I was accepted into both the Clemson University nursing program and the University of New Hampshire nursing program. UNH is an in-state school for me. It has a decent nursing program, but is known completely as a party school. Many of the hospitals around here do not completely respect students that come from there. I do not particularly want to go to this school. It has a terrible reputation and I know this to be completely true because my mother worked there for 20 years and almost solely talks poorly about it. With this school, I will only be in$5000-$10000 in debt after four years. My other option is Clemson. This is my dream school. I toured the campus and fell in love. It feels like home to me and I know I could be much happier there than at my state school UNH. It also has a much better nursing program and they guarantee you have clinicals no matter what. They have a much more updated program and a much better student culture. With this school, I will be around $50,000 in debt after four years. Clemson is a much better school for me and it is known as a better program. Is my happiness worth the debt or should I go the infamous in state school? ALSO, I have not turned in my FAFSA yet so I do not know how much I will get in federal aid. My combined parent’s salary under $50,000 and my father is currently on hospice care. I am not sure how much this will factor into/how much I will get in federal aid. Help please!
Congratulations on your acceptances! Though a difference of $40,000-$45,000 over four years is not insignificant, I would go to Clemson under your scenario. Are you able to work during the school year and/or in the summer to decrease the debt?
I am, and it would also be easier to work at Clemson as freshman can have cars on campus. I currently work at a local grocery store and make about $7000/year working part time while in high school. I am definitely going to find a job and continue working once I am down there.
I know $7000 is basically nothing too, but it does help.
If I were you, I’d go with Clemson, too
You can only borrow ~$5500/year. How will you cover the rest of the costs at Clemson?
Did you only apply to 2 schools?
I would wait and see until you have your final FA packages in hand. However (as I’m sure the adult posters here will elaborate on), you should know that you are limited in what you can personally borrow in terms of federal loans. You can only take out $5500 your first year. The number increases slightly afterward, but you would have to take out private loans with a cosigner. Assuming you can get approved for them, you will likely face interest rates that result in you having much more debt than you may be anticipating.
This was back in the eighties, but my father transferred to UNH from a selective LAC for financial reasons. He got a fine education there. The friends I have at UNH are all doing well there, even though it was a safety school for most of them. I think you’re underestimating the quality of a UNH education.
I also don’t consider Clemson to be less of a party school, but I could be wrong about that.
It has gotten a bad reputation in past years. It was a better school when my mom first started working there then slowly went downhill, according to her, so you may be right and I may have a completely biased opinion. Being from relatively close to it, I do know for a fact they have been to rushed the town relatively recently and caused damage to local businesses. I know one of on-campus apartments has a gate that shuts at a certain time every night as to not allow parties to happen there because a large group of kids that lived there got drunk and flipped an entire bus. Clemson is also known ranked in the top 20 best public schools and has one of the best ROI’s nationally. I also volunteer at a hospital near me as a candy striper in the summer and have been told by nurses there that there are many better schools to attend than UNH for nursing. It does have some great programs though. If I were an engineering major, it would be much easier to choose them because they have a renowned program.
I also got into UMass Amherst and University of New England for Nursing, but both will be just about the same cost as Clemson. I do the debt is huge, but I am also scared of graduating with a UNH degree and not being able to find a job at graduation. I am not sure if it;s completely true, but Clemson boats about how their nursing program has an 100% job placement rate in the program at graduation.
UNH has an average first time pass rate on the NCLEX of about 94%
I would try to avoid loans if you want to be a nurse.
You should submit the FAFSA as soon as possible.
I would not want to be a nurse with $50,000 in debt. I’d go to UNH.
"Is my happiness worth the debt "
only you can determine that, of course. But if it was me, I would go to where I’d be happy and work hard later to pay off the debt. It sounds like you really don’t want to go to UNH so spending 4 years of your life there to save money, may not be the best option. Plus Clemson could put you in a better position to pay off your debt, eliminating the cost benefit of UNH.
I echo the advice to not go into $50,000 in debt. Attend UNH, especially given the high pass rate on the NCLEX. I think you are letting emotions and a limited set of observations about UNH (that may not reflect reality) cloud your judgement.
With family income that low, a 100% needs met school is most likely your best bet financially, although each school determines that need differently. How does UMA compare to Clemson? It is significantly better than UNH and has a fantastic reputation in the NE. Again, I don’t know anything about their nursing program. Did you by chance apply to Simmons? Can’t get much closer to the hospitals than that.
And…sorry about your Dad, I"m sure its difficult to concentrate on your school choices and future while he is in hospice care, keep your chin up.
I would wait until the financial aid comes in. If your family income is less than 50K, I imagine your financial picture will look quite different. So sit tight and hopefully it will all work out. You got the FAFSA in, right?
The maximum for student loans over 4 years (roughly 27K) would be manageable on a nurse’s salary. I would be leery of 50K, but that might be academic as I don’t know if your family would qualify for that level of loans.
Back in my day, U of New England was a party school!
U Mass has become increasingly selective so I wouldn’t dismiss that possibility just yet.
If you end up at UNH, you will find your people. There will always be some non-partiers, especially in more demanding majors.
First of all, SO sorry about your Dad. No doubt he is super proud of you for the major you have chosen. I have no doubt it will help you be an amazing RN.
What about a compromise?
Talk to the admissions at Clemson; find a champion for you WITHIN the Clemson nursing program. Explain about your Dad. ASK…"can I do 1-2 years at the local university and then transfer to Clemson? It doesn’t hurt to ask; it doesn’t hurt to specifically see now which classes would transfer.
Secondly…most hospitals have education assistance programs available for even part-time workers. After your first semester of nursing school, you can usually work as MA/nurse tech. If you are working part-time here https://mybensite.com/greenvillehr/index.php?box=Other§ion=Education%20Assistance%20Program&page=Education%20Assistance%20Program&type=w&ref=supp-edu&img= for example, they will reimburse you for education/tuition costs up to $4000.00! And this is just what is published…many hospitals have other similar programs just for nurses that are not published on the website.
$27K of debt is manageable IMO on an RN salary. You could live like a hermit, take on extra shifts and work the night shift to even crank up your payback of that loan. $50K is too much.
If your dad is in hospice, perhaps you should be there for him and the family.