Discouraged

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Dec 2, 2007

Hi Huffy, awww don't get too discouraged. 2011 is a long ways away and besides your dh may change his mind. The armed forces have a way of offering people good deals at the end to get people to continue their careers.

Not sure what to tell you about Maric. I interviewed there when I was trying to decide where to go to school. I know you don't have to pay up front but will get grants and loans. The poorer you are the more grants you get. Loans will make up the rest. Yeah they don't give out too much information until you are accepted. I guess you are expected to go on faith? :lol2:

I've heard that National is competitive and you do need a high GPA to go there.

May I ask why you chose Maric? :)

huffy79 · Dec 2, 2007

Thanks for responding. I was taking classes at Grossmont and headed towards their nursing program but I was told that they lost one of their accredidations, so I asked my advisor (I think you all call them counselors out here :lol2: ) and he said yes and that the wait list was atleast 3, probably 5 years by the time I got to apply. And dh is very adament that he is done with the Navy, he's going to school for Criminal Justice and will be done right before he gets out. It was actually a mutual decision, we feel that the military life isn't for us or our child so we chose to move on. With that decision, I had to look at getting into somewhere fast so I looked into Maric. I've gone as far as checking the university where we are moving to and they will accept everything from Maric so I can continue on with my education. They just recently switched the program up and it will now only be 20 months and you start your clinicals right away. You take your gen eds right along side of your nursing track. It seems like its a good change and it will move along nicely. I'm not sure where you chose to go, but if you are still considering it, I would definitely check it out now. I just have a difficult time b/c all of my previous schoolwork and healthcare work is in another state so getting that information and transcripts is a bit of a pain for me. I'm not used to not knowing about the financial aid until last, at the university I went to, we knew right away. Its just different and I'm being so hard on myself for not doing well. But...as my dh said, I only had a little over a week to study and I was basically blindsided by this test.

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Dec 2, 2007

Oh wow so Maric has changed and for the better! :) That really is going to get students to go. I know I would have chosen that route if Maric were like that when I was checking it out. What stopped me was the schedule of classes the guy showed me beforehand... what you had to take before getting into the nursing program. I would not have gotten in for a year because I would have been taking their pre-reqs. At that time in my life I wanted to get into nursing school immediately but I still had to take micro and A&P2. 20 months is very good to get an RN!

I decided to go the LVN route. I will graduate in January. The program I chose took 18 months with 2 semesters of pre-reqs. Can't believe how long it took and it was full time too. I go to school at Grossmont Health Occupations Center in Santee. Wish Maric had that option when I was applying!

So what is the passing score on the TEAS anyway?

huffy79 · Dec 2, 2007

I know that everybody is either getting a 75 or 80% so I'm pretty low compared to that. I did sit down last night and talked to my husband, who got me to see a whole other side of this. If I don't get in in January, then I'll just take some classes at Grossmont and try in May, and if that doesn't pan out then I'll continue on at Grossmont until all of my prereqs are done, which will be spring 2009 and then I'll apply at National. That will give me enough time to raise my GPA to the level it needs to be and with the waiting time that others have mentioned, that will have me getting done in October/Nov 2011..my husband departs the Navy in December 2011. Hopefully the wait won't take that long if I do have to go that route, but if it does, it won't be a bad thing either. I just won't move back early like we had planned. So I'm thinking a little clearer now that I've talked to dh and it doesn't seem as bad.

I've never heard of GHOC, I wish I would have known about that when I was considering LVN. Have you decided where you are going after you get done there?

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Dec 4, 2007

Hey Huffy, glad to hear that you are seeing things in a different light.

GHOC is an adult school. It used to be with ROP. It started out at Grossmont Hospital during WWII but now it's next to West Hills high school in Santee. As I've mentioned before, it's a very long program.

I do want the RN. I just have to take Micro and then with my LVN license I can apply as soon as Micro is complete. I was looking into Grossmont College and National University. I definitely want a BSN when all is said and done and even an MSN at some point. I know I will apply as soon as possible to Grossmont and then see. Probably I will apply at City too and also at National. NU is big bucks. $28,000 for LVN -BSN. But BSN is what I want and it will only take 16 months they said. But other posters here said you can't get in NU right away. So if I can get in Grossmont faster then I will go there. I guess it just depends on who will let me in first! :)

What pre-reqs have you have done so far?

huffy79 · Dec 4, 2007

I took the majority of the prereqs in Ky, where I started a nursing program before I got married. However...somehow biology and anatomy are not the same here as they are in Ky, same goes with psych. So here I am basically at the beginning again. Now that I'm older, I am soooo kicking myself in the rear for not following through and getting my degree back then. My priorities were so misplaced and I am definitely seeing that now. Oh if the older me can just go back and tell the younger me exactly what to do......

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Dec 4, 2007

I know Maric College has a 10 year recency. They said my biology wouldn't count because I took it too long ago. Have you taken biology? Do they accept that? I think Grossmont has a 5 year recency counting from the last year of the last class. Does Maric say your classes are too old?

I'd post more but I"m getting tired. :lol2:

catzy5 · Dec 7, 2007

I took my TEAS test for Maric today and I did awful. Absolutely awful. I got a 65.9%, I am so disappointed in myself. My admissions rep told me that it's just the tie breaker at this point but I feel like I could do so much better. I would take it again, but we're kinda strapped for money and the $30 that they're charging is a little much around the holidays. I've thought about going to other schools or continuing on at Grossmont, but my husband is getting out of the Navy in 2011 and with tthe waitlists, I'll be pushing it or not even in the program at all. I am just getting so discouraged because I've been busting my butt and everytime I turn around they're changing something or not accepting something that they already had me do or "not receiving" something that I know for a fact was sent to them. I asked today when we should find out if we're accepted or not and my rep said Jan 7th, classes start Jan 22, so I asked if I could talk to a financial aid person to see if its even doable on that end so I don't waste my time and she said not until I've been accepted. So when we find out we have a little over a week to find $50,000 to pay for this program. I'm not sure if I can get that much and if I can't, I'd like to know now. Am I just wasting my time and should I look somewhere else? I have to raise my GPA before I can apply to like National or SDSU but I know I can do it. Has anyone looked into National or gone there? How do they're classes work? Someone told me that its a class a month, is this true? If so, this may be doable as well. I guess I just need some reassurance and maybe some guidance. I'm going to be 28 at the end of this month and I have a 3 yr old girl and my husband has decided to end his naval career in 2011, which all makes me very stressed.

I found the TEAS to be a very hard exam, did you get the study guide? I found that helped a lot.

I agree with you it is a big circle of hassles getting through this but you have to hang in there! My first instructor I took as a returning adult student said, Getting a degree is a lesson in tenacity, and it's so true, if you can stick it out for all the changes and mishaps and red tape then you will get your degree!!

good luck

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Dec 8, 2007

I found the TEAS to be a very hard exam, did you get the study guide? I found that helped a lot.
I agree with you it is a big circle of hassles getting through this but you have to hang in there! My first instructor I took as a returning adult student said, Getting a degree is a lesson in tenacity, and it's so true, if you can stick it out for all the changes and mishaps and red tape then you will get your degree!!
good luck

That is so true! Everyone in my class has been saying how we have to put up with the teacher's moods and all the baloney and now it is worth it because we are ready to graduate. Yup stick it out and the rewards will be great! :)

huffy79 · Dec 8, 2007

I found the TEAS to be a very hard exam, did you get the study guide? I found that helped a lot.
I agree with you it is a big circle of hassles getting through this but you have to hang in there! My first instructor I took as a returning adult student said, Getting a degree is a lesson in tenacity, and it's so true, if you can stick it out for all the changes and mishaps and red tape then you will get your degree!!
good luck

I had the Kaplan Nurses entrance exam study manual that I used. I didn't have the money to pay for the ATI one since it was thrown at me at the last minute. Sad but true. Plus I didn't think I'd have the time to order it and all. I just used the Kaplan one and it helped but my problem was the math and the chemistry and physics part. Everything else I did okay in, but my scores didn't help when I was getting 20's in those sections. I know now what I have to study for if I have to take it again, I guess. I'm hanging in there, just frustrated. Jan 7th I'll know either way though.

Frairie: When I talked to Grossmont and SDSU they both said they wouldn't take them because the class formate and descriptions are way different than what California classes are set up. I don't understand that, but what can you do right? I didn't even bother with Maric because when I applied its when they had the year of prereqs and then the nursing track so I'd have to sit until I could get into a class and I'd probably be on a wait list to see if someone dropped out. I've decided I'm going to take Bio at Grossmont in the spring if I don't get into Maric so I'll be covered out here. So anyways, thats why they won't take any of my prereqs except English and speech.