Looking for guidance...

U.S.A. Massachusetts

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Hello All,

I am new to this site and but have heard great things and was hoping to get some guidance. I am a 23 year old male looking to get into nursing. My aunt was a nurse for many many years before she passed away and she always loved her job and would tell me how fulfilling it is. I'm looking for guidance because I am a little older than most college students and made the mistake of falling into a work routine after high school instead of going to college full-time. I have some minor college credits and applied to UMass Boston and Quincy College under general studies to basically take the prerequisite courses for Nursing programs. I just wanted to spark up some convo and see if I am starting in the right direction. Thank you all for any advice!

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Specializes in Psych; Med/Surg.

Hi cruz! I would say you're off to a good start. I would suggest that you try to take all of your prereqs at a community college as it will save you a lot of money and the schedules provided by the schools are very flexible for working individuals like yourself. Also take the time to look into other schools and make sure you consider all of your options and routes towards becoming a nurse. You have LPN and ADN programs at community colleges and BSN & MSN programs at bigger colleges and universities. Just make sure you take the time to do some research, visit the schools, attend info sessions, meet with an admissions counselor or rep and consider your budget for starting school. Take everything into consideration while making your finalized list of nursing schools to apply to.

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A bit older...? Ha! I'm 44. I think you'll find many non-traditional students along the way.

Read the many posts that others have started/commented on regarding advice. As for me, I would tell you that ONLY YOU know if you are doing the right thing. Find out about what school entails, what the job entails, and then listen to your heart.

Starting with your prereqs is the first step. See how you like your health-related classes and go from there!

Best of Luck!

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if your just taking prereqs, you might want to look at community colleges. (cheaper)

some community colleges also offer ADN programs, 2 years for a nursing associates, and then you can do rn to BSN

but at the end you want a BSN for sure to move forward in this job market

if you have time, and only some classes only, consider a regular 4 year program for nursing

some schools, you just need the prereqs, and go into a 2 year/3 year BSN, all depends on what they offer where you are.

there are also hospital based diploma programs, but again you want your BSN, also look at NCLEX pass rates and job placement, big deciding factors as well

if not, look at accelerated programs, mostly where i am from, these programs are second degrees, so for students with degrees in other fields, so this may not apply to you

but BSN is the end goal you want, so look at how much time you can put in

some programs have pre-reqs built into their cirriculum too, all are different

look at the different schools around you

see what they offer

and what they require

and then decide what is best for you

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Thank you all for the assistance! Hopefully things go as planned!

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You're a spring chicken!! When I started the Nursing program at Quincy College I was one of the youngest at 23 :) best of luck to you!! Sounds like you're heading in the right direction, get those pre-reqs done and maybe look into getting a job as a PCA/CNA somewhere too! Definitely helps a lot!

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