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?

I am currently in an ADN program (last semester). I'm out of district but I pay for nursing school by working. Don't really have a choice because I refuse to get a loan. My schedule is hectic and tiresome - I work all week, take night and weekend classes, and then tend to a young child and husband somewhere in between. It isn't easy but I've lasted this long....

I am also in my thirties and this will be a career change. I have a master's in an architecture field. Never started off with nursing because it wasn't something I wanted to do. My employer is dealing with budget cut issues and I'm sad to say I'm worried about losing my job, house, and our comfort of living. Thus far, I have not been cut but I want to be proactive, so if I had to go back to school, I wanted it to be for something that is needed and will be needed in the future. That is how I got into nursing. I had no intention of ever going back to school but with my current situation, I almost don't have a choice. I have a friend that was "let go" from her employer over a year ago and hasn't been able to find a job that pays the bills. Her husband lost his job shortly thereafter and they are currently going through foreclosure. It is a terrible situation for them and I want to avoid that.

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After reading the last couple pages of comments, I should note that not everyone that has a degree holds debt. I have always been money saavy and I worked my way through school in order to pay for it. That is right - paid cash! Truth be told, my options were limited and I felt that I had to work so that I wouldn't incur debt. Sure I missed out on a lot of things but my priorities were and are different. The reason that I cannot quit my current job because I make very good money. The fact remains that my job is just not secure. I pay each semester of the nursing program in cash. Well, I pay with a credit card and then turn around and pay the credit card off. When I graduate in May, I won't owe anyone a dime!

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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.

Maybe you should go back to school and get an English degree...

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Maybe you should go back to school and get an English degree...

How about :no:

Can we please get back to the topic and support the OP....I don't want the Admins shutting it down for TOS violations; let's support the OP! :up:

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How about :no:

Can we please get back to the topic and support the OP....I don't want the Admins shutting it down for TOS violations; let's support the OP! :up:

Thank you!

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Ellaballet, did you have to make pmts on them while in school?

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

I'm another that got my ADN from a community college while working full-time and going through the part-time nursing program. I paid cash for my books and tuition along the way, and I took the same NCLEX exam and hold the same Registered Nurse license as a BSN-degreed nurse.

I am going to be going back to school (again part-time) to get my BSN to increase my employment options, but I can do all of that online and at a slower pace.

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OP - I am a 30-something mom, changing to nursing after a career in finance.

I would strongly recommend looking at a less expensive school. I am in an ADN program and I will graduate (hopefully!) in May. I will take a RN-BSN bridge program in my first 1-2 years of working as an RN and it will be primarily online with much more lenient clinical requirements than in the initial ADN program I am in now.

You're going to still be very busy in your program, but you are paying way too much, especially being a third degree seeker. Nursing school is unlike any other college experience you've had so far.

Go to a good community college or state college. It's a much better investment.

Good luck! It's really hard to do with a family, but it is so worth it!

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so you plan borrowing money and not paying it back, no wonder the economy is going under.

Loan forgiveness is a government program that pays professions to work in underserved populations - nursing and teaching mostly.

Basically, the government will pay off a portion of your loans if you promise to give years of your life in underpaid jobs serving the general good of a population - like rural areas or inner-city areas.

It's certainly not welfare, unless you consider military service GI Bills "welfare", too.

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Hey there! Sorry, I didn't see this until today. She did like Marian, overall. There were some things that she didn't like, and parts of the program she felt did not prepare her as well as she'd like, but she's graduating in a few weeks, so all in all, I don't know that she'd change anything about it. IUPUI is competitive, because they start at a 4.0 and work their way down until all the spots are filled, but when I spoke with an advisor, she said the lowest GPA that gets in for Spring is typically lower than what gets in for Fall. They've also restructured their admissions so you have to be done two terms before you start (finished in Spring for Fall enrollment, finished in Summer for Spring enrollment), which has, for the time being, lowered the number of students applying. There's also no application fee for IUPUI, so it doesn't hurt to put it out there.

Another friend of mine did get into IUPUI's ABSN. She started in the Fall and loves it. She also got the scholarship they offer from IU Health. She said not a lot of students applied, and it's a pretty hefty chunk of money. Have you spoken with an advisor from IUPUI's program? They could probably give you a realistic idea of what your chances would be. I would just hate to see someone take on such a high cost program, because they assumed they couldn't get in to a different one.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Corrections.

Without the very generous financial aid that I received, I would have had to take out personal loans. I opted for an Associates program at a community college because that's what I was able to afford, but only with the help of a very small Pell grant and a Stafford loan that covers everything else. When I graduate, I'll have about $6500 to pay back, plus whatever is left from the loan I have that covered my first degree. I applied for every scholarship that I qualified for for this next school year, and I also have a part time and a full time job. I suppose you just do what you have to do.

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It seems very daunting, I know....They tell you that you shouldn't work at all...Honestly? I am in an accelerated, on campus program and I am filling in the gaps by working for my church on the weekends and for any other afternoon/evening needs they may have....It's not much, but it is enough to keep the loose ends together (and even a cheap happy hour every month)...If you are determined, which it seems you are, then I think one CAN work and complete a program....Good luck!

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