Received my letter today!!

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I received my acceptance letter today. I have a seat for the fall class beginning in August. I am not sure what to do though. I was not expecting to get in until January (they told me they would do a review in October, I guess they did one earlier). I am excited, nervous, scared etc. you name it, I feel it. I still need to take the two A&P classes, psychology (human growth & development) and microbiology. If I accept the seat into this class, I will not be able to take a full course load as I have two small children (ages 4 and 1 1/2) at home.

Should I take the first nursing course as well as the psychology and the first A&P and then continue on in January? I would have to find someone to take my daughter to preschool on Mondays as I would be in class all day Monday. Should I forgo my seat until January as I planned to? I would have to quit my job sooner than I thought also. I also have to still apply for financial aid.

What to do? Anyone taking a full course load with small children at home? How to handle it?

Thanks in advance for reading and any input would be appreciated.

Debi

Wow! Congratulations for getting accepted. I will say though that I am quite surprised that you got a seat without having both anatomy/physiology 1&2 completed. Most schools want you to have both of them done. Some schools will let you take the microbiology along with other nursing classes but some don't. Do they know you still have to take A&P? I would strongly encourage you to wait. It is better to take it slow and do it right then do it fast and have a possibility that you may have to repeat. You just never know. Sometimes it seems easy until you actually have to do it.

Again it is a personal decision for you but I strongly encourage you to wait until January at least.

First, I would like to congratulate you on being accepted into nursing school. I'm a guy, so I don't have any experience dealing with small children. I'm sure that being a young mother demands a lot of your time, and you'll not have much time to study I'm afraid. I admire you young ladies who go to school and take care of your families, because I know it's a great juggling act. You'll have to make a lot of sacrifices one way or another to pull this off, but it is possible. I agree with the earlier reply, that you may want to consider waiting at least until the first of the year. I still don't see how you'll get the A&P out of the way before then. I'm a 40 year old man, and I took A&P two years ago. I had to spend 15 - 20 hours a week studying just for that class! I had to know a thousand things on each chapter, just to know most of the hundred that was on the test. There was also 3 - 5 diagrams on each chapter, along with one or two essay questions. I've seen several young ladies have to withdrawal from this class because of family matters, and come back later to take it again (some never came back!). I'm not trying to sound negative, just being realistic. If you're a good student, and know how to manage your time well, you may be able to do it. I wish you well on your decision. Let us know if we can be of help. PEACE. Darby

student Deb,

My suggestion is to wait until you have at least the A&P out of the way. I am a single mom with 2 daughters who are 12 and 15. A&P class is a challenge to say the least. It is the only class I am taking and Darby is right. I am spending at least 20 hours a week studying just to get a C or a B. I am envious of those students who get those out of the way before they start the Nursing classes. even if it means waiting to get into the Nursing program a little while it will be well worth it.

Good luck!

wheezy

Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU,.
originally posted by studentdeb

i received my acceptance letter today. i have a seat for the fall class beginning in august. i am not sure what to do though. i was not expecting to get in until january (they told me they would do a review in october, i guess they did one earlier). i am excited, nervous, scared etc. you name it, i feel it. i still need to take the two a&p classes, psychology (human growth & development) and microbiology. if i accept the seat into this class, i will not be able to take a full course load as i have two small children (ages 4 and 1 1/2) at home.

should i take the first nursing course as well as the psychology and the first a&p and then continue on in january? i would have to find someone to take my daughter to preschool on mondays as i would be in class all day monday. should i forgo my seat until january as i planned to? i would have to quit my job sooner than i thought also. i also have to still apply for financial aid.

what to do? anyone taking a full course load with small children at home? how to handle it?

thanks in advance for reading and any input would be appreciated.

debi

debi, congratulations on getting accepted!

i wished i had the "right" answer for you, but i don't. all i can say, it can be done. i quit my job, was single, 3 chilren (at that time ages 10, 3, 1) when i went to lpn school.

when i start the rn program this fall, i am once again single, will work weekends and will have to take a full load because of a scholarship. although i don't have small children now, two of my three are teenagers and a young adult, but my teenagers need me too.

only you know what is and will be best for you. those questions you have, will you still be faced with the same questions in jan?

all the best to you, debi.

Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU,.

not all schools require you to have the a&p and micro completed ( unless it is the lpn-rn (adn) mobility program), you can take these classes along with the nursing courses (bsn may be different) , but they do strongly suggest it as it will lessen the load, but so many have done it.

I also agree that it is a personal decision... You know your abilities more than anyone else.. Do you have a supportive family that can watch children while you study??? I had all the other classes complete so all I had to worry about were the nursing classes and that is hard enough.. and I don't have kids... I would go talk to the nursing program counselor and explain your situation.. And find out if you will definately have a spot in January... They may make you go through the whole process and compete with others again... If that was the case I wouldn't take the chance of not getting in the January class...

Originally posted by nurs2b

I would go talk to the nursing program counselor and explain your situation.. And find out if you will definately have a spot in January... They may make you go through the whole process and compete with others again... If that was the case I wouldn't take the chance of not getting in the January class... [/b]

I was thinking the same thing last night after I replied to this thread. I'm sorry that you are in such a pinch on this decision, and only you know what you're capable of. Just like nurs2b was saying, you may have to go through another hassle trying to get in later on. I hate these kinds of decisions! It's not like we nursing students don't have enough on our plate already!:o I still have to take Micro along with my nursing courses next summer, and I wish that I would have had the drive to get it out of the way this summer. I do hope things turn out to suit you. Good luck, and let us know if we can help. PEACE. Darby

Thanks everyone for your input and support. Looking at the courseload for the nursing program, they have for a full time schedule:

A&P I,

Intro to Nursing Practice;

Basic Nursing Concepts;

Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning;

Intro to Psy and

the college experience

for a total of 18 hours.

I have the Intro to Psy already and do not have to take the college experience because I have prior college.

I pretty sure I can attend on a part-time basis so I am thinking of taking the

A&P I (4 credits)

the intro to nursing practice (no lab or clinical) (1 credit)

Health Assessment & Clinical Reasoning (2 credits) with a lab

Not too sure about PSY human growth & devel. I might take that at a later date.

If I did this, I would be in school all day Monday, and Tues & Thurs evening (for A&P). The rest of the time I would be home with the kids and of course studying. I still have to apply for the financial aid which I will do online this evening. I also will have to find someone to take my daughter to preschool on Mondays.

If I can't find someone to take her, I will only take the nursing course (1 credit) and A&P and Psy. If I at least take one course, I will have my foot in the door and can pick up more classes later when she is in school (next september) At that time, my son will be old enough to attend the daycare at the college also.

If I can work out all the kinks, it will be a go.

Thanks everyone for listening and your input. I will keep you updated. I am beginning to get excited.

Debi

I know it seems overwhelming to think about taking all those courses together, but they wouldn't do if they didn't feel that it was doable.... I would go ahead and take all the nursing classes and the A&P... If they would allow you to take the Health Assessment later, then I would do that.. But some programs are pretty laid out the way it has to be done... Find out from some of the other parents and see if your child can carpool with some of the other preschoolers.. I am sure someone can help you....

Good Luck in whatever you decide.. :)

18 credit hours is too much for a single person let alone one with 2 kids i would wait or go part time

18 credits is just fine if you can hadle it. If I can do it, anyone can.

Good luck

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