Age and nursing school

[tiny_dancer]

How old were you when you got into the nursing program? I feel like I'm taking forever. I will be 22 next month and I'll I'm still not in the program. I took the HESI exam in December, got into UT, but ran out of time and didn't submit the reading portion. The deadline for the program was Jan 5th and because of the holidays the earliest I could take the reading portion (since it didn't go through) was Jan 6th. So my backup plan is to apply to the ADN program at the community college but for that I also have to take the A&P portion which I'm studying for now. If I don't get into the ADN program I will have to reapply at UT for the spring semester. I just feel like my life is on hold right now and I feel so old. I wasn't full time while taking my basics because of my ADD. I hate blaming it on that but it honestly did ruin me academically. I take adderall now and I feel like everything makes more sense and wish I had gone to a psychiatrist earlier but what's done is done. So at what age did you start nursing school? BTW I like with my parents and work at a restaurant so maybe that's also why I feel frustrated and powerless over this situation.

[LJR89]

You'd be one of the younger ones in my program, but we have a pretty wide range of ages. Youngest is 17 (pseo) oldest is in her 50s!

[tiny_dancer]

17 wow! She will be 20-or 20 1/2 fresh out of nursing school. So jealous! And so would you say that not everyone in nursing finishes in the standard 4 years? 2 years of basics and 2 years of nursing fresh out of high school? I missed a semester and was part time while doing my basics.

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

I was 17 going into my 4 year course

[LJR89]

No, not everyone finishes school in 4 years. Not everyone gets in there first try, not everyone knows they even want to be nurses until they are much older. Don't worry about being normal, just worry about trying your hardest. I saw somebody on here say that you are going to get 4 years older no matter what you do, so you might as well be working towards being a nurse if that's what you want to do!!!

[tiny_dancer]

Thank you so much for that :) We all have different journeys and it's not always ideal but it will happen.

[emtpbill, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

44 and I'm in school[emoji33]

[aeris99]

At 22 I thought I wanted to be a bartender for the rest of my life 🙄

I'm 34 and graduating in 4 months. Don't hold yourself to anyone's timeline but your own.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

We have 2 girls who are 22 and they are the youngest. Our oldest is a woman I. Her 50s. Most are in their late twenties/early thirties. I just turned 40 and will graduate in May. I was admitted when I was 38.

You are so incredibly young. Stop worrying.

[cracklingkraken, ASN, RN]

22 is not old.

[GraceAnna, BSN, RN]

Going on my 7th year of college (involving changing my major 3 times, having a very serious life-threatening accident to direct me to nursing), and will graduate (finally!) this August with my BSN. I'll turn 25 when I graduate, which is still incredibly young. When I was 20, I was in rehab for physical therapy and the like, for 6 months following the previously mentioned life-changer. It was after that whole experience I realized how young I really was/am, and how many opportunities (many I'm sure I don't even know of) there really are! I know of so many incredible people who have started pursuing a nursing degree after 3 or 4 or 5 decades of life... (to those of you reading, you are rock stars!! keep up the awesome work!) they remind me that I can do this and have so much ahead of me! The same goes for you chana0209. If I can do this (and do it well, might I add - with all the painstaking diligence and determination it requires) then you can do it. No question. Stay focused and try to be patient with yourself, then just do the next thing. [emoji6]

[nlitened]

32 and graduating in April