St. Kitts bound...did anyone go to IUON?

Hello...I was wondering if anyone attended Robert Ross International University of nursing in St. Kitts. I am already accepted and am planning on attending the BSN program down there. I am just now getting ready to sign the papers for my loan and a few concerns are bugging me....I am really worried about paying back that much money. I have heard that many jobs help pay back tuition after you sign a contract..is this true?....is anyone currently paying back those expensive IUON loans and are you having a hard time?
I'm not sure how much money in loans your reffering to but I myself have lots of school loans that I will have to repay after graduation in MAY! with lots of help from God. The hospital that I will b working at does not have loan repayment so I'm on my own. But just focus right now on doing well in school and adapting to a new culture and environment. Hopefully you can check out some other posts from students who are currently attending IUON or have completed the program. Congatulations on your new and exciting journey to St. Kitts. May you make the best of it and stive for excellence.

Welcome to allnurses! You will find lots of info and support/encouragement here.There are some older threads here about folks' experiences with IUON that you may want to review. You can find them using the "search" function in the upper right corner of the screen (I imagine using "IUON" as the keyword would do it).Best wishes!

I am assuming this is the same Ross University that is affiliated with the vet school and med school at St Kitts. Not sure how much the nursing school is but I know the vet school was ridiculously expensive, they let in a ton of people, took all their money, and then used the first year to weed people out. Are you going to St Kitts just for school or do you have family there? I ask because that's A LOT of $$$ and time & effort with the move and all just for nursing school..... I just don't want to see someone get burned. Like I said, I dont know about the nursing school portion of Ross but I know folks who have been burned badly and left with over $27,000+ debt from one year in the other programs....

Please be careful and go in with your eyes open. This sinificant amount of debt should never be taken lightly. Most hospitals that I have heard of will pay back a portion- several thousand- of loans but not 100 thousand. I think it is typically a set amount they will reimburse and I don't think it matters to them if your education 10k or 80k. You might be interested in looking into Indian Health Services loan repayment program. If you agree to work at a priority site after graduating, you may get as much as 20k a year reimbursed per year contracted to work for them. Also, if you are more interested in a tropical gap year, just take that. It'll cost you a whole lot less in the long run.

HOLY SMOKES! I just looked them up and they charge $5900 PER SEMESTER for the ADN program for TUITION ONLY!!! It's $6000 per semester for the BSN and then during your US clinicals $9000 per semester.PLEASE PLEASE be wary.... You don't want to go to nursing school in hopes of having a great paying job afterwards only to be burdened by extremely high student debt afterwards.

Another thing to consider is that you will always be considered a foreign grad when you return to the US in terms of licensure.For that amount of money, and even less, there are private schools in the US that you can attend that do not have weeding out programs.Definitely do a search on the forums here for more about this program.Definitely do a thorough search before even considering signing any loan notes. And be aware that by the time that you finish, we do not know if you will be able to get employer assistance for any of these loans due to the medicare cuts, etc.

Thanks everyone very much for your thoughts.. The more and more I think about it the more the money doesnt seem worth it. There is more things in life that I know I am going to want to be able to afford instead of paying back a 100k loan for the rest of my life. My husband is from st.kitts, so we were just looking into our options to go back to his home for a while and be able to attend school. I appreciate everyone very much....you were all a big help!

first of all, the nursing school is very expensive, but its better than waiting around for years for a nursing school here in the US to accept you. second of all, i don't kno where you guys will be working at, but here in california, they pay alot for nurses so you'll be able to pay back all your loans. I think its wiser to go ahead and start your career. school will always lead you in the right direction, once you become a nurse you won't regret it. or you can wait around forever for a cheaper school. I have a friend who graduate from there...making A LOT of money..so i am looking into it at well.

My daughter was excited about going to St Kitts for nursing, but is having second thoughts after looking at these threads. Does anyone have more information on whether you can come back to California with a degree from St Kitts?

I haven't yet decided about going to St Kitts, but let me fill you in on what I know. I've spoken to the California office numerous times. Leon seems to know a lot of information. My biggest concern was where I would be able to finish my degree. I told him that if I couldn't go to CSU in pueblo Colorado then I would not go to IUON. He informed me that since this is my home state that I would be able to have that as my school for the BSN. Another positive is that they are getting more and more colleges to be affiliated with. If this is such a horrible school why are these state colleges becoming affiliated with IUON? I spoke to a lady in the CSU nursing program (the director, if I remember correctly) She actually went to St.Kitts to visit IUON. She was very impressed and based on the program there CSU became affiliated with IUON. I believe there are more colleges affiliated that aren't listed on the website. I was living in Denver and taking my prereqs through the community college that offered the ADN program. You couldn't get on the wait list until your prereqs were done. Once on the wait list it was a 4-5 year wait to start the actual nursing program. Keep in mind that your sciences (Bio 101 etc,) are only good for 5 years, so you may have to retake your earliest science classes over. Now, that's a money making ploy! Also with nursing if any requirements are changed in that time period you are usually NOT grandfathered in. You have to make the adjustments. I had the opportunity to move to southern Colorado (a less populated area where the wait list is not so long) however, the school I am applying to accepts 30 students/year and they receive approximately 100 applications. In 3 years if I'm lucky I will have my ADN. If go to St. Kitts in MAY 2009 because of my transfer credits I would be there 1 year then transfer to CSU for ! year and graduate with a BSN! Not rocket science here. I think the more education I have the better of I'll be. I am still in the whole process of money etc. so nothing has been decided other than pursuing St. Kitts. I also believe that living in a different county/island requires a lifestyle change. If you plan on going there and living like an American you will be very disappointed. You must adapt and learn to live like a local. Immerse yourself in customs, foods, lifestyle, etc. But, I have to say that sun and water for me are a huge plus! Sure beats cold snow and freezing my butt off here in Colorado. BTW I am married with 3 kids who would all stay in Colorado while I am in St. Kitts. I won't be looking at this as a vacation or a time to party like a rockstar. My priorities require me to get a nursing degree. Giving up my family for 12 weeks at a time is not something we have taken lightly. Let me know what you decide or have decided. Good Luck and I'll try to keep posting on my progress.

Hi,You said you had a friend graduate from IUON and they're now working? Are they employed in California? Because i'm from cali also and after reading these posts it seems like getting licensed here after attending at St.Kitts will be complicated...?

I just got accepted into a IUON for May '09 semester. Anyone else planning on going? Also about the job thing in Cali. I currently work in a hospital as a nurses assistant and let me tell you, we have nurses from all over the world. It doesn't matter where you got your license it just matters that you have it. And nursing jobs are EVERYWHERE. Don't let that worry you.