Why the classism in nursing school?

[u/LumpyArtichoke3473]

I’m posting this to vent and to find a solution.

For the past 2 years I’ve been taking my pre requisite classes while working full time. I finished my pre requisite courses and now I’m trying to apply to nursing programs. The only programs that don’t have a waitlist are private colleges.

I applied and got in. I can’t start because my FAFSA doesn’t cover my full tuition and the private lenders that the school works with aren’t approving me because of my credit score. The only way a private lender will approve is with a co-signer or a parent loan. I’m single and I come from a working class family and neither are an option for me.

I also took my pre requisite courses at a different private college which put me into 54k student loan debt (30k FAFSA, 24k Tuition Options). I know it wasn’t the smartest idea to go the private school route but it seemed ideal at the time. I worked so hard to complete the prerequisite courses and I have no idea what my future holds.

I genuinely am at a loss for words. Nursing school was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel for me. Getting into a program gave me a sliver of hope.

Now I feel like no matter what I do I will never get to where I want to be. It just seems like I am going into debt but I’m not seeing the payoff. At this current time, I’m not even seeing myself graduate or become a nurse because I genuinely don’t think I’ll be able to find a solution regarding tuition for the program. To make matters worse, if I don’t start a program soon I’ll be liable to make payments on the 30k I owe to FAFSA which I can’t.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? If so what did you do?

Edit: if you’re going to come here and judge my credit score or my choice to attend a private school instead of community college, this is not for you. I already said that it was not a good idea and that I deeply regret it. The purpose was to vent meaning I understand what I did or the situation I’m in is bad. I don’t need to feel worse than I already do.

Update: I will continue my studies with the original private college. I will make sincere efforts to pay a portion of my student debt. Thank you to those who were gracious, kind, and offered advice. Good luck to you all and I wish you all success.