Which path to take?

You are in an enviable situation. To only be 19 and have all that time. To put it in perspective, I am 33 and graduating in May. I too want to go into CRNA, but will be almost 38 before finishing if everything aligns perfectly. So, first I would say not to sweat the timing.

If you are looking at military service options, you should look into the Army or Army Reserves. We have a faculty member who is a nurse for the Army Reserves, and she is always talking about the Army Nurse Corps. I think they offer a $30K bonus and a stipend while you are in school. The Army has an excellent CRNA program. In fact, the CRNA program director at my school graduated from the Army CRNA program.

Student loans are doable also. That is the route I went, and I now have $30K in debt. This is really depressing to me, but the good points are:

1. You don't have to start paying until 6 months after graduation

2. When you go back to grad school, your loans are deferred

3. There Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program will pay off 60 - 85% of your student loan debt in exchange for 2 - 3 years of work in a critical shortage facility (basically any hospital). It is a competitive program that you must apply for, but it is a possibility.

I plan on working for 2 years before applying starting CRNA school, so hopefully I will be selected for this program and can have a good portion of my debt paid off.

Don't be in too much of a hurry. Enjoy your nursing curriculum. You may find that something else interests you, and your plans may change.

Good luck to you.

You are in an enviable situation. To only be 19 and have all that time. To put it in perspective, I am 33 and graduating in May. I too want to go into CRNA, but will be almost 38 before finishing if everything aligns perfectly. So, first I would say not to sweat the timing.

If you are looking at military service options, you should look into the Army or Army Reserves. We have a faculty member who is a nurse for the Army Reserves, and she is always talking about the Army Nurse Corps. I think they offer a $30K bonus and a stipend while you are in school. The Army has an excellent CRNA program. In fact, the CRNA program director at my school graduated from the Army CRNA program.

Student loans are doable also. That is the route I went, and I now have $30K in debt. This is really depressing to me, but the good points are:

1. You don't have to start paying until 6 months after graduation

2. When you go back to grad school, your loans are deferred

3. There Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program will pay off 60 - 85% of your student loan debt in exchange for 2 - 3 years of work in a critical shortage facility (basically any hospital). It is a competitive program that you must apply for, but it is a possibility.

I plan on working for 2 years before applying starting CRNA school, so hopefully I will be selected for this program and can have a good portion of my debt paid off.

Don't be in too much of a hurry. Enjoy your nursing curriculum. You may find that something else interests you, and your plans may change.

Good luck to you.

this is not actually true. one of the qualifications, as i recall, is you have to work in a facility that basically serves the poorest of the poor, indigent, etc... essentially the underserved.

this is not actually true. one of the qualifications, as i recall, is you have to work in a facility that basically serves the poorest of the poor, indigent, etc... essentially the underserved.

That used to be the case. I did my ADN in San Diego, CA, and the WHOLE COUNTY was considered underserved. Check into it, it could be an option.

That used to be the case. I did my ADN in San Diego, CA, and the WHOLE COUNTY was considered underserved. Check into it, it could be an option.

according to their website, it still is the case.

as stated, it does matter where you are geographically.

it's best to check with them for which areas/hospitals qualify,

which i think is why they have the application process.

In large cities it is basically county facilities only. In rural areas that are underserved SELECT facilities are selected for participation. It is rare and few & far between. Also, I was told that each facility is limited to only a few of these positions a year & that they are highly competitive and typically go to someone who was a previous employee of the hospital.