Match me for cheap universities for an oos cost for nursing [FL resident, 3.6 GPA, 1400 SAT, <$15k]

Chance Me / Match Me
1
  • US domestic / US Citizen
  • State/Location of residency: Florida
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Traditional
  • Other special factors: (first generation to college, legacy, recruitable athlete, etc.) N/A

Cost Constraints / Budget
15k, but absolute lowest possible including tuition and housing needed. Paying on my own.

Intended Major(s) Nursing BSN

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.6
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.1
  • College GPA: (for transfer applicants)
  • Class Rank: 70/400
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1400 SAT (710R, 690M)

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • English: AP Lang and ENC 1102 DE
  • Math: AP Calc AB
  • Science: AP Physics 1
  • History and social studies: Honors required classes only
  • Language other than English: Spanish 3
  • Visual or performing arts: Tech Theater
  • Other academic courses: N/A

College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
(Include college courses taken while in high school if not included above.)

  • General education course work: Career Preparation, ENC 1102
  • Major preparation course work:

Awards
Merit speaking award for a GCSE speech

Extracurriculars
Work as a busser, treasurer of trivia team. Admittedly, very weak in this bit.

Essays/LORs/Other
Positive LORs from coach, teacher, and employer. Wrote an essay about license plates, I think it’s considerably strong.

Schools

UNC Asheville, William Paterson, MSU Mankato, Fitchburg State, UMN Twin Cities, UMass Boston (not much aid).

I’m using college as a way to get out of FL and away from my family, and establish a home somewhere far. Whichever place would be the best for this is where I want to try it out. Sorry for it being relatively vague.

2

A budget of $15k is very hard to get to at an OOS university. Florida is a very big state and you might be able to achieve your goal of getting away from family by picking a school of the other end of the state but still be able to use your Bright Futures and other state money. Sort of a ‘hiding in plain sight’ situation.

Florida Southern is a private school but it has a lot of funding and many people like it for nursing.

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Because of my own issues with Florida itself, even just the weather I don’t like, it’s better for me if I just go out of state. You can probably tell by schools I’ve applied to that I really prioritise the north or somewhere far.

4

With a $15,000 contribution from your family…you really need financial aid (need or merit based) that will cover full tuition.

Have you run net price calculators for these colleges?

5

Congrats on your record. Florida is a large state. Let’s say you are in Miami. Yiu can go to Pensacola ir Jax or Ft Myers.

$15k isn’t gking to cut it. That’s room and board and at some schools not even that.

Your list is entirely unaffordable.
A school like W Carolina will be about as low as you can go - low 20s.

How will you pay ? Where will the funds come from?

You might get free tuition/housimg at Troy or even a full ride at Prairie View or Alabama A&M - if deadlines haven’t passed.

Troy

The Scholars Award

  • 30-32 ACT/1360-1440 RSAT and a 3.7 GPA
  • Tuition and basic housing
6

Life has a cost. So often there are trade offs. You can’t purchase what you can afford.

7

nearly all of them are around 20-30k.
my family is not paying any of it, i have to take all loans.

8

Loans more than the direct loan limit ($5.5k-7.5k) typically require a cosigner.

9

in that case i can’t go to university straight up. housing costs are more than that here.

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10

Lucky for you, you can only borrow $5500 because if you took on that much debt, you would like crush yourself financially for years and years and years. Like most of your life.

It’s why the government has limits - to protect you from that colossal mistake.

Perhaps you need to work for a year, establish residency elsewhere and save up.

Can you work at Starbucks, go to ASU free and make one of these programs work ?

11

AAMU does not appear to have a nursing major.

PVAMU has a nursing major, but Undergraduate Programs - College of Nursing says that it is a four and a half year program, while University Scholarships - Office of Scholarship Services lists the full ride as lasting four years (eight semesters). The OP would need to find a way to fund the ninth semester – possibly by taking the direct loan every semester and saving the money to pay for that ninth semester.

Troy has a nursing major, but it is also a nine semester program, according to https://www.troy.edu/_assets/academics-records/departments/records/degree-maps/2025-2026/healthsciences/bsn081125sem-accessible.pdf .

12

Will they co-sign loans. The max you can get in federally funded Direct loans is quite limited.

Freshman $5500

Sophomore $6500

Junior $7500

Senior $7500

That’s it. Unless your parents will take a parent plus loan (which now has a lower limit) or will co-sign a private loan.

Have you considered other options to get your nursing degree? An associates degree in nursing from a community college might be affordable on the direct loan…if you are willing to commute from home (it sounds like you don’t want to do this).

Perhaps you could get CNA certification, and work as a CNA and then apply to nursing school later.

I know none of these sounds ideal…but you have to figure out how you will cover the costs to attend college.

13

Some of these may have had scholarships deadlines passed but if op had 4 years tuition and housing at Troy, they might be able to save enough for that last semester.

If OP has bright futures, they likely need to stay in state. It’s a large state. They can move north later.

14

Where is the $15,000 coming from?

Are you planning on paying for your nursing degree in full with loans? At an out of state college?