You paid HOW MUCH for nursing school??!!

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I can't believe some of the outrageous tuitions I see people paying on this site! My school costs about 1700 a semester not including any extras or books. I cant imagine paying 40,000 or more. Are people paying this much bc they can't get into cheaper colleges?? Whats going on..?

Starting an ADN program this fall at a CC. They raised the tuition from $26 to $36/per unit starting this fall. :down:

I applied for fin aid, but the school said I cant get any aid since I already have my bachelors(unless I petition). Fortunately they automatically waived my tuition when I applied for fafsa so it works out I guess. :yeah:

Feels good to go to nursing school for free(except parking + books). I just gotta make sure that I put in work to graduate and pass the boards :uhoh3:

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

I was an LVN, and I was accepted into a Cal State which would have cost around 15k to complete. Unfortunately, my job as an LVN went kuplut, I couldn't find another, and my husband was disabled and our income was severely cut.

So, even though I had another 2 years and 9 months in the Cal State, I was accepted into an LVN to RN transition that took 9 months, but gave me my RN in a much quicker time.

It allowed me to pay my bills again, and take care of my husband. Something I would not have been able to do as an LVN, not that I could find a job anyway.

I went back to this bachelors program after and finished, but yes, the student loans are really weighing heavy on me, but I honestly couldn't come up with another option. My husband and I have no reliable family nearby, and were part of the middle America that never qualified for aid because we made "too much" money.

I try to discourage most of the students now from entering these private schools simply because they are in a hurry for no reason. I'm filing bankruptcy but was able to keep a roof over our head this way. I hope one day to be debt free, it's just not anywhere in my near future.

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I am going to pay quite a bit to get into a Private University and get an ABSN. It is worth it to me. I am from Texas. ADN's around here are not getting jobs due to hospitals wanting to achieve magnet status. The situation is horrible. ADN's are having to work in nursing homes to get experience before even getting a chance at a hospital. I don't want this. I want to work in critical care and get an internship at a hospital in critical care after graduating. Also, this school is known to be an exceptional nursing school. ADN and BSN programs around here are competitive where ever you go. The only difference is the job opportunities and networking that the 4 year university is going to offer you. I would rather have a job and pay off debt then have no job and no debt.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I paid over $40,000 total for my accelerated BSN. It was a good decision. I very carefully weighed my options and found that once I factored in the wait time at the local CC, and how much longer it would take at the CC route (ie lost wages at the RN rate), and extra gas money to drive to the further away CC, it was financially CHEAPER to go to the expensive private university.

There is also the fact that if you intend to pursue a Master's or higher degree, it might be cheaper and quicker to go ahead and get the BSN (and again, the quicker you get that higher degree the faster you will be making the higer wages)

Then you factor in the fact that my chosen specialty (school nursing) is not available to non-BSN nurses in my area...

What is boils down to is tuition is not the only cost you have to look at.

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I thought you said that the VA and your employer pays for your college. Which is it? Donyou have money and pay for your own college or do you use the financial aid/educational benefits (which of course you've earned if a veteran) of the VA to pay for your college?

I have never been in the armed services I don't know where you got that VA bit. I didn't say I get money from the VA.

I work and pay for my education myself, with a LITTLE help from my employer.

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In BC, Canada my tuition is about $4000/year not including books! But you could end up with $40 000 in loans by the end if you're using loans to help pay for living expenses while in school...

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Hi Again,

No, you didnt infer jealousy in my post. I do have a home, 3 kids and I live in Staten Island N.Y. commute to N.J to go to my nursing program and my point is our cost of living and schools have higher price tags, and that most of the people who posted here didn't say where they were from which makes a difference. I was SORT of offended by what you said in your OP that "They aren't good enough to get into a cheaper program" Which is not the case for most of these people here i'm sure.

In NY we have waiting lists and these are the people who scored good enough to get into the program. This is why I choose to leave NY and go to NJ. ( not that that matters) because I didnt want to wait. I know your not gloating that you will be debt free when you graduate and thats awesome but alot of people go on to do their B.S, M.S.N, etc.and it is costly. Most people aren't employed by a hospitals who will pick up some of that expense either.

Lots of luck to you in your endeavors...

I didn't mean to offend you, I am speaking mainly of the situation here in MN as that is really the only system I have first hand experience with. We have waiting lists here as well for every CC program (500 applicants for 120 spots usually) and most of them are qualified.

The cost of living is higher on the coasts and that's just a fact.

But with the average MN CC NS @ 5-7k a year, I just can't see spending 40k-80k/year just so I can start 1-2 years earlier -- 2 years earlier only equates to ~$100k of total compensation as an RN so you would still come out BEHIND. (The paperwork I looked at from Globe University stated the cost was $80,000/year I BELIEVE (It seems ridiculous so I'm skeptical))

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Also the difference in starting wages here in MN is $0.25/hr ADN-RN vs. BSN-RN

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

Y'all might hate me for posting this, but I can't resist. I went to school from 1965-68; the TOTAL cost (tuition, books, uniforms, room and board) was ~ $850. Yes, for all three years. That converts to $5500 in 2010.

I was fortunate enough to have my parents pay for it. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

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I go to a CC in my area, and my tuition is about $1100 per semester, without books, supplies, etc. It's an ADN program, so I'll be out $4400 for tuition (probably close to $6000 all together, or so).

As far as having the name of the university on the degree, the closest university to us is about 90 minutes away and it about $3000 per semester without books, etc. (It offers ADN and BSN.) The thing is, the school I attend is considered to be more difficult to get into and stay in then the closest university.

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Y'all might hate me for posting this, but I can't resist. I went to school from 1965-68; the TOTAL cost (tuition, books, uniforms, room and board) was ~ $850. Yes, for all three years. That converts to $5500 in 2010.

I was fortunate enough to have my parents pay for it. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Ahhhhh the good ol' days!

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My parents shelled-out an incredible amount of moolah for my first degree from a brand-name liberal arts college where I was a Neuroscience and Religion double major. Luckily, I had $0 debt. My PhD was fully funded by the US government-Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. I DID take out some loans for living expenses (NY metro area). I am about to begin an ABSN or Master's Level Entry program-both private. Both VERY expensive. The public ABSN programs, for the most part, have some UNIQUE prerequisites and are very inflexible about waiving coursework. For example, my college did not offer ENGL 101 because if you needed to take it, you simply were not admitted. As a PhD, I refuse to take ENGL 101. But if you want to read my dissertation or publications I'd be happy to lend you a copy....Another example is a communications or computer course. I learned all of these skills independently during grad school and not in a class room. Do I know basic computer skills? Have I presented my research in a public forum? More than once? Yes! The public schools were sometimes too inflexible in granting real-life experience waivers claiming they want to treat everyone equally. My argument is that not everyone is the same! I don't think ALL private schools are EASY to gain acceptance into. Plus, it seems an ADN will take longer than an ABSN for me. I have not started school yet, but the ABSN I am admitted into is projected to be about 40K and because I have two previous degrees and my husband makes too much money, we will likely have to take out private loans in addition to government loans. Granted, this debt sucks...and I never in my life thought I would be applying to nursing school even 2 years ago! Still, the career change into nursing seems to make the most sense and fits me best out of all of the options I carefully considered.

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