I’m going to my first year of college this fall, but i’'m thinking about my life in the long run. Thinking if being in a PA program in a decent school is even realistic for me. I will already be $60k-70k in debt (with maximum interest calculated) for my undergrad. I am from California.
That’s a broad and also vague question. I imagine some owe a lot and some graduate with very little debt.
I looked at your previous posts. Are you going to nursing school and then PA school? What is your plan?
Hi there I really wanted to be a nursing major and I will be. I wanted to be an NP for some time, but after shadowing some PAs through my aunt, I thought of it. I am unsure what I should go for. I am aware, though, that if I do pursue PA , I have to take some extra classes after my BSN. I have looked at some prereqs for PA programs in some unis.
Around here we have NP and PA working alongside MDs in the practice. They both do very similar things. If you go to nursing school you can work for a few years to pay off loans and then go back to get NP degree.
If you take PA prerequisites that is at least 3 years. Then 2 yrs PA prof program. You need direct patient hours, so you might want to get EMT or CNA training and work during summers.
If you want PA I would go to a school for undergrad that requires minimum loans.
Someone I know gets merit for the first 3 years of her 5 yr combined PA program. The last 2 years she will borrow grad loans, and I think it’s around $50k a year.
If you are not in a direct entry/combined PA program, you will have to take certain required classes and get a competitive GPA to apply to PA programs. And minimum amount of patient hours, which can vary by program.
If you like nursing I would get my BSN, work a few years and then go for NP if you want.
Nursing and PA have some different science class requirements I believe.
My suggestion…if you are getting a BSN…then do that…andmget a job as a nurse. Work for two years…and then enroll in an APRN program. You may find that your employer will partially fund your studies, which you can do part time.
To answer the OP’s question…it depends. If you’re in an instate public’s program, it will cost a lot less. If you go to a private or OOS public program, it will cost a lot more.
Figure about $40k-80k per year…and PA programs can be about 30 months long.
My son’s GF is in an instate PA program, and her costs are running about $40k per year. If she didn’t have parents helping, she’d be borrowing about $110k