how in the world does one pay for nursing school!

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  1. did you take out personal loans for nursing school?

    • 24
      no
    • 2
      yes - paid off
    • 18
      yes - still paying on them

44 members have participated

Hi all,

I am a stay at home mom with two bachelor's of science degrees (psych and addictions counseling) and am wanting to start Marian University's (Indianapolis, In) accredited, accelerated, online BSN program this August. The cost is around $750 per credit hour (i know, right?) for nursing classes in the program. Since it is accelerated, they strongly recommended you don't work during school and my federal aid is capped at $6500 or so per semester. Therefore, how in the world could anyone afford this program, especially if you aren't working?? Private student loans?? Any moms out there with a similar experience and if so, how did you finance your education?

Indecisive? I have life experiences (veteran US Coast Guard crew chief) and two bachelors degrees. Does this make me less of a person than someone who got their BSN and never did anything else? I don't care what ANYONE else does. I don't feel better than anyone else from the janitorial staff on up to the highest level. We are all human and do the best we can. If you are happy then great! If not then you can decide if you keep doing that or not. It matters zero to me. I do try to not judge people based on what works for me because that is not the same as everyone else. Hey MSO I am glad you view yourself as smarter than everyone else. Maybe if you stop putting down others and open your mind to other experiences you could be more inclusive? Just a thought.

*****....I dont put people down. And if u felt like I put u down then i apologize. I sincerely do. If u feel like someone on here is putting you down then read it and move on. No need to get yout panties in a bunch.....and by the way... thank you for serving in our armed forces.

And congrads on your bachelors degree.... three times four times or however many number degrees you have. I congradulate you for each and every one THAT many times.

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

I am not asking for an apology. You don't understand..I do not care what you think of me. I means absolutely nothing to me. I was expressing the point that many people do things differently and that doesn't mean one way is "right" and one is "wrong". Your way works for you and that is awesome. I took a different route. All have advantages and disadvantages. I am not stating my degrees mean anything other than I took a different route. I did not feel you put me down. "I" do not matter. What is important to me is just understanding that we all take different paths and no ones path is better or worse than anyone else's. Just different.

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*****....I dont put people down. And if u felt like I put u down then i apologize. I sincerely do. If u feel like someone on here is putting you down then read it and move on. No need to get yout panties in a bunch.....and by the way... thank you for serving in our armed forces. And congrads on your bachelors degree.... three times four times or however many number degrees you have. I congradulate you for each and every one THAT many times.

Congratulate. Congrats.

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I am a mother of two young children in an accelerated program too and all I have to say is "Thank God for Scholarships," they pay everything for me!

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

For mso819 It is not a matter of being "smart" enough to know what you want to do. Life happens. A parent gets murdered, a child is diagnosed with a life long chronic disease at 2 years of age. Whether I have one degree or 5, until you walk in someone else's shoes, don't judge. I hope life works out the way you plan. Mine sure didn't. There are some things you cannot control and learning to adapt is survival.

If I understand your thinking, then no one should go back to school to get their MSN or DNP. That is usually more debt.

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For mso819 It is not a matter of being "smart" enough to know what you want to do. Life happens. A parent gets murdered, a child is diagnosed with a life long chronic disease at 2 years of age. Whether I have one degree or 5, until you walk in someone else's shoes, don't judge. I hope life works out the way you plan. Mine sure didn't. There are some things you cannot control and learning to adapt is survival.

If I understand your thinking, then no one should go back to school to get their MSN or DNP. That is usually more debt.

Yea it usually is more debt if you dont do it a smart way. Anywho..im done with this thread for real this time...some peoole are too controversial here on allnurses. Lol lol...its really NOT that serious to me. I posted a comment and left it at that. Lol...nobody should get offended by what someone else posted unless they have somewhat of a guilty conscience.

If it dont apply let it fly...and if it does then keep it moving.

And right now im taking my own advice....peace. ;-)

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Success4all, thank you for your comment. Is this a second degree for you and what state are you in?

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Kissmypineapple, thanks for the insight. Where are you attending school? Did your friend have a good experience with Marian? The reason Marian looked attractive to me is because of the large amount of coursework available online. They have also partnered with a well-respected hospital in the area, which almost guarantees a job upon graduation and is also accredited. Ivy tech has a wait list I believe and IUPUI requires a crazy high GPA (3.7 I believe)and is extremely competitive to get in. Trust me, I would go there in a heartbeat if I could :(.

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Student loans...My first degree is from a state school and I managed to pay that off before going for my nursing degree. How I'll pay off this 40 grand..I don't know!

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

I wasnts' mart enough to know hat I wanted to do out of highschool. I guess I am just not as good as all the others who were smart enough. woe is me right. Nope. I don't have a degree, but was started on my path to become a physical therapist. I was sure that's what I wanted to do out of high school. I even tool ROP classes in HS and loved them. Then in my second semester life happened. Don't need to go into detail, but a state move, a marriage, a lost job, and 2 kids later, I found my way to nursing. Because of my life experience, I now KNOW this is what I want to do. I guess I just didn't have the luxery of being smart enough to know what life would throw at me so I could know I wanted to be an RN earlier. Such is life. You should step off your high horse because its just the classy thing to do.

OP, I would honestly look at another school. The difference between a traditional BSN and an ABSN is a year or less. However, the cost difference would be MUCH. And with a traditional route, you may find that you can work a part time job to make ends meet. I currently don't have a degree, I stay at home with my 2 kids (except for when they are at daycare while Im at school) and my husband works a decent paying job. We survive with my school costs and daycare by using student loans. I try to borrow just what I will need to I don't have a ridiculous repayment amount when I graduate. Nursing jobs can be hard to find for a new grad, and if you cant pay for school, it would stand to reason that you wouldn't be able to pay your student loan monthly installments if it takes you longer than 6 months to find a job. At least if your loans are lower, a whatever paying job could at least cover the payments and have a little extra while you new grad job hunt. GL

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Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.
Yea it usually is more debt if you dont do it a smart way. Anywho..im done with this thread for real this time...some peoole are too controversial here on allnurses. Lol lol...its really NOT that serious to me. I posted a comment and left it at that. Lol...nobody should get offended by what someone else posted unless they have somewhat of a guilty conscience.

If it dont apply let it fly...and if it does then keep it moving.

And right now im taking my own advice....peace. ;-)

You are calling a lot of people not only in this thread, but on this forum, not smart. If you don't understand why that is offensive, maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I have a combination of the following: tuition advancement from the hospital I work at + scholarship + grant + loans. I have a good amount saved in savings as well so it works out that I probably won't be paying much out of pocket at the end.

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