Why Are So Many Students Worried About Expensive Tuition

oramar · Jun 7, 2009

I was reading other threads and I came across students who were accepted to private nursing schools but declined their acceptance because of the tuition. If nursing is your passion by any means necessary you should do everything to accomplish your goal. In NY, nurses start off with 70K+ a year:yeah:, so in a rough estimate its possible to pay off large loans within 5-10 yrs. The cheaper schools are much more competitive to get into. If you get accepted into NYU, PACE, LIU etc. just go for it. Is anyone with me on this?

Excuse me but you are going to get a lot of people disagreeing with what you just said. There are to many what-ifs. What-if the person can't get a job, what-if they get sick or injured, what-if they find out they don't like being a nurse very much. I wouldn't pay that kind of money and if someone else is somewhat reluctant to do it I can fully relate.

keithjones · Jun 7, 2009

not to mention most hospitals worth working for offer student loan repayment programs!

misplaced1 · Jun 7, 2009

Maybe two years ago I would agree but now many facilities no longer reimburse and you are lucky to even get a job as a new grad. look around this site to see what i mean. Nursing shortage? Please.

cruisin_woodward · Jun 7, 2009

Hmmm... Well in Michigan, I owe $47K in Under grad loans, and started off making $22/hr. I don't know of any area hospital that is offering reimbursement for any thing even CLOSE to that!! $70K in NY? I'm sure the cost of living I'd much higher there too. After 3 years of nursing, I now make a whopping $26/hr, and bc I had a baby am only working part time. There is a formula you can use on the FASFA website that has you use your projected income to determine the max amount you should borrow... Let's face it, you aren't gonna get rich being a nurse!! Borrow responsibly!

roseynurse345 · Jun 7, 2009

Just because its states you make 70+ a year, guess how much is taken out in taxes. Quite alot, you probably are only taking home about 50,000, that isn't much for living in NY.

NC Girl BSN · Jun 7, 2009

I also would have to agree with others. I live in NC and Duke University is a very well know school. Their tuition is 28,000 a sememster and there is no way that I would go in 114,000 debt to work in NC as a nurse starting out making $20 an hr. I bet a loan like that would be $600-800 a month and thats hefty when your only bring home $1200 every two weeks. So IMO its not worth going to a private college if you know in the long run you cannot afford it, no matter how bad you want it.

roser13, ASN, RN · Jun 7, 2009

Seriously? You don't get the connection in this day of cut-backs, recession and lay-offs?

Even 10 years ago, I took tuition into account when choosing my nursing school. I went with the cheapest available -the local community college (which, by the way meant the difference between going to school and not). My thought process was....I am responsible for my own education and for passing the same state boards as the expensive private school graduates.

I don't quite understand your reason for posting...your "question" seems elitist and unnecessary.

Be_Moore · Jun 7, 2009

I agree. There is no sense in going to a private school and racking up ridiculous amounts of debt. You can get rich being a nurse through wise investing. But starting off with double-digit loan figures does not help.

To put it in perspective, my BSN cost me roughly $15k. If you were car shopping, would you pay $70,000 for a Hyundai? No, you wouldn't. There is no sense in it.

Some of us didn't have to buy our way into nursing school.

liz0105 · Jun 8, 2009

I agree with previous responders. In addition to tuition costs - take into consideration the cost of living - rent, utilities, transportation, insurance, etc...

Also, consider that some students may be independent of their parents and may be handling living expenses on their own, in addition to tuition. Living in Metro NYC and going to school full-time is very daunting financially for some - at least $800 for rent - from a reasonable commuting distance. On-campus housing isn't much better, and in some cases, is even more expensive.

I'm sure some of these students who have been accepted into these private nursing programs would love to go - but take into consideration that some circumstances (like personal finances) will affect each student differently.

sunray12 · Jun 8, 2009

I agree. There is no sense in going to a private school and racking up ridiculous amounts of debt. You can get rich being a nurse through wise investing. But starting off with double-digit loan figures does not help.
To put it in perspective, my BSN cost me roughly $15k. If you were car shopping, would you pay $70,000 for a Hyundai? No, you wouldn't. There is no sense in it.
Some of us didn't have to buy our way into nursing school.

Well in all fairness, and not to step on any toes, but cc is the hyundai and a school like duke is more on par with a lexus. Both will get you down the highway and where you want to go but it all depends on what you want from a school. I've been to private schools and I've been to community college - they are apples and oranges. The end game is to get a cert., diploma or degree and maybe license so you can get a job. It's up to the consumer/student to decide what they want to pay for.

NC Girl BSN · Jun 8, 2009

Well in all fairness, and not to step on any toes, but cc is the hyundai and a school like duke is more on par with a lexus. Both will get you down the highway and where you want to go but it all depends on what you want from a school. I've been to private schools and I've been to community college - they are apples and oranges. The end game is to get a cert., diploma or degree and maybe license so you can get a job. It's up to the consumer/student to decide what they want to pay for.

This is so true and in no way am I putting down private institutions. When it comes to my dollars, I am always gonna try to go the cheapest route if I can. Thats what important to me. If I was well off or my parents were paying for my education, I would probable weigh my options a little more. In the end, we are all taking the same NCLEX and becoming RN's. I would go to a state supported college anyday over a private instution.