Financial aid

How to pay for nursing school

November 12, 2024 – 6 mins

Get ready to pay for nursing school

Planning on going to nursing school? It’s time to start figuring out how you’ll pay for it. And we’re not just talking tuition and housing. You may need to pay for student insurance, equipment, lab fees, and more. You’ve got a few options to pay for it all—grants, scholarships, federal student loans, and private student loans. Here’s how you can get them.

Pay for nursing school with the 1-2-3 approach

Paying for school can feel overwhelming, and you may not know where to start. Our 1-2-3 approach breaks down the process and makes it all more manageable.

Step 1: Start with money you won’t have to pay back. There are a few different kinds of free money you can get to pay for nursing school:

Savings: If you or your family have any money saved up, see how much you can dedicate towards paying for school.
Scholarships: These can be need-based, merit-based, or for things like your hobbies and interests. You can get scholarships from your school, the government, and from other organizations and companies. Think they’re just for perfect students or athletes? Wrong! Scholarships are for everyone, and you can find ones made for your major, background, and more with Scholarship Search by Sallie.
Grants: These tend to be need-based, and you can get them from the government or your school. Make sure you fill out the FAFSA^® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to see what grants you may be eligible for and contact your school to see if there are any available.
Work-study: Work-study programs are offered by the government and certain schools. They’re part-time jobs where you can earn money to pay for your education. Like with grants, you need to submit the FAFSA^® to be considered for a work-study position.

Step 2: Apply for federal financial aid. Federal financial aid comes in the form of grants, scholarships, and student loans. Grants and scholarships are free money you don’t have to pay back, but federal student loans are borrowed money you’ll have to pay back with interest. There are a few types of federal student loans you could receive.

Step 3: Consider a private student loan. After you find out how much free money and federal financial aid you have to work with, a private student loan can fill in any gaps. Like federal student loans, private student loans also need to be paid back with interest. However, there are a few differences:

You’ll apply through a financial institution or credit union, not the government.
You’ll need good credit to be eligible for a private student loan (Pro tip: applying with a cosigner may up your chances at getting approved and could get you a better interest rate).
There may be different repayment options available depending on the lender.

The Sallie Mae^® Smart Option Student Loan for nursing school students may help you get the money you need to pay for school. Between fixed and variable interest rates, you can choose which one is right for you.^{footnote 1} Things like tuition, training equipment, housing and more could be totally covered if they’re included in your school’s cost of attendance.^{footnote 2} With no origination fee or prepayment penalty, you have a few options to help you repay.^{footnote 3}

Paying for graduate nursing degrees

You can get student loans for graduate nursing degrees, too. Fill out the FAFSA^® just like you would for an undergraduate degree to get as much federal financial aid as possible. If you still need to cover additional expenses after receiving federal financial aid, you can still pursue scholarships and then private student loans.

Whether you’re going to school in person, online, full-time, or part-time, you’ve got ways to pay. The Sallie Mae^® Graduate School Loan for Health Professions is available to help you pay for your graduate degree in nursing. With different interest rate types and repayment options to choose from, you can select the option that works for you.^{footnote 4} You may cover up to 100% of your school-certified expenses, like tuition, fees, books, and more.^{footnote 2} You may also get a deferment, which can help you lower or postpone your student loan payments for up to 48 months during your internship or residency.^{footnote 5}

Other options to pay

Submitting the FAFSA^® and taking out student loans aren’t the only ways to pay for nursing school. There are a few other opportunities that can help take care of the cost of school:

Your employer: Employers sometimes offer a tuition reimbursement benefit. Ask your employer if they have programs that help pay for school.
Government assistance programs: There are programs run by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that may offer full or partial scholarships to pay for your nursing program while you work in areas experiencing health professional shortages.
Apprenticeships: An apprenticeship is when you get paid while receiving on-the-job training. You could be in the field as a nurse and get paid while you learn. Research if there are any apprenticeship programs in your area.
Military service: A benefit of joining the military is that they may take care of the costs of tuition, fees, housing, and more in exchange for your service. Check if the military offers to pay for your nursing degree.

Find the money you need

You’ve got several ways to help you pay for nursing school. With a little bit of planning and some research, you’ll be on your way to a nursing degree before you know it.

footnote Sallie Mae does not provide, and these materials are not meant to convey, financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult your own financial advisor, tax advisor, or attorney about your specific circumstances.

footnote External links and third-party references are provided for informational purposes only. Sallie Mae cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided by any third parties and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions contained therein. Any copyrights, trademarks, and/or service marks used in these materials are the property of their respective owners.

footnote SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Sallie Mae Bank, are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

footnote Sallie Mae, the Sallie Mae logo, and other Sallie Mae names and logos are service marks or registered service marks of Sallie Mae Bank. All other names and logos used are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

footnote Borrow responsibly
We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.

footnote Loans for Undergraduate & Career Training Students are not intended for graduate students and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Student must attend a participating school. Student or cosigner must meet the age of majority in their state of residence. Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents must reside in the U.S., attend school in the U.S., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

footnote Graduate School Loan and Graduate School Loan for Health Professions are for graduate students at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Student or cosigner must meet the age of majority in their state of residence. Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents must reside in the U.S., attend school in the U.S., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

footnote 1. Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.

footnote 2. For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Applications submitted to Sallie Mae through a partner website will be subject to a lower maximum loan request amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time.

footnote 3. Although we do not charge you a penalty or fee if you prepay your loan, any prepayment will be applied as provided in your promissory note: first to Unpaid Fees and costs, then to Unpaid Interest, and then to Current Principal.

footnote 4. Advertised APRs for Graduate School Loan, MBA Loans, and Graduate School Loan for Health Professions assume a $10,000 loan with a 2-year in-school period. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.

footnote 5. To apply for this deferment, customers and an official from the internship, clerkship, fellowship, or residency program must complete and submit a deferment form to us for consideration. If approved, the loan will revert back to the same repayment option that applied during the in-school period for up to 12 months. Customers can apply for and receive a maximum of four 12-month deferment periods. Interest is charged during the deferment period and Unpaid Interest will be added to the Current Principal at the end of each deferment period, which will increase the Total Loan Cost.

footnote Information advertised valid as of 11/25/2024.

footnote SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. CHECK SALLIEMAE.COM FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PRODUCT INFORMATION.

footnote Sallie Mae loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank.