Just wanted to get your opinion on "How Much Is Too Much?" for these nursing programs. ... As you all know there are so many it there! I'm a second degree seeking student so those absn and entry level MSN programs are pricey! Especially the ones without a waiting list.
How much are you willing to pay?
Do you believe the amount spent was worth it (job prospects, income after graduating? )
It's super hard for to put a "price" on my happiness and future... but would YOU consider paying 100k to become Nurse Practioner in 3 years???
THANK YOU! ! I hope someone gums this thread useful! ..
p.s. feel free to share how much your program cost/is costing you as well :)
Thank you for the advice! The things I would've done had i known better back when I was younger. .. Nurse corps looks like an awesome opportunity thanks for sharing! !
HI, I was trying to find a way to private message you but I was wondering if you attended Chamberlain in Atlanta I may be moving to Atlanta and im trying to find out some information from someone who has attended and graduated and I cant get a response from anyone else I just wanna make sure I cant get a job.
No, I didn't. I did the RN-to-BSN completion through Chamberlain and graduated from that 6 years ago. Sorry.
The average student loan payment takes 21 years, with an average interest rate of 6%, according to the internet. You'll be 52 years old when you're done paying. You'll also have paid $70,000 in interest! Is an FNP worth $170,000 to you?
Chew on that for a second. You can pay the loan off faster, but this is the average.
A good rule of thumb is don't take out more loans than you can reasonably expect to earn in your first year on the job. If you already have loans from your previous degree, you need to calculate that in to the mix.
Also, do a little research on Salary.com and Indeed, and check out the differences in RN vs FNP salary. You may find that wage gap is smaller than you anticipated.
All that being said, I would not be willing to pay $100,000 for an FNP.
Thanks for chiming in! It's these darn direct entry programs and accelerated BSNs look very enticing to a career changer like myself. I just hate that they are so darn expensive! It makes me wonder if it's all worth it in the end. .. I'm thinking no at this point. .. i did find some second BSNs for 30k maybe I'll start there and avoid direct entry for now..... I'm in California so everything is very impacted I might have to look it if state!
Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.
My MSN/FNP cost about $9,800. I used my GI Bill to pay for it & I had $10,000 to use. Current tuition at this school (UTEP) my DNP (If I get accepted) should cost about 16K total. NP's in my area earn from 90K-115K. Look at state schools. I have never had any loans. Earned my LPN & ADN/RN in late 1970's when tuition at community college was $400, (currently this same community college has an ADN program, tuition is about $700 per semester). I paid cash for my BSN,tuition was $1500 per semester at Grand Canyon College, (now university) worked as agency nurse in Phoenix (Fri/Sat/Sun) & went to school Mon-Fri; I see you are in California, are you willing to relocate to attend?
Nursing & NP salaries vary depending on cost of living. Locally new grads start at about $23 hour but even a new grad can get a 3 BR, 2 Ba home for $160-180,000. From reading this boards, BSN is required in California, salaries are higher but so is cost of living.
I have a 3BR/2Ba house on 1/3 acre that I paid 92K, that was 21 years ago. I will have it paid off this year. I can't imagine paying as much or more for an FNP then you would pay for a house.
WOW! !! that's truly amazing I can't believe what you've been able to accomplish with such little debt. .. ABSOLUTELY! I am willing to relocate... Do you know if those schools you attended are super impacted at the moment?
I will definitely look into Arizona. .. Yes it's pretty tough to buy a home in California in that range maybe a small condo in an OKAY area lol. 23hr is a good rate of pay!
I am a nurse that has a bachelors in a different field. As such, a lot of the usual means of financial aid were no longer open to me when I returned to school for nursing. On the flipside, I could have attended (if it was open) a traditional BSN program as a two-year program, an associate degree program, or accelerated bachelor's program, or for sheer grins I could have attended an entry-level Masters program. In any case, the programs would have run between one and 2 years. Unfortunately for me, the local public university was not open to students returning for a 2nd bachelors. This had the effect of eliminating 2 options that I might otherwise have been able to use: accelerated bachelor's and traditional BSN.
The entry-level Masters program would have been too expensive for me and that therefore left me with the option of attending a two-year ADN program. Considering my income level at the time, I was able to get a tuition waiver so the majority of my costs the ADN program was mostly books, parking, and clinical site fees. I believe this brought the total cost of my ADN program down to somewhere in the neighborhood of maybe $3000. Without the fee waiver, the total tuition and associated costs would've been somewhere in the neighborhood of $5500. Had I been able to attend a traditional BSN program, I probably would've still been able to get the tuition waiver so the total cost would probably still have been under $10,000.
As a student that already holds a bachelors degree, you have to take additional things into consideration considering that you are in California. One of those things is that any nursing program should be effectively at a two-year program for you, possibly a three-year program, depending upon the specifics of the program. This would all be upper division work.
While I still only currently hold an ADN, I am considering obtaining a BSN in the near future, meaning that I expect to start a BSN program within 2 years from now. In my case, that would be a little different than most being that I already have a bachelors degree, which should shave off some graduation requirements, and the BSN program that I would attend would be an RN-> BSN program. Once things get more settled at home I expect to get going on that with a little more fervor than I have had so far.
Whichever you choose, investigate all the options and choose wisely!
Wow! Awesome that you have a career you enjoy and only spent 2000 I'm sooo jealous! I have come across both two and three year programs, you're totally right about that! I was just hoping to get into an accelerated program so I can start my career right away. ..i tend to forget the whole "slow and steady wins the race" lol...I have found some ADN programs at local community colleges, but they take two years just as long as an second BSN... I'm thinking earning potential would be higher for BSN then BA-RN? So it might pay off in the end. .. i did a salary search and found that FNPs out here can make a little over 200k... So, maybe 30k for a bs is not too bad if I find a cheap np program
OP: You might also consider the pre-licensure BSN at Online University | Online Degree Programs | WGU . It is only available in five states, but since you are willing to relocate- it might be just the affordable option you are looking for.
Check out local CCs and then RN-MSN bridge programs. $100k is crazy. I'm getting my ADN now. (Already have BA and Mph). Then will bridge to MSN/NP from there. Total cost
hopefulkim99
622 Posts
Thank you for the advice! The things I would've done had i known better back when I was younger. .. Nurse corps looks like an awesome opportunity thanks for sharing! !