Nurses Reveal How Much They Still Owe in Student Loans

Student loan borrowers got some relief last week when the White House announced the Education Department will be canceling up to $10,000 in debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year and up to $20,000 in debt for Pell Grant recipients, which are reserved for low-income students. It applies to all federal loans and extends the moratorium on student loan repayments one final time through December.

If someone has less than $10,000 left on their loan, it will be forgiven entirely. Borrowers, including those with undergraduate and graduate degrees, will have until the end of next year to apply. The department will also reimburse borrowers that have continued making payments since March 2020. Overall, up to 43 million Americans will qualify for debt relief. Applications for the program are set to open later this fall.

That’s good news for hundreds of thousands of nurses with student loans. Nurses are no strangers to student debt. The average student nurse graduates with around $19,928 in debt when getting an associate degree of nursing (ADN), $23,711 in debt when getting a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN), and $47,321 in debt when getting a master’s degree in nursing. Studies show around 70% of nurses need to take out loans to fund their education.

Millions of nurses reacted to the news online by sharing how much they still owe in student debt. Some managed to get through school without racking up thousands of dollars in debt, but others had to take out big loans they are still struggling to pay off.

I worked 2 nursing jobs and went from my RN to BSN through it all. No debt!

Cara

I owe a LOT. I’m happy for any help they’re offering. I took every prerequisite I could at a community college, and I also worked the whole time and qualified for grants. It’s still not enough to cover everything. But I’m “lazy” and “should have picked a better degree” according to people who went to college over 20 years ago, or never 🙄.

Krystal

Nothing. I paid back ALL my loans for college. Nursing school and law school.

Deborah

2 degrees and going to start a masters: £0 🏴

I don’t know how you guys get through life with so much debt from education and healthcare 😬.

I can’t sleep when I miss the window cleaner and have to owe him the £6 until he comes the next month. 😅 I don’t know how I’d cope with being thousands upon thousands in debt 😣.

Bobby

I paid off all my loans. I paid for my two kid’s degrees. I’m thrilled to hear about people getting some debt Paid off. Other people being lifted up out of debt is wonderful. Certainly not upset to hear about others’ windfall!

Victoria

My parents paid for my BSN, and I paid for my graduate classes one at a time. Took 12 years but I had no debt.

Margaret

Zero I paid off my loans for my ADN and then worked a ton of overtime before starting my BSN, so it was paid for. I paid my master’s as I went. I only qualified for tuition reimbursement from my employer, and I took full advantage of that.

Jean

When it opens, I plan to apply, and I will feel zero guilt in it.

Jennifer

Zero! Parents budgeted and saved my whole life to afford things without credit, loans or debt and this included a degree for my brother and 2 degrees for me. And now hubby and I have paid for an associate’s and a bachelor’s for our own kids. No debt owed and no relief coming our way!

Kim

When I graduated in 1990, I had $30k in student loans and I paid them off in full. It took me 10 years to pay it off.

Deanna

I’m 49, still paying off loans for a BSN from 25 years ago. I took the loan; I’ll pay it off on my own.

Diane

I’m not sure if I qualify, but I know one thing I’m really happy about: my tax dollars are going to pay off other people’s student loans. I will always prefer to do that over lining the pockets of billionaire CEO’s! 🤘

Jourdan

Roughly still $70. About half is government loans. Will be forgiven after my 10 years of working for nonprofit/govt in 2024. Can’t wait.

Beckie

I worked while I was in school full time as a single parent raising a family and paid for my schooling myself. I don’t agree with we the people paying off your student loans. I do believe they should drop the interest owed for the loans. If I can work to pay for my schooling, so can you.

Cathy

I’ll be at $0 balance once the debt relief kicks in 😏😏.

Nana

When I went to a diploma nursing program in 1991 it was $2400. I got a scholarship and financial aid that paid for my books and my uniforms. My 3 kids went to 4 yr colleges and their tuition was $19,000, $46,000, and $21000/ yr. People commenting have no clue how unscrupulous these lenders were to these kids.

Stacie