Too poor to become a nurse?

[WannaBeNrse]

Hi,

I am really bound and determined to go thru with this college thing- because if i dont do it now, i think i will always regret it.... BUT here's the problem- we don't really have the money for college. We have two little kids and a very limited income, right now we make just enough to brake even at the end of the month, so there really isn't any money left for tuition.

So i am considering taking out loans but i am not sure..... on one hand.... i feel selfish getting my family in debt.... on the other hand.... if i dont get a decent education, we will probably always be stuck where we are.... we just organized our life backwards ;-) got pregnant when i was in my second year of college (with a foreign language major--> dead end), and now everything is so much harder.... but i am so sick of only looking for the jobs that dont require anything, sick of not being able to pay my dental bills (dont laugh- i needed two crowns after my pregnancy and this is not even funny), not being able to save for my kids' future....

i will probably have to put my girls in daycare, at least part-time, because nursing classes are only in the morning. there are daycare grants, but as with all the financial aid, i don't want to rely on that alone.

Sooo.... is it worth taking out loans? how do you finance school? my college here charges about 150/credit, so the entire program will come to at least 10,000, and that doesnt include any books yet....

[stykerforce]

Are you able to qualify for financial aid? In your financial situation that may help with most of your nursing school expenses.

October 15th, 2008 I am re-eligable for FAFSA. I defaulted on my student loan from fashion design school (which i went to for one year, waste of my time). I couldn't afford the payments for the first yr that I was a flight attendant and now I am on what they call the "Rehabilitation Program". It is where you pay $100.00 a month via direct debit from your bank account and after your ninth on time payment, you are no longer in "default" status. That ninth payment will go through on October 15, 2008. There is a wait list anyways on the RN program, just like every other college in the USA. While I am waiting should I just go for my LPN to get the ball rolling and then when I can get a seat in the RN class I will already be half way there? Or is that a bad idea?

[JustPlainJenn]

If you can get the financial aid required to make it work for your family, then chase your dream. BUT, I know how it is to have bills hanging over your head... you need to put food on the table and oil in the tank this winter. For that you need an income. Maybe you can make it work with one person working, maybe not.

The first step is to find out how much aid you can get (for tuition and daycare) and then figure out how much you can afford to spend at this time. Decide what corners you can cut (if any) and if you are willing to or can do so. Don't forget, in addition to tuition you have to figure in books. I'd love to join the others and say "go for it", I'm really not trying to be a killjoy, but I've been there, I know that sometimes there aren't right or wrong answers. My husband was laid off right around the time I found out I was accepted. We have two children, one with special needs. For me, making choices meant taking a class here and there so I could continue working. It was frustrating and a lot of work, I felt like I'd NEVER get to my core courses, but now that I'm actually starting my clinicals, I'm glad to have all the prereqs out of the way! There have been so many great suggestions posted... look through them and then do what is right for YOU!!

[jennileigh8182]

I'll admit that I only read the first page of this before posting, but you are definitely not alone! At present, my husband works 40hrs/wk at 9.75/hr. My boss will only give me 30hrs/wk at 12.75/hr. We have an 8 month old son. We make too much money for any grants or even any kind of assistance, but I'm taking federal loans to pay for my classes. I use that to help pay for daycare. We moved to cheaper housing, not in the greatest area, but its close to school and helps decrease our bills. Our income to bill ratio is pretty strained, but as my mom keeps telling me, "Nothing worth doing is ever easy. It'll pay off in the end." I put the surplus from my student loans each semester into my savings account to pay for daycare. When we got income taxes back this year, every penny went into savings to pay for car insurance, daycare, and Christmas gifts this coming year. I still have medical bills from my pregnancy that are unpaid.

Now, none of this is aimed at pity, and I'd normally NEVER reveal details about our income, but...you can do it. I talked extensively with my husband before I ever signed up for classes, and he's more than supportive of all of this. He understands the expenses of school, and he also understands my drive. I work very hard at my classes and have achieved 4.0 in every class because I want to be admitted to the program on the first try when I finish my prereqs this year. He knows it's important to me, and he knows its for the best long-term. I was ready to quit at one point because I was so worried about money, but he reminded me that the longterm is more important than the shortterm. And he knows this isn't the end. When I finish my ADN program, I'm hoping the hospital where I get a job will chip in for my BSN and then MSN, but if not...he knows it's coming. My goal, at this point, is to be a nurse anesthetist. I'm going one step at a time...get the ADN, work on paying down the debt...convert it to a BSN, pay down the debt...and then get the Master's.

Yes, I could be done quicker if I went straight to BSN, but it's at least an extra $18,000 over the ADN program, which I can't justify right now to come out with the same rate of pay. So, I'll take longer to get where I want to go. But it's possible. Just when I think we won't make it, something happens and we're ok.

[jennileigh8182]

Something else to consider...the CC that I'm attending has a part-time nursing program. It takes longer, but it allows you to work more while attending school if you need to. I'm planning to do the quick and painful 2nd degree program (14 months of nursing school) and get it over with instead of dragging it out, that way I'm done before my son is old enough to know that we're poor and money matters will be better before he enters school and is able to tell the difference between our life and the lives of others. I want to get through it now so that he never has to know how rough things are financially. I'll finish by December 2010, when he'll be turning 3, still blissfully oblivious to material matters.