Help! Just found out I'm moving to D.C.!!

U.S.A. Washington DC

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Hello,

I just found out my boyfriend is likely taking a post doc position at NRL in DC and I have no idea what to do!

I was going to start a nursing program in Tampa, Florida but obvioulsy the plan has changed.

I did some searches for RN programs in the DC area but I have no way of knowing which locations are reasonable due to commute, distance, etc. Please tell me what is reasonable, I also need to check ASAP to make sure I have the pre reqs for whichever program I will be applying to there.

I already have an AA from college here and could go into a 4 year program if that's all that is available but I would actually prefer to go into a CC ADN program because it's more likely that I have the pre reqs completed already and they seem to be a semester or two shorter on average here and his position is for 2 years only, I'd like to finish as close to that time as possible.

So, in short and despite my rambling, please give me somei nsight on DC programs and if you have any advise, where I owuld and would not like to live with with my young children and can still commute around DC easily for both of us.

Thanks sooo much!

Allison

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Specializes in PICU.

In DC there is the University of DC it offers a two year ADN program and if you want you can then go on for a four year program. Both Georgetown and Catholic University offer accelerated programs, depending on the prerequisits that you have. For example you need to have micro, organic, inorganic, anthropology, sociology, psychology, A & P I and II, nutrition, statistics. I do not think I have forgotten anything but check the websites. Those prerequisits were for Georgetown and Catholic, for UDC check the website also. UNder UDC website, nursing is under the enginering dept. for Cathooic, it is nursing.cua.edu

Hopefully this helps a little. If you are living in MD or VA there are other CCs. But if you live in DC then the above are the schools

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Hiya. If you are going to live in DC Proper, there are several options to consider. There is the Univeristy of DC(http://www.udc.edu) inside of DC. There are NOVA (Northern Virginia Community College http://www.nvcc.edu) and PGCC (Prince George's Community College http://www.pgcc.edu) and Montgomery Community College (http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/). There is also the University of Maryland College Park (http://www.umd.edu) but it only has the 4 year BSN I believe.

All of these are accessible via Metro (http://www.wmata.com) in a combination of subway and bus. If you are driving nothing is more than 30-40 minutes depending on traffic.

I am in the ADN program at PGCC and love it. It all is just a matter of location and demographics. They are all similar in quality. NOVA is in northern VA in Annandale and Alexandria and is mostly Caucasian/Hispanic. PGCC is in MD in Largo and Laurel and is mostly African-American. Montgomery is in MD also in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and is mostly Caucasian/Hispanic.

I would recommend PGCC as Maryland only requries you to live in the state 3 months for residency. VA requires 1 year. Also, Maryland goes by county so if you live in Montgomery County, it will be more expensive to go to PGCC. Once you are in the actual nursing program PGCC will set you to in-county tuition no matter where you live in MD.

As far as cost of living goes, MD is way cheaper than VA or DC. I started in DC but moved to MD to save money. (1200/month in DC was a Studio Apt, but in MD gets me a 2 bedroom).

If you have any questions, shoot em my way. Either here or at stanleyrw (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Specializes in PICU.

HI again: I had lived in DC itself for 6 years and there are a lot of very nice neighborhoods and close to the metros. UDC is close to the metro, (Van Ness station), Georgetown in accessible by Bus and if you are a student there are various points throughout the city, even in VA (Rosslyn metro station area) that have a free shuttle service to the University. Howard University also has a nursing program, but I have heard that thNCLEX pass rate is very low compared to other schools. I went to CUA (Catholic University and found it to be challenging academically (I had already had a previous degree), but to be a very good school. I passed the NCLEX on the first try. I would take a look at the schools that you have some interest in and look up the wesites. DC and the MD/VA area are great. DC is a fun city to live in, very diverse. It is expensive to live in DC, the suburbs like Montgomery and Prince George's county in MD are a little less expensive. You really need a car if you live in MD or farther out i VA. I do not need a car and I have lived in DC for 6 years. I just moved to VA because I got married and live in Arlington and still do not need a car. Depending on where you go to school would depend on accessibility. Good Luck and hope you have a safe move. In addition there are waiting lists for some CCs in VA and MD that some recent grads have told me. I graduated in 06

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Thanks guys, this is a lot of useful information! I'm confused, is it reasonable to espect to live in MD and not have a car? Is that hard to get use to, I love the idea of public transportation but I've always had my own car, and I have kids....does that make it harder? I gotta run, I have tons of questions that I'll type later...

Thanks again.

Allison

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Thanks guys, this is a lot of useful information! I'm confused, is it reasonable to espect to live in MD and not have a car? Is that hard to get use to, I love the idea of public transportation but I've always had my own car, and I have kids....does that make it harder? I gotta run, I have tons of questions that I'll type later...

Thanks again.

Allison

Quite reasonable, but the closer you are to the metro the better.

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If you live in Maryland it's probably better to have a car. Especially with kids. The Metro is easy to get to, but sometimes they're not within walking distance. And think of the winter months when you won't want to be on foot. Living in DC would be different since it's a "walking city" and there are cabs and metro everywhere.

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If you have kids and you intend to use the public school system then Montgomery County is the way to go. My husband is stationed at Andrews AFB and there are a tremendous amount of homeschoolers there because Prince George's county schools are really bad news. We moved to Gaithersburg last summer and we went from homeschooling to public school and we love it here.

Just to correct a previous poster though...Montgomery County isn't white and hispanic, it's mostly white and asian. Not that that matters or anything but just to correct an error.

I would highly recommend checking out greatschools.net before you decide where you want to move and see where the better school systems are.

Montgomery County Community College has an ADN program. I'm doing ISU because we homeschooled when we were in PG county and that's when I decided to go back for my BSN.

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