I have been searching this forum for the type of financing students pursuing a second degree can receive. From what I have gathered, I believe that Stafford Loans are the only type of funds available for those students. I realize that scholarships can be extremely limited, unless you fall under a certain minority status, with exception of departmental scholarships. I first want to know, are there any particular scholarships that students pursuing another undergraduate degree should look at? Second, if I am really looking at almost no federal, state (most is limited to a first degree), or scholarship funding, what private loans should I be looking at? I really do not trust major banks (considering their recent histories), unless someone has any evidence to suggest otherwise. Does anyone have any good suggestions for credit unions or banks that offer fairly low interest rates? What long-term repayment plans should I be looking at (and does anyone have any recommendations in that regard)? If I am also interested in employers that offer tuition repayment, how do I incorporate that into any loan plans and how does tuition repayment usually work?
Why do you need a second bachelors degree?
How about a master degree instead of a second undergraduate degree
You need to think carefully about the second degree. Is this a significant change of career? How many of your current undergrad credits could cover some of the requirements for either a second degree, or for admission to grad school in the new field? How many of the courses you believe that you need could be taken on the cheap at a community college, or fairly inexpensively at a public U in your state?
Best cheap way to a second degree: get a any job that comes with tuition benefits at a college/university that offers the degree you want. That way you could pick up your missing classes for free.
The second degree will be for nursing and I have spoken with many nurse managers in my area that all state that a BSN (which is the minimum for most jobs in my area) is far more beneficial than an MSN (and something they look for when they hire new nurses). I know that there are several scholarships that pertain to nursing. I’m really looking for information regarding private loans (recommendations and sources where I can compare the different types). I assume that those private loans are somewhat regulated so the interest rates can be manageable with a good job. But, I want to get the best deal. In addition, I will applying for direct Stafford loans, which I believe is the only thing that I qualify for with FAFSA.
What is your first bachelors degree in?
You will have to do your own legwork for private loans, try Sallie Mae and any bank you or your cosigner have a relationship with. You don’t trust banks but they don’t trust you either so you will need an employed creditworthy cosigner. This Forbes article has a link for searching for private loans.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2013/01/22/use-these-8-loans-to-pay-for-college/
You’d have to check with a specific credit union or community bank to see if they make student loans. Most private banks have stopped making student loans and the few left are big. You could check in you state to see if there are state loans for students as a few states do have them.
You say you don’t trust big banks, but why not? They lend the money, you repay it, no issues. A smaller bank isn’t going to give you any better terms, and will most likely sell the debt or use the same servicer as the govern entor big banks. There just aren’t that many services for student loans.
What about a PA program? I’d carefully consider funding sources. Best wishes.
Of this student has the prerequisite courses to enter a PA program. He or she might have the same requisite courses for a bachelors to nursing program. In our state, they are comoetitve, but most are fully funded.
The other option would be a two ear nursing program through a community college…followed by employment. He or she could then get the BSN while working.
Yes, there are other options that I could pursue (PA, NP…), but I really want to get started working as a nurse. With community college, I could get my ADN there (two years) and then go to a university to get my RN to BSN (an additional year, make it 3 years total). The cost for tuition will be about 20k+ plus room and board and other expenses. For the BSN through a university, it’s usually two years with the total cost of tuition being about 30k+ plus it will be more expensive for room and board (since there are few, if any, online courses). Although the ADN route is cheaper, I’d prefer to go the BSN university route for multiple reasons. So, I am looking to see if anyone has any experience with private loans, getting a second degree, or nursing or has advice on any other sources of financial aid (i.e. private) that I have overlooked. Also, if anyone knows of any other good (non-university) financial aid sites that give advice, I’d like to hear about it.
Edit: found a typo
The likelihood of actually completing an ADN degree in 2 years is quite small. There is usually a wait list and you likely don’t have the prerequisites Have you looked into a bridge program for folks with bachelor’s degrees? Were do you live? What was your past major in? What was your GPA? Do you have any college level sciences?
I used to be the financial aid liaison for a university BSN program. Unfortunately, many of our students were in your situation & had to borrow private loans. The undergrad loans are limited by year in school, and there were no grants available for 2nd degrees. We did not have scholarships for the program, either. Our program had clinicals right from the start, so it was very difficult for a student in the program to work much. I wish I could offer some good advice, but it’s not that easy in your case.
Look into Accelerated BSN programs - they are designed for students that already have a BA/BS and want to do nursing, they usually complete the degree after two years/4 semesters. I don’t know how many schools offer them, I know in my state (NC) there’s at least Duke and UNC. It would be very difficult to work during one of these programs because the workload is intense, but it would be shorter than a typical nursing program length.
I have looked into a few accelerated programs. Unfortunately, almost all of them are incredibly expensive and do not save people much time (since many BSN programs are completed in two years vs. the accelerated BSN, which can be completed as little as one year). I have seen accelerated program prices for tuition from $40k to $100k+ (see many of the programs listed on the top of U.S. News - Top Graduate Nursing Programs). The problem is, is that they will never beat in-state tuition (since I believe a lot of the programs don’t receive the type of funding that non-accelerated programs do) and someone is likely to spend most of their life paying off those hefty tuition bills, with the average RN starting salary probably around 50k (but this varies greatly in both directions depending on the state).
To kelsmom, do you have any suggestions on which private loans to chose from? What is considered a decent APR or interest rate? How long did graduates usually take to pay off those loans for your program?
Unfortunately, I don’t have any recommendations. I work in financial aid, so it would be unethical for me to recommend any lenders … but maybe some others have suggestions.
@needfinancialaid I think what your comparing is apples to oranges. Yes on online BSN completion would take 2 years but you have to have the degree that leads to you sitting for the RN FIRST. A traditional BSN is 4 years FULL TIME And you need to let us know where you live, what your other degree is in, GPA and if you have any sciences what so ever.
@needfinancialaid Have you checked out accelerated nursing programs at PASSHE (PA state) universities? I know Edinboro (program is called Innovative rather than Accelerated) and West Chester have these programs, and there may be others. Even for out of state students, I’m pretty sure they are less expensive than the tuition costs you mentioned in post #14.
http://www.bellincollege.edu/bsn-accelerated.php in Green Bay, WI
Here is an accelerated 15-month BSN program (tuition/fees = $66k). Must have already fulfilled the 56 credits of prerequisites with a 3.0 from your previous coursework.
Head over to the nursing forum for answers to specific nursing questions/issues.
http://allnurses.com/nursing-student/
Whether you go the ADN, traditional BSN or accelerated BSN program, you will have to do your nursing prerequisites before applying to the nursing program. Assuming you have already completed the prerequisites, the accelerated programs are typically your quickest/low cost route to a BSN.
I have read about so many individuals who decide to pursue a nursing degree after completing their first degree in something else, which in most cases, they are unable to find meaningful employment post graduation. Maybe, high school students should spend more time figuring out the career goals/majors and less time obsessing about their college choices. A second undergraduate degree is time consuming, expensive and have very limited financing-options available.