What would you suggest?

[Anonymous]

Sallie Mae, Union Federal Bank and other private lenders will probably decline me when I reapply for a student loan a year from now for $8k. So I believe I will have to pay for each class using my credit cards (courses only not tuition or anything like that). Current set of cards total available credit limit = 6k.

PLAN

So I am thinking of having a app spree 6 months and 12 months from now. Goal to increase my available credit limit as much as possible, so when I pay for my classes my utilization will hopefully not nosedive to under 600 (currently 710ish FICO) as I think its inevitable my score will decrease, when my current avg monthly utilization is <10%.        APP spree in October '14 and April '15 Okay or should wait til Apr '15 since my last HP was is in Apr

Why not go to community college and save $$$?

Community college is not an option (I do not want to spend 3-4 years at CC when I can complete what I am missing in 1 year at a university). It would take 3-4 years at CC because of course meeting conflicts and course availability.

The reason I believe I will be rejected again is because Union Federal pulled my FICO score from TU which was 719, I don't see my score improving much in a years time. I'm eyeing cards that have a long 0% apr such as Citi Diamond as I already have Citi simplicity. Each class costs more or less $900-1600. Total of 8 classes needed so I can be on my way for my career in nursing (would be eligible to apply to the approximately 10 nursing schools I have researched).

Save up so you don't have to seek loan or have additional inquiries on your CR?

I would love to do this however employment is unpredictable for me. Yes I am searching for jobs, Walmarts, Mcdonalds, Burger Kings, manufacturing, overnight shifts etc I am applying for them but when you apply for close to a year now and you only get a total of 2 interviews after hundreds of applications you lose hope. Employers often choose those who have more work experience which is out of my control when you can only obtain work experience when someone hires you. I practice getting interviewed and dress appropriately so no I'm not one of those recent graduates who dress inappropriately or are unprofessional in their communication when they are offered a interview.

[youdontkillmoney]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sallie Mae, Union Federal Bank and other private lenders will probably decline me when I reapply for a student loan a year from now for $8k. So I believe I will have to pay for each class using my credit cards (courses only not tuition or anything like that). Current set of cards total available credit limit = 6k.

PLAN

So I am thinking of having a app spree 6 months and 12 months from now. Goal to increase my available credit limit as much as possible, so when I pay for my classes my utilization will hopefully not nosedive to under 600 (currently 710ish FICO) as I think its inevitable my score will decrease, when my current avg monthly utilization is <10%.        APP spree in October '14 and April '15 Okay or should wait til Apr '15 since my last HP was is in Apr

Why not go to community college and save $$$?

Community college is not an option (I do not want to spend 3-4 years at CC when I can complete what I am missing in 1 year at a university). It would take 3-4 years at CC because of course meeting conflicts and course availability.

The reason I believe I will be rejected again is because Union Federal pulled my FICO score from TU which was 719, I don't see my score improving much in a years time. I'm eyeing cards that have a long 0% apr such as Citi Diamond as I already have Citi simplicity. Each class costs more or less $900-1600. Total of 8 classes needed so I can be on my way for my career in nursing (would be eligible to apply to the approximately 10 nursing schools I have researched).

Save up so you don't have to seek loan or have additional inquiries on your CR?

I would love to do this however employment is unpredictable for me. Yes I am searching for jobs, Walmarts, Mcdonalds, Burger Kings, manufacturing, overnight shifts etc I am applying for them but when you apply for close to a year now and you only get a total of 2 interviews after hundreds of applications you lose hope. Employers often choose those who have more work experience which is out of my control when you can only obtain work experience when someone hires you. I practice getting interviewed and dress appropriately so no I'm not one of those recent graduates who dress inappropriately or are unprofessional in their communication when they are offered a interview.

---

^^^^^

Have you tried applying for student loans (may have a lower interest) and some you can defer while in school and after graduating, for example, you you are still in school still.

CC's should be a last resort to finance an education as they are expensive and there is no deferring payment

I guess more info is needed to help with advice since I am not sure why you won't even try student loans, and not trying becaue you think you will not get approved may not be a good way to really explore all your options

[09Lexie]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Sallie Mae, Union Federal Bank and other private lenders will probably decline me when I reapply for a student loan a year from now for $8k. So I believe I will have to pay for each class using my credit cards (courses only not tuition or anything like that). Current set of cards total available credit limit = 6k.

PLAN

So I am thinking of having a app spree 6 months and 12 months from now. Goal to increase my available credit limit as much as possible, so when I pay for my classes my utilization will hopefully not nosedive to under 600 (currently 710ish FICO) as I think its inevitable my score will decrease, when my current avg monthly utilization is <10%.        APP spree in October '14 and April '15 Okay or should wait til Apr '15 since my last HP was is in Apr

Why not go to community college and save $$$?

Community college is not an option (I do not want to spend 3-4 years at CC when I can complete what I am missing in 1 year at a university). It would take 3-4 years at CC because of course meeting conflicts and course availability.

The reason I believe I will be rejected again is because Union Federal pulled my FICO score from TU which was 719, I don't see my score improving much in a years time. I'm eyeing cards that have a long 0% apr such as Citi Diamond as I already have Citi simplicity. Each class costs more or less $900-1600. Total of 8 classes needed so I can be on my way for my career in nursing (would be eligible to apply to the approximately 10 nursing schools I have researched).

Save up so you don't have to seek loan or have additional inquiries on your CR?

I would love to do this however employment is unpredictable for me. Yes I am searching for jobs, Walmarts, Mcdonalds, Burger Kings, manufacturing, overnight shifts etc I am applying for them but when you apply for close to a year now and you only get a total of 2 interviews after hundreds of applications you lose hope. Employers often choose those who have more work experience which is out of my control when you can only obtain work experience when someone hires you. I practice getting interviewed and dress appropriately so no I'm not one of those recent graduates who dress inappropriately or are unprofessional in their communication when they are offered a interview.

---

^^^^^

Have you tried applying for student loans (may have a lower interest) and some you can defer while in school and after graduating, for example, you you are still in school still.

CC's should be a last resort to finance an education as they are expensive and there is no deferring payment

I guess more info is needed to help with advice since I am not sure why you won't even try student loans, and not trying becaue you think you will not get approved may not be a good way to really explore all your options

---

+1 and if unemployment is unpredictable, how do you plan to pay for your credit card bills?

[Anonymous]

I am currently ineligible for student loans from the federal government. I am not a student in the sense I am not admitted anywhere as a undergraduate or graduate student that's the problem. Cant apply for these grad schools if I dont have the prerequisites finished. I have not expressed this but yes I have a good idea how terrible and how ugly debt can get. I managed to only exit college with a debt close to 4 figures when I hear the average graduate of 4 year is 2-3 times what I have.

If I was a currently enrolled student I would qualify for a student loan from federal government. Unemployment is unpredictable indeed. Parents are paying my monthly student loan of $90 (my current revolving accounts are pretty much them using it and paying it in full to help me continue building credit history). Obviously the repayment plan is much longer as that student loan was from federal government and lower interest rate than credit cards and private loans by a ton.

So how much would my monthly bill for a class be at 0% apr balance of 900. 0% apr for minimum of 12 months.

I'm not sure how to calculate this as for instance one of my cards has a balnce of $96, minimum payment is $20. This card has 0% apr. So would that mean this card demands you to pay your balance in like 5 months whatever the balance is,  $5, $200, etc .

so for  example if I enrolled in the class right now my balance would be $960.  Minimum monthly payment would be 200?

[09Lexie]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am currently ineligible for student loans from the federal government. I am not a student in the sense I am not admitted anywhere as a undergraduate or graduate student that's the problem. Cant apply for these grad schools if I dont have the prerequisites finished. I have not expressed this but yes I have a good idea how terrible and how ugly debt can get. I managed to only exit college with a debt close to 4 figures when I hear the average graduate of 4 year is 2-3 times what I have.

If I was a currently enrolled student I would qualify for a student loan from federal government. Unemployment is unpredictable indeed. Parents are paying my monthly student loan of $90 (my current revolving accounts are pretty much them using it and paying it in full to help me continue building credit history). Obviously the repayment plan is much longer as that student loan was from federal government and lower interest rate than credit cards and private loans by a ton.

So how much would my monthly bill for a class be at 0% apr balance of 900. 0% apr for minimum of 12 months.

I'm not sure how to calculate this as for instance one of my cards has a balnce of $96, minimum payment is $20. This card has 0% apr. So would that mean this card demands you to pay your balance in like 5 months whatever the balance is,  $5, $200, etc .

so for  example if I enrolled in the class right now my balance would be $960.  Minimum monthly payment would be 200?

---

Without employment, you'll be hard pressed to be approved for any amount.  Each lender sets their min pyt.  Most will run between $25-$35

[youdontkillmoney]

^^^^

I am afraid for you because if you go the route of charging expensive tuition $$$$ towrads schooling and if you cannot get the job you desire, you will have massive debt and still be looking for any ol' job as you are right now and I do not think your income from these jobs will cover your total debt payments at high interest rates. I am afraid that we will see you posting here about if you should file for bankruptcy in the future.

Part of financial management is knowing when to use leverage (credit), but also when not to, in this case, with credit debt, will the benefits (higher pay after graduation with your degree) exceed the costs of the education (what you charge to the credit cards); we do not know but you said with how employment the way it is, you are taking a great risk

I've taught at the community college level, still do part time, I've also taught at the State university level at state sponsored 4 year universities and I've also taught at for profit colleges (Devry, ITT, Corinthian, Grand Canyon Uni, Capella Univ, Florida Metro Univ, and probably a few other for profit universities I don't remember) so I have perspective as to costs, community college being the lowest cost, then State Univ, and the most expensive are the for profit universities and from what I've seen, ALL students from ALL these schools have trouble finding good paying jobs (something more than what they can get without a degree, which is about $10/hour) . . . . BUT the difference is the community college student and State univ student have the edge in that they can have their student loans DEFERRED or have a hardship deferment, with for profit colleges listed, they may too get a deferment, or may not depending on how it is structued, but what is clear is that the for profit students have the HIGHEST debt to pay back because the tuition was so high

Anyway, I would advise you to think seriously about the Risk you are about to undertake, you are saying that after you grad. from wherever you are planning to go, you WILL have a job that pays enough to pay the credit card bills (which you charged tuition to). If you do not get the job you think you will get you will have all this cc debt, versus if you go the comm college route, you will pay less, and if need to borrow as a student, will have less debt, which will be in a better position to be in when you graduate.

Plus if the economy will get better, and interest rates go up because of this, your credit card rate which is usually prime rate + a certain %, will be that much higher too, which places more financial pressure on you.

Anyway the decision is yours but understand the risks of each path before you and accept the possible results.

[Anonymous]

---

@youdontkillmoney wrote:

^^^^

I am afraid for you because if you go the route of charging expensive tuition $$$$ towrads schooling and if you cannot get the job you desire, you will have massive debt and still be looking for any ol' job as you are right now and I do not think your income from these jobs will cover your total debt payments at high interest rates. I am afraid that we will see you posting here about if you should file for bankruptcy in the future.

Part of financial management is knowing when to use leverage (credit), but also when not to, in this case, with credit debt, will the benefits (higher pay after graduation with your degree) exceed the costs of the education (what you charge to the credit cards); we do not know but you said with how employment the way it is, you are taking a great risk

I've taught at the community college level, still do part time, I've also taught at the State university level at state sponsored 4 year universities and I've also taught at for profit colleges (Devry, ITT, Corinthian, Grand Canyon Uni, Capella Univ, Florida Metro Univ, and probably a few other for profit universities I don't remember) so I have perspective as to costs, community college being the lowest cost, then State Univ, and the most expensive are the for profit universities and from what I've seen, ALL students from ALL these schools have trouble finding good paying jobs (something more than what they can get without a degree, which is about $10/hour) . . . . BUT the difference is the community college student and State univ student have the edge in that they can have their student loans DEFERRED or have a hardship deferment, with for profit colleges listed, they may too get a deferment, or may not depending on how it is structued, but what is clear is that the for profit students have the HIGHEST debt to pay back because the tuition was so high

Anyway, I would advise you to think seriously about the Risk you are about to undertake, you are saying that after you grad. from wherever you are planning to go, you WILL have a job that pays enough to pay the credit card bills (which you charged tuition to). If you do not get the job you think you will get you will have all this cc debt, versus if you go the comm college route, you will pay less, and if need to borrow as a student, will have less debt, which will be in a better position to be in when you graduate.

Plus if the economy will get better, and interest rates go up because of this, your credit card rate which is usually prime rate + a certain %, will be that much higher too, which places more financial pressure on you.

Anyway the decision is yours but understand the risks of each path before you and accept the possible results.

---

it is a great risk, however my research has led me to believe the nursing profession is one of the top professions in terms of very low unemployment rate for recent graduates. Now the degree I have not surprisngly, bachelors in anthropology has one of the highest unemployment rates for recent graduates,  So more or less a useless major if you are looking to have an easy time finding a job.

Tuition for the university is much more expensive than the cost I have expressed in this topic. This potential loan amount is solely for the privilege of enrolling in the required courses. 

The only thing that would be charged on the cards would be the registration fee so I can enroll in the class. Living expenses, transportation, book fees have already been accounted for to not require further debt. In addition it wouldnt be all charged at once (the total amount ~8k). I can only charge roughly 2k max per semester or quarter  (semester lasts approximately from Aug to Jan). And as credit cards do not allow you to defer payments afaik if my parents or myself can't make the monthly payments while I'm in these courses it stops there.

Wouldn't be reckless enough to continue charging another 2k for the next quarter or semester.

I'm torn between devoting 3-4 years to do something I can accomplish in 1 year. Time is money and no one knows how long they have left on this planet so I feel compelled to do what I can as soon as possible.

CC  3-4 years +  2 years in nursing school to get License

University 1 year +2 years in nursing school to get License

As you have taught at these institutions would you agree there is a correlation between unemployment rate and majors?

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Goal to increase my available credit limit as much as possible 

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---

@Anonymous wrote:

I would love to do this however employment is unpredictable for me. 

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Given the latter the former may be difficult. Income plays a role in determining available credit granted.

[youdontkillmoney]

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@Anonymous wrote:

---

it is a great risk, however my research has led me to believe the nursing profession is one of the top professions in terms of very low unemployment rate for recent graduates. Now the degree I have not surprisngly, bachelors in anthropology has one of the highest unemployment rates for recent graduates,  So more or less a useless major if you are looking to have an easy time finding a job.

Tuition for the university is much more expensive than the cost I have expressed in this topic. This potential loan amount is solely for the privilege of enrolling in the required courses. 

The only thing that would be charged on the cards would be the registration fee so I can enroll in the class. Living expenses, transportation, book fees have already been accounted for to not require further debt. In addition it wouldnt be all charged at once (the total amount ~8k). I can only charge roughly 2k max per semester or quarter  (semester lasts approximately from Aug to Jan). And as credit cards do not allow you to defer payments afaik if my parents or myself can't make the monthly payments while I'm in these courses it stops there.

Wouldn't be reckless enough to continue charging another 2k for the next quarter or semester.

I'm torn between devoting 3-4 years to do something I can accomplish in 1 year. Time is money and no one knows how long they have left on this planet so I feel compelled to do what I can as soon as possible.

CC  3-4 years +  2 years in nursing school to get License

University 1 year +2 years in nursing school to get License

As you have taught at these institutions would you agree there is a correlation between unemployment rate and majors?

---

^^^^

You are right there is a relationship between certain majors and how much they make, in particular nursing, those majors are the ones that can more likely get jobs out of school and generate $50,000+ in annual income. That being said . . .it depends on the level of nursing you are referring to. Let me explain.

*My brother's wife brother earned a 4-year university (but went to community college first then transferred) Bachelor's degree in nursing and passed his RN exam, and is working as an RN in a hospital, probably making around $50,000. 

*My wife, is a Nurse Practitioner, meaning she has a Master's degree in nursing and did in the hospital training. But before this she went to a a 4 year state university (actually the one I teach at part time now), then graduated and passed her RN exam, and always found it easy to get jobs at local hospitals . As a NP she is making $135,000+ right now (about $70/hour). She took a school loan out for her Master's, there's $20,000 left, but the interest is only 2.62% fixed and payments are $200 a month so she's taking her time to pay it off. The hospital where she is working now, Cedars-Sinai, will NOT hire RN's if you do Not have a bachelor's degree in Nursing (4 year university), no LVN's, No RNs without Bachelors, etc

I gather bullet point 1 above is what you are after in the short term. But notice, they all have 4 year Bachelor degrees in nursing.

Also, I ran into people with just RN's after passing the exam, and they were not employed.

In fact, one hit close to home, my brother's wife passed the State's RN exam and before she found her nursing was her career, was a child pychology major (was going to be a teacher for kids), and she COULD NOT find a hospital that woudl hire her and train her. So she started looking out of state, we are in the west coast, and found a North Carolina hospital that would take her and train her, so she tried to relocate over there for training, stayed a couple months, missed her kids, was lonly, and came back home. She after 18 months found a nursing home that would hire her and getting experience that way right now. Problem is she does not have a Bachelors in nursing.

Now, the above examples are top level nurses at the top of their profession (first two bullet points), look at what training and certifications they have . . . and then it is true that there is a correlation between nursing and pay level, if you have those certifications. 

If you charge to your credit card and you will get those certificatons, and if you think $50,000 before taxes will enable you to make payments, then you are pushing it lifestyle wise but possible (where you live average salaries may not be as high for Bachelors prepared RN's so $50,000 may be too high or about  right for your local area)

Now, since I've taught at for profit schools, including Corinthian Colleges who owns Bryman college, which trains "nurses", note these are mostly at the level of LVN's, nursing assistants, etc. Even after graduating and paying the high tuition, the pay rate for these level of nurses (assuming hospitals even hire them, as I mention Cedars Sinai only hires RNs with a Bachelors degree in nursing) is about $13-$22 hour with around $13-$16 for my area being more typical. That is not a lot per hour if you have a lot of credit card bills from tuition and other bills from life in general. And what more, with these for profit schools, often times students find it very very difficult to fiind jobs because, so you would hear in the news how students are suing these schools for false promises of jobs, pay level, etc if you Google this tid bit. But everyone at for profit schools like any other school do want you to succeed and we all try to give you the best education/training, etc. But graduates of these schools for nursing are not 4-year Bachelor's prepared nurses so do not command the $50,000+ salaries as some of these students may expect (or should not expect if the school kept them well informed of what exactly they are training for)

If you want the career in nursing as I described in the first two bullet points, you will need to commit to the Bachelor degree in nursing with RN (at least in my area and from the people I've spoken to about nursing).

Tying it back financial, given the above, my advise in general then is to go to comm college for two years for gen ed courses, transfer to a 4 year univ (all this time student loans will be deferred) for your nursing. BUT your circumstances may be unique for whatever reason, so research it, plan it and choose whatever path is right for you.

[Anonymous]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

it is a great risk, however my research has led me to believe the nursing profession is one of the top professions in terms of very low unemployment rate for recent graduates. Now the degree I have not surprisngly, bachelors in anthropology has one of the highest unemployment rates for recent graduates,  So more or less a useless major if you are looking to have an easy time finding a job.

Tuition for the university is much more expensive than the cost I have expressed in this topic. This potential loan amount is solely for the privilege of enrolling in the required courses. 

The only thing that would be charged on the cards would be the registration fee so I can enroll in the class. Living expenses, transportation, book fees have already been accounted for to not require further debt. In addition it wouldnt be all charged at once (the total amount ~8k). I can only charge roughly 2k max per semester or quarter  (semester lasts approximately from Aug to Jan). And as credit cards do not allow you to defer payments afaik if my parents or myself can't make the monthly payments while I'm in these courses it stops there.

Wouldn't be reckless enough to continue charging another 2k for the next quarter or semester.

I'm torn between devoting 3-4 years to do something I can accomplish in 1 year. Time is money and no one knows how long they have left on this planet so I feel compelled to do what I can as soon as possible.

CC  3-4 years +  2 years in nursing school to get License

University 1 year +2 years in nursing school to get License

As you have taught at these institutions would you agree there is a correlation between unemployment rate and majors?

---

^^^^

You are right there is a relationship between certain majors and how much they make, in particular nursing, those majors are the ones that can more likely get jobs out of school and generate $50,000+ in annual income. That being said . . .it depends on the level of nursing you are referring to. Let me explain.

*My brother's wife brother earned a 4-year university (but went to community college first then transferred) Bachelor's degree in nursing and passed his RN exam, and is working as an RN in a hospital, probably making around $50,000. 

*My wife, is a Nurse Practitioner, meaning she has a Master's degree in nursing and did in the hospital training. But before this she went to a a 4 year state university (actually the one I teach at part time now), then graduated and passed her RN exam, and always found it easy to get jobs at local hospitals . As a NP she is making $135,000+ right now (about $70/hour). She took a school loan out for her Master's, there's $20,000 left, but the interest is only 2.62% fixed and payments are $200 a month so she's taking her time to pay it off. The hospital where she is working now, Cedars-Sinai, will NOT hire RN's if you do Not have a bachelor's degree in Nursing (4 year university), no LVN's, No RNs without Bachelors, etc

I gather bullet point 1 above is what you are after in the short term. But notice, they all have 4 year Bachelor degrees in nursing.

Also, I ran into people with just RN's after passing the exam, and they were not employed.

In fact, one hit close to home, my brother's wife passed the State's RN exam and before she found her nursing was her career, was a child pychology major (was going to be a teacher for kids), and she COULD NOT find a hospital that woudl hire her and train her. So she started looking out of state, we are in the west coast, and found a North Carolina hospital that would take her and train her, so she tried to relocate over there for training, stayed a couple months, missed her kids, was lonly, and came back home. She after 18 months found a nursing home that would hire her and getting experience that way right now. Problem is she does not have a Bachelors in nursing.

Now, the above examples are top level nurses at the top of their profession (first two bullet points), look at what training and certifications they have . . . and then it is true that there is a correlation between nursing and pay level, if you have those certifications. 

If you charge to your credit card and you will get those certificatons, and if you think $50,000 before taxes will enable you to make payments, then you are pushing it lifestyle wise but possible (where you live average salaries may not be as high for Bachelors prepared RN's so $50,000 may be too high or about  right for your local area)

Now, since I've taught at for profit schools, including Corinthian Colleges who owns Bryman college, which trains "nurses", note these are mostly at the level of LVN's, nursing assistants, etc. Even after graduating and paying the high tuition, the pay rate for these level of nurses (assuming hospitals even hire them, as I mention Cedars Sinai only hires RNs with a Bachelors degree in nursing) is about $13-$22 hour with around $13-$16 for my area being more typical. That is not a lot per hour if you have a lot of credit card bills from tuition and other bills from life in general. And what more, with these for profit schools, often times students find it very very difficult to fiind jobs because, so you would hear in the news how students are suing these schools for false promises of jobs, pay level, etc if you Google this tid bit. But everyone at for profit schools like any other school do want you to succeed and we all try to give you the best education/training, etc. But graduates of these schools for nursing are not 4-year Bachelor's prepared nurses so do not command the $50,000+ salaries as some of these students may expect (or should not expect if the school kept them well informed of what exactly they are training for)

If you want the career in nursing as I described in the first two bullet points, you will need to commit to the Bachelor degree in nursing with RN (at least in my area and from the people I've spoken to about nursing).

Tying it back financial, given the above, my advise in general then is to go to comm college for two years for gen ed courses, transfer to a 4 year univ (all this time student loans will be deferred) for your nursing. BUT your circumstances may be unique for whatever reason, so research it, plan it and choose whatever path is right for you.

---

I was not aware you are eligible NCLEX to get RN license without at the very least an associates degree in nursing (this is referring to your brothers wife who passed the state RN test, but has a degree in another field). First time I've heard of this, interesting.

The average mean income for RNs in my area is close to 100k  yikes (probably lots of outliers skewing the mean).  http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291141.htm#st 

There are quite a few schools throughout the U.S. that allow individuals who possess a bachelors degree in another discipline to enter a nursing program that will indeed grant them a master degree in nursing (bypassing the requirement to have a bachelors degree in nursing).  I was sketpical but it appears to be true.

a few I've looked at

University of Austin

Rush University

University of Hawaii Manoa

http://www.nursing.hawaii.edu/master-entry-program-in-nursing.html

Thank you for your input I think my luck may be changing, have an interview scheduled this coming week.