Nurse Kaycee Here

The student loan debt crisis is getting out of hand. Especially in this economy! Some of my friends who are nurses graduated with nearly 60k in student loans and they are still paying them back years later! I am going to share how I graduated nursing school nearly debt free and some other tips on how you can save money when it comes to nursing school.

My Journey

I started my career in healthcare as a patient attendant, also known as a patient sitter. While I was a patient attendant I went to school for my CNA- Certified Nursing Assistant (Certification). I then applied to one of the units I often worked on as a patient attendant. While I sat with patients, I made it a point to network and get to know as many of the staff members as possible. The networking paid off because I ended up getting a job on the same unit.

Tuition Reimbursement

The health system I worked for had a tuition reimbursement program that would reimburse up to 75% of in-state tuition capped at around $5,000 back when I started. This also depended on how many hours you worked. If you worked full time, then you got the full 75% tuition reimbursement, if you worked less than full time, they would calculate your percentage of reimbursement to meet your hours worked. The tuition reimbursement was convenient because you could get in in advance for the semester, or you could wait until you passed your class to get reimbursed. The reimbursement was then added to your paycheck after it was approved. Most health systems have some sort of tuition assistance program.

While I was in nursing school, I used the tuition reimbursement, but I also applied for many scholarships. Although it was time consuming, I was able to get two scholarships while I was in nursing school. Between the tuition reimbursement and the scholarships, I graduated nursing school with minimal debt in which I paid off within a few months of graduation.

I had a Plan

One of the main things I did to keep myself out of large amounts of student loan debt was to first go to school for my associate’s degree in nursing, or ADN. This was slightly controversial because Magnet Status has started becoming a large part of the health systems and most healthcare institutions were requiring a bachelor’s degree in nursing to get a job. Fortunately, I was able to get grandfathered in because I had been working at the same hospital for years by the time I graduated with my ADN.

After I graduated with my ADN, I immediately went to an online RN to BSN program. This program was a two-year program and I got to choose my own clinical sites which was very convenient as I could schedule clinical around my work schedule.

Pay as You Go

Another thing I did that helped me not rely on student loans was to pay as I went. I set up payment plans throughout the semester to pay it in chunks. I would get the tuition reimbursement in advance and use it to pay on my payment plan. Most schools will work with you on payment plan options. It never hurts to ask.

Stay Home to Save Money

I never stayed in any dorms. Dorms weren’t an option for my ADN but for my BSN I never stayed on campus. I also had a supportive spouse at the time to help pay for living costs.

Do What is Best for You

At the end of the day, this is just my story and how I did things. You must do what is best for you. Not everyone can do things the way I did them and that’s okay. At the end of the day reaching your goals is the most important thing and if you need to take student loans to do this, then that is okay.