Any College survivors with no student loans or debt?

maddmaddie

I will be applying for a nursing program after spring semester, and I really don't want to get a student loan and go into debt. I know nursing school is very hard, and I'll hardly have any time to work once I'm accepted into the program.

Has anyone survived college without diving into debt? If so, how did you manage to pay for college, housing, bills, etc.?

Thanks for any input.
-Maddie-

CMmrsfloyd

Totally depends on your available savings, current disposable income, how much any family may be willing to help out, financial aid, and how many courses you take at a time. You should be able to call and talk to a financial counselor at the college you plan to attend and get an idea of how much each individual course will cost (often charged per hour of 'credit') and an estimate of what students tend to spend on books and other supplies. Some people choose to spread out their courses so that it takes longer to complete their degree, but so that they have more time to pay as they go by working on or off-campus. Some people would rather get their degree as fast as possible so they can get out of school, get a higher paying job, and start paying down their loans. Others prefer to complete their degree at a slower pace if it means they will have less debt when they graduate. Tough, personal decision.

Books are killer. Try really hard to find used copies of your books - start looking for them as soon as you know exactly which ones you need. If you take a full-time courseload you could easily have to spend hundreds on books. Even just taking a part-time load, your books and supplies can be outrageous with certain courses. Buying used and then re-selling the books after the course is over is a great help. Just be sure you are getting the correct editions of the books you need.

As far as the total cost is concerned, either you have the money to pay for it right then or you have to accept financial aid/loans. It's not ideal, but a lot of people have to do it to finance their higher education. If you do find that you have to accept loans, just pay special attention to all the fine print and repayment terms, and consider very carefully whether it will be something you can handle once you're out of school.

adjones5

I'm a senior in college and I don't have any loans or debt but only because my parents have paid for everything, otherwise I would be up to my ears in debt.

bjfmade

Yes, my daughter got out with a debt free RN degree.......Her parents paid for it!

TheLongRunner

I owe $80,000. But it was worth every penny. I have a great paying job with a lot of potential for growth.

karenjoy

I am not sure how it works where you live, my Daughter is at University doing her degree in Nursing, its a three year course, she gets a bursary from the NHS which pays her tuition and accommodation costs, she works when she can for a care agency, which is only now and again, usually nights, she uses that money for food etc. Also she has loans, as she would not be able to survive, she does not run a car as she can't afford to, but this means she has to use public transport which is expensive, but she lives near to the hospital for when she is on placement. I think she will have about £4000 - £5000 in debt when she finishes

UpEarly

Hi Maddie! I worked for about four years to save up money for college. And when I finally started, I worked my tail off. I had a federal work-studies job for 15 hours a week. I also waited tables at night and on the weekends. I watched my budget by eating cheaply (rice and beans!), keeping my thermostat low, riding my bike instead of driving, living in a cheap apartment, etc. I never went out to dinner/movies etc (unless a guy was taking me out on a date - haha!)

I ended up graduating with no debt at all! It was tough work, but worth it!

Rae6503

Yeah, no.

Ocarina

Hello, I'm definitely a partaker in the Financial Aid/debt scenario. I will tell you that most inevitably unless you go part time with a full time job or have someone pay for all your schooling you will go into debt. Especially with something like a nursing program because you will not have time to work as a lot of the time you are working internships and they have a TON of homework as you are catering for someone's life and well being.

I personally am in a good spot as my husband is working full time and allowing me to go to school. I still have to pull debt though because we do not have the money out of pocket to pay for tuition. This does allow me not to work for now but I will eventually as I'm interested in doing work study to really tie down the debt as it's added up since I've gone into my Junior year. The thing you need to remember is that this is an INVESTMENT into your future. You can either work at McDonalds or a cell center for the rest of your life living paycheck to paycheck or you can go to school with some LOW INTEREST federal debt and pay it off with a high paying job and then some. It is definitely by far the latter that I think is much more fulfilling and it's way better then credit card debt.

FAFSA will give you enough money to pay for tuition and a bit extra to pay for living expenses. You can work but I wouldn't recommend more then 20 hours a week. They say the ideal is actually 9 hours! Also there is not just loans in the rewards package for school. You can also get grants to help out... I got grants to pay for most of my school because I barely make anything. Honestly the less you make the better off you are. And look into work study... it can save you tons of money!!

AND text books. Oh lordy... Have I found the way to make these affordable. You can RENT text books!!!! Just look it up online and sometimes schools give links for this... Seriously, rent your text books! I spend maybe 150-200 instead of 500-600 for books. All you need is the ISBN numbers....

I really hope you go into school! Don't let loans and debt scare you. They will not eat you like sharks when you graduate and work really well with people after its all done and over with from what I've seen.

Good luck.

maddmaddie

I live in Alaska, so far FAFSA has approved grants for me every year that has covered everything so far. This summer I worked 54 hrs a week to build up my savings but I know money can go fast if I'm not careful. I also got approved a grant through the job center that will kick in once I'm enrolled into a degree program, which they will also help financially if I have to move out of state. How much financial help? I don't know.

Unfortunately I don't have any help from my parents. My dad died when I was 16, and my mother is mentally unstable and I don't communicate with her. So I'm all on my own on this journey. Hopefully I can get into a program up here in Alaska, but I might have to move next year which will really hurt my savings. :-S I just hope I can survive without any debt, but if I have to I'll get a loan I suppose. Just as long as I finish school and I'm able to pay the loan back without drowning in the interest rate. ugh. lol. I'll definatley try to "poor-boy it" and see how it goes. :-)

Thanks for the input guys!
-Maddie-

Lift_hard_eat_big

I put myself completely through college, BS and MS degrees. I worked full time the entire time with the exception of one semester where I took 21 units. I had a bit of credit card debt when I was done, but I managed to do it without any student loans or financial aid.

woou

It really depends. I had classmates who were working full-time, got a bad grade in the class and had to retake it. Waste of time, money and a GPA killer. Some majors definitely require more time than others.

As for textbooks, I usually got by with older editions. For my orgo. chem class, the text and solutions manual was ~$300 even on Amazon, Ebay, etc.... :noway:. I got the previous edition for $20 shipped. :grumble: Same information, different page numbers. Unless your professors require you do specific problems to turn in, then you're fine with the previous edition of the text. Sometimes the library, study center, etc... will have a copy of the book for you as well. I would just make copies of the problem. Also, don't sell your book back to the campus bookstore. Sell it to fellow students, Ebay or Amazon.

There are subsidized loans where you pay no interest while you're in school.

Eliza1980

I am currently working in the financial Aid dept. at a Canadian college. It is worth talking to someone from the school you are planning to attend. Not sure about others places, but our province has grants that you can apply for and as long as you pass your classes you won't have to pay those amounts back. Also our college has tonnes of scholarships and bursaries that students can apply for every sememster. There is also a great website www.studentawards.com that you could check out. Good luck!

mznisaelaine

It is doable to take out loans and NOT go into debt. I have lots of loans (and I go to a university in California ... Go figure ) So..... it is possible...But I have grants (if you dont have time to work, apply for grants, scholarships, etc)..My parents also help me....They just pay my tutition, but I pay for pretty much everything else, rent, food, textbooks, etc. I also saved tons of money from when I did work...I am too busy in school to work at the moment. I think students take advantage of loan money, etc and just spend it up, without thinking about the responsibilites of living, eating, etc. I would recommend applying for grants, etc. and save. And as far as paying back loans, I dont stress on it because I have faith that I wont go into debt because I know how to manage everything...It's good to be aware of your finances, etc. And like someone say, (at least for me) it is worth every penny. Wish you success

sleepytexan

4 years college (private), 2 years grad school (out-of-state tuition at a state university); last loan payment made just before my 40th birthday

sleepytexan

I put myself completely through college, BS and MS degrees. I worked full time the entire time with the exception of one semester where I took 21 units. I had a bit of credit card debt when I was done, but I managed to do it without any student loans or financial aid.

Lucky you. I worked full time too while attending full-time school BS and MS, but I still had a kajillion in loans. It's ok though-- interest rates were low then and my earnings differential was well worth it.

TheBraveryLover

I don't have any debt from school, but I only have a bachelor's; I'm sure if I went to grad school, I would have accumulated some. No debt because I got a boatload of scholarships from being Valedictorian in high school and having high ACT scores. I applied to as many as I could and that covered my expenses through school. I didn't work at all (wanted the full, stress-free college experience :-D) until the summer going into my senior year.

Phoenix24601

I have no debt because I worked my butt off through college, got scholarships, and my parents had a slight college fund for me. Good luck!

Lyadeia

When I went to college, my parents saved up enough money for tuition for all 4 years (in-state university, about $2k per year back then between '97 and '01). The housing, food, etc. went on my credit card and I lived on campus all 4 years. I never used the credit card for ANYTHING else, and it was totally paid off when I graduated. I had a job working at a movie theater and a drug store after that, and I saved nearly all my money to pay debts.

For graduate school, I was given a generous stipend. I lived with my parents since the university I went to for grad school was only 25 minutes away from their house. The stipend paid for my car, gas, etc. However, the stipend was high enough that I could have gotten an apartment if I wanted to, but...my parents were being super cool letting me stay, so why move? I enjoyed making the money simply to teach A&P to nursing students.

So when I was done with school, I had no debt at all except for a car payment, but that was paid off a year later since I always pay extra every month on car payments.

I'm sure my experience is very different from others, but if you don't need to use a credit card, then don't. That's how I stayed out of debt. Sure I was missing out on a lot of things that others were doing...including going out on the weekends, vacations, buying new clothes all the time...but I currently have no debt from those years and most of the spenders do.

suewill12

While I did get students loans for college, I went for a BS/MS program at a state school. I graduated 5 years ago and my loans are comparable to the price of a mid--priced car which makes me feel like its definitely within reach to pay off in the nearish future. Side note, being in healthcare opens you up to a huge amount of income opportunities when you graduate. I am an occupational therapist and am currently a "traveller." I get paid to travel all over the country and make GREAT money to be able to pay off my debts from college and save for my future.

Queen_Christine

My daughter (an RN) got her 4 yr degree without going into debt. She got her STNA in high school and got a job at a hospital with that, then the hospital helped pay for college. They didn't pay for all of college, her dad and I paid for the rest. But any job that pays for some college is better than nothing!