Congratulations on your nursing degree and gift. I have 2 Berninas that are fun to sew on .My first is Activa 240 .It has lots of decorative quilting stitches 3 alphabet fonts so you can write things for quilt labels or for fun.mine was in your price range when I bought it new 5 years ago last year I moved up to Artista 630 because I wanted embroidery and a back up machine to use when one of them is being serviced.What ever machine you get make sure it has the features you want and have fun playing with all the great machines out there.