Thinking of Dropping Out

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hi everyone, I'm a sophomore in a BSN program and I'm torn as in what I should do.

My original plan was to get my ASN and then transfer to a BSN school part time so that I can move out (family issues) and be independent.

I was offered a full ride to a community college and my mom managed to convince me that it was better to go to a uni, which I regret so much.

My issue isn't anything with nursing, it is a dream career for me, but I am frustrated because of the curriculum, the teachers expect us to know it all without even teaching/demonstrating what to do. Also that I have to wait another 2.5 years of hard work before I can graduate, move out and be independent.

I feel so stressed out and burnt I don't think I have it in me to continue at this point :( .

I'm not sure if I should

1. Drop out and get a full time job and go back to school after a few years or

2. go to community college in the evening with a part time job

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

In MY OPINION dropping out should be a last resort. There are ways to be independent. Do you have your CNA? If so you can work as a CNA part time and maybe find income based housing or apartments. Is there dorms you can live at on campus? Can you get a roommate? Or maybe transfer to an ASN program If you are still in prerequisites and go to school part time and you could find a job that works around your school schedule.

I won't tell you to suck it up because i don't know your personal struggle. You have to do what is best for you. But once you get in the habit of making good money and have a little independence it is so hard to go back to school. I know this from experience.

If you drop out, you may find yourself never going back. Many people say they will come back to school 'after this' or 'after that', and then life happens. You don't want thirty years to go by with no BSN to show for it. It will be a lot easier on you if you stick it out and accomplish your goal now.

DO NOT DROP OUT. I also received a full ride from a community college out of high school but chose to attend a university instead. The worst mistake I made in my academic career. Grades were horrible. I transferred back home to that same community college, grades that I have failed were all dropped & I am sitting with a 3.4 GPA & haven't gotten a C since coming to a community college. The environment is much better because classes are much smaller. Compare a 30 student max anatomy class in a community college to a 300 student minimum in a University. I am sure you're smart & know what you're doing, do what you think is best. But dropping out shouldn't be in your eyes.

Thank you for the responses. I'm currently looking into transferring to Bergen Community College. Maybe they will accept my prereqs?

If I transfer to a community college, would I be able to finish the program in about a year since I took my sciences, english and math?

Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
Thank you for the responses. I'm currently looking into transferring to Bergen Community College. Maybe they will accept my prereqs?

If I transfer to a community college, would I be able to finish the program in about a year since I took my sciences, english and math?

I made the same mistake! Had horrible grades and had to make the decision to pay out of pocket (financial aid suspension due to bad grades) or switch to my community college. I switched to my community college, it has taken me about a year to do my nursing prerequisites and I am planning to apply for the LPN program this spring. It will take me a year to finish the program then another year to do the RN program.

I'm not sure if you can finish the RN program in a year, it depends on the school's requirements. At my community college it takes two years (without LPN) because you have to go the pace of the program and take certain nursing classes per semester.

I am not sure where you are with this situation, but I just wanted to give you a little bit of encouragement. In my experience and in talking with other nurses who went to other schools, nursing school is frustrating. I feel like a lot of nurses all wish that their teachers had been more specific with content or even just communicated better. I know in my program I would get so frustrated that we would suddenly have papers or projects that were due within a few days and it would cause so much stress all because the teacher forgot to put it on the course guide. BUT we made it through and I do feel like all the effort was totally worth it. I write all of this to say that just know transferring to another school may not get rid of all your problems. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Keep us updated!

Specializes in PACU.
Thank you for the responses. I'm currently looking into transferring to Bergen Community College. Maybe they will accept my prereqs?

If I transfer to a community college, would I be able to finish the program in about a year since I took my sciences, english and math?

You would probably have to still do the 4 semesters (2 years) of nursing classes. Best resource would be to call the school and inquire. Nursing classes rarely transfer from school to school.

Don't drop out. I graduated with my LPN last year, and we did an 18 month program in one year. Our professors pretty much read directly from the book without explaining things more, so we had to read on our own. Nursing school is hard but I agree with the person who said, if you're not a CNA get a CNA license and work P.T or weekends as a baylor to give you some kind of income to pay for your bills. I am planning on doing LPN to RN in January and plan on working around my school schedule. It is not easy but look at the end goal, think about the success in the end. It is worth fighting for it. But if you can't work things out then it is okay to take a break but don't take a really long break because some people never want to go back because they get too comfortable with where they are. Keep your chin up and fight!

Specializes in Cardiac Stepdown, PCU.

A small note. Don't think a community college is going to be any less chaotic or explanatory, or won't be expecting you to come to class like your the newest pro in whatever skill or subject you are talking. You will be expected to have things memorized, to already understand a concept, to be able to perform some skill you've only seen in a bad video.... for them only to tell you that video is wrong, don't do it that way, this is how you do it.

As for transferring... you're pre-reqs will go but any nursing classes likely will not. You will essentially be dropping out and starting over at a new school, as you will likely also have to reapply to Bergen's nursing program as well, unless you are already accepted or they will allow you to "transfer" into the program but you're still gonna start off as a new student. And however they do their courses is how you will complete them. At my school, only certain classes are offered each semester.. so if you fail it you have to wait a year. You might not have the ability to take nursing classes all at once, and I so wouldn't recommend it anyway.

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