I just feel that there is a huge difference in a physician taking out $100K in loans for med school when he will probably be making that or more in his first year, than an RN who will probably be making half that figure as a new grad.

Any thoughts.

I am a career changer, have a BS and MS in another field, then went into nursing several years later. I was still paying off my original student loans and accumulated more debt while doing an accelerated nursing program. I am now working 6 days a week to just make ends meet, however, I am single, live alone and am doing it ALL by myself. It is very difficult, but I have called each lender to find out my options, they will work with you if you talk to them (change due dates so that it comes out of a specific pay period, reduce monthly amounts, etc.) It can be done, but it's definitely not easy and to be honest at this point I don't think it was worth it, but I will give it more time. I am very grateful our dept. is so short staffed that the opportunity to work OT is there, otherwise I would have to find a second job to just pay the rent, loans, and stuff. I would recommend consolidating all your federal loans and then consolidating all your private loans, but not federal and private loans together. Reducing your monthly payment amount means paying more interest and for a longer period of time, but sometimes you gotta do whatcha gotta do, you can always pay more each month if you can, but at least you're not committed to a really high payment each month if you change your payment amount. Call the lender, ask them how they can help you so you won't default. Just pay on time and every month (for the rest of your life) and you'll be ok. Hope this helps.

physicians arent making 100k in there first year and there usually taking out more than 100... not to mention there undergrad

Specializes in rehab; med/surg; l&d; peds/home care.

kinda off topic, but my medical director and personal doc paid his two daughters through undergrad and med school...so they are now well into their residencies, one in boston, the other in michigan, and doing well with NO DEBT. what a gift for a doctor to start out with no debt over their head.

i paid my way through LPN school with wages earned in my high school days, then the final semester on credit cards, which were promptly paid off working OT like crazy.

i am now almost done with EC's program (having to take cpne) and paid it all myself (with some help from books from nurses/docs at work).

don't know how i'll pay for my BS and MS, but that's the least of my worries at this point. right now i just want to get through this radiation therapy and get healthy again.

i went to take out a student loan a few years ago when i was told (WRONGLY) that LPNs could be case managers, so i took out a loan, got my schedule and then found out i certainly COULD take the classes, but i would never be employable without the RN behind my name. i was able to withdrawl so it was all paid back, but i had to pay back the few hundred bucks worth of books, since they were considered "used". lesson learned, i guess!!!

how much do docs make right out of schoool, anyway? i have no idea, i don't work with residents/interns. the only docs i work with are well established and $$$$$.

Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

My preceptor graduated with just around $50k in student loans, with her BSN. She told me she went through about 3 years undergrad and then decided to do nursing, so it was a total of 5 years. During that time she worked awful jobs that may have paid for food, but not much else. The one job she had that was decent was nursing assistant on the floor where she eventually precepted me. Also, she was very young and said her choices weren't always smart.

Anyways, she worked 4 day weeks instead of 3 days (12 hour days) for several years. Her husband was in school also, and she dedicated something like $1k per month to paying off school loans. Knowing that, when he graduated with his doctorate, they'd be making a LOT more, but would be again saddled with some outrageous amount of school loans for him. Her goal was to pay hers off before he graduated.

I'm contributing her story 'cause I had zero debt, and also just about zero money, when I graduated with my ADN. I'm floored by the costs that I estimate to get my BSN and I don't want to do it right now! I'd like to buy a house first, really. In my first year and a half, I have become the breadwinner, sent my hubby back to school (that I'm paying for, still no debt), paid off our car, bought a second one (payments lower than the first car, thankfully), moved to an adequate apartment, added a dog and cat to our household, and saved up about $5k towards a house downpayment. Although we would like to just keep a cushion of that much, I do count it as a substantial chunk of a downpayment. All that on 3 day work weeks with occasional call, nightshift differential and charge pay.

I think it was well worth being broke for several years.

i know in my last hospital the residents were only makine 45 grand a year... wild isnt it? I'm not sure what they make at my current hospital..

Specializes in Global Health Informatics, MNCH.

Nursing is also a second career for me, I owe $40k from my first BA and MS and now $50k for my BSN. Not to mention credit card debt, car loans, etc! And I have an upcoming wedding to help pay for. I'm now in an MSN/MPH program but I lucked out because I was hired as a researcher at my school so all my tuition is paid for going forward. I also am working part-time at night as a nurse. I've actually come up with a budget plan so I can be debt free by the time I graduate. I think the day I pay off my last loan will probably be one of the most happy and liberating days of my life.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
Nursing is also a second career for me, I owe $40k from my first BA and MS and now $50k for my BSN. Not to mention credit card debt, car loans, etc! And I have an upcoming wedding to help pay for. I'm now in an MSN/MPH program but I lucked out because I was hired as a researcher at my school so all my tuition is paid for going forward. I also am working part-time at night as a nurse. I've actually come up with a budget plan so I can be debt free by the time I graduate. I think the day I pay off my last loan will probably be one of the most happy and liberating days of my life.

Are you saying you owe a total of $90,000 or that you added 10k to the beginning total?

My family was pretty poor when I was growing up and my parents didn't help me prepare for college in anyway. They didn't go so I guess they didn't really see it as a possibility for their children. I finally decided at the age of 23 to go to college and I started at a local community college that was covered 100% by financial aid because I was a single mom and independent by then. However, once I graduated from that 2 year school and went on to a four year college I had to leave the lower cost public system because the major I wanted was not available. I went to a private college and accumulated 29k in loans by the time I received my BA. I am glad I did it because I never would have graduated if it had not been for my loans. Before I went to college I was making $8.50/hour as a CNA at a hospital and I was trying to make it in New York City where the cost of living is sky high. After I earned my Associates degree I got a job making $14/hour...still not enough money to make it in New York. Once I received my BA I began to teach (not what I went to school for but that is another thread) and my starting salary was

39k, more money than I have ever made in my life. I went back for a graduate degree in education and took out another 7k but left the program (now that was a mistake because I should have made sure I wanted to stick with teaching before going to grad school) After I left teaching and moved into the corporate world (doing what I had majored in) my salary never went below that 39k again.

I don't think it's wise to accumulate debt if you have another way of funding your education but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Specializes in Looking for a career in NICU.
physicians arent making 100k in there first year and there usually taking out more than 100... not to mention there undergrad

Yup, they sure do. A huge amount of pre-med students are actually going through on scholarships for undergrad. I'm not talking about doctors still in residency...I'm talking about ones during their first year of practice out of residency.

Residents...make less than an RN in many ways...because they are usually putting in about 70 hours per week.

Specializes in Global Health Informatics, MNCH.
Are you saying you owe a total of $90,000 or that you added 10k to the beginning total?

I owe $90K, I know...it's even scarier when you see it on an itemized bill with interest charges :uhoh3:

I have a lot of student loans right now. I am in an Entry Level Masters program. I have previous loans from my undergrad of about 25K. I honestly try to keep it off my mind and focus on the fact that I will have a good job soon to help pay. I have also heard that sometimes there is loan forgiveness, meaning if you work for some places they will pay up to a certain percentage of your loans off for you. Thats what I am hoping for in the end. Good Luck everyone

I have about 45,000 in student loans and I don't regret it for a second. In my opinion, borrowing money for an education is one of the only acceptable forms of debt. I only graduated last month, but I have already started paying back my loans. I have low payments stretched out over many years but I plan on paying them back in 3-4 years max.

I am lucky, my husband makes enough for us to have a comfortable life with 4 kids and for me to be a stay at home mom (but not enough to finance a college education out of pocket). I knew I wanted to be a nurse, so I went back to college (have already paid loans off once) after being a stay at home mom for 12 years. Going back to school was the best thing I have ever done for myself or my family, it was worth every penny. We won't be changing our lifestyle much, we will just use my money to save a little more than we have been saving and pay off my loans and a few other debts, like braces on 3 kids. We were going to move to a beautiful new home, but decided that we would stay put, our house is beautiful, but older, but we knew we would never get ahead if we kept buying bigger or 'better' things for the heck of it.

When I get my Masters, my employer will pay for it, it is a benefit of the organziation I will be working for.

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