The Money Pit

[prospectivepville]

Summer classes, I have decided are the bane of my existence!

520 dollars for a four hour class.

120 dollars for books (it's Medical Micro although I got a used edition, 60 bucks, the lab manual was 60 bucks too! What a rip off!)

Next fall I'm looking at somewhere between 800-1000 dollars for books... Plus uniforms, plus shoes, plus a new stethoscope (apparently the 12 dollar ones at wal-mart just don't cut it in the RN program, but work well for the CNA ), plus... plus... gas, and food, and just living.

I received a scholarship thankfully though, but it excludes uniforms and books, it's strictly tuition. A friend of mine renewed my CPR for Healthcare providers for 5 dollars, just the cost of the card. So I'm good now for at least two years.

Does anyone know how to cut corners? Or better yet, a great uniform site that will enable me to find some awesome stuff on the cheap? OR better yet, willing to donate to the prospective is poor fund?

I'm sooo overwhelmed with the cost it's frightening.

Did I mention I just dolled out 620 dollars for titers? My immunization records were lost in the fire, my pediatrician died, and apparently my elementary and highschool have no record keeping skills (seriously just getting my highschool transcripts sent out to my programs was absolutely ridiculous).

I should consider myself lucky though, I'm going to a great school, for a sixteenth of the cost had I not had these opportunities! But gee... I guess it's back to raman noodles for a while!

[leenak]

There are some websites that can tell you how to eat cheaply and healthy, here is a couple off the top of my head

http://healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com/

http://melomeals.blogspot.com/

And a couple books (check your local library)

http://www.amazon.com/More---Less-Cookbook-World-Community/dp/083619263X/

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cheap-Recipes-Simple-Strategies/dp/0470472243/

For your stethoscope and other supplies, have you checked eBay?

For your books, check various sites including amazon. My Micro book was over $200 but I was able to get it for a lot less.

For gas, are you able to carpool? Most of the nursing schools near me are 30 to 60 minutes away. I plan to try to find alternate methods of getting there depending where I go.

[K_girl]

I got all but one of my require books from ebay or amazon. They were all about half off what the school was charging so I got lucky there.

I ended up getting 2 steths...littmann & WA. The WA was about 220 but got it for 147 from steeles.com. They had pretty good prices & shipping was same day!

Clinical scrubs I got from allheart and also got some nursing clogs for 5.00. Cant beat that.

As for my living situation I will be staying with my parents during the semester so I will have no rent. Class is only 2 days a week so thinking of taking public transportation for those days so will only have to drive to clinicals.

Other than that i cancelled my cell phone contract & went to prepaid (130/mo to 25!)

[blueshift]

I try to avoid buying the newest edition of textbooks because you almost never need it. Often they're nearly identical, and whatever isn't covered in the book should be covered in the lectures. I took a full load last semester and didn't spend over $50 on textbooks. I even found one on Google Books!

International editions of textbooks are also cheaper.

I don't know how this works in nursing school, though - perhaps it's less of a feasible path.

[valk17]

Wow- it can be overwhelming! I'm finishing my gen eds this summer , too, before starting clinicals in the fall, and the list of stuff can be discouraging to say the least! Take a breath, make a list, prioritize, and just take it a little at a time.

I know its not much help for you now, but I got all my immunizations up to date at the local county health department. Its only $5.00 a visit, or free if you meet income guidelines. Someone I know told them she once had a positive PPD, and they did those for her for free, also.

I got lucky and was called in for a drug screening for my job. I checked with my school, and they said as long as the screening was within the year they would accept the results. So, I just got a copy and will be sending those in.

I know our local Red Cross offers discounts on CPR ( I paid 10.00 last time I re-certified ) for people who need it for volunteer work in the community, so if you help with scouts, little league, etc. you can get trained inexpensively.

If your school is not too picky about uniforms ( unfortunately mine is ), you may be able to pick up second hand (or sometimes brand new) uniforms at yard sales and thrift stores. I frequently see nice scrubs for 2.00 or less, and just last week saw a brand new pair of those really expensive clogs- starts with a D- for $20.00 at a yard sale. Asking friends to look out for these things is a help, too.

[jimithing112]

I'm assuming you've filed your FAFSA and talked with the financial aid office, too. This is stressful, but keep your head up!