any advice?

If you're actively in a nursing program, you can apply for patient care technician or nursing aide positions as a 'student nurse'. No experience or certificates needed.

I would contact the nursing program chair and find out specifically about how their classes are set up.

The way mine worked (ADN program) was we first had mandatory prerequisites, e.g. A&P I (can't remember if we took A&P II with prereqs or if it was during the core program), Microbiology, technical writing, Psych and Soc 101, etc. Once we were in the core nursing program, we had specific classes to take each semester. These included *nursing* classes like Basic/Intermediate/Advanced Nursing with lecture and skills lab, as well as program-specific science classes like Pathophys. Generally the science classes with labs had one or two options only for the lecture, but more flexibility for lab since the groups had to be smaller.

Living arrangements depend on your area's cost of living of course, but speaking for myself I was able to rent a 1 bed/1 bath apartment while going to school and working part-time as a CNA. (I did have student loans to help w/ tuition and books, and my parents were helping with school so I wasn't completely on my own, but if my parents weren't helping I just would have had less spending money.) I was a CNA before I even started nursing school, but many of my classmates took their CNA certification after we finished our Basic Nursing class, since Basic Nursing included all the basic ADLs (activities of daily living--bathing, dressing, feeding, mobility etc.) and then worked as CNAs.

ETA: I started out as a CNA in a nursing home; it was my summer/break job when I first began college as a music student of all things... Later I did get a hospital job though, once I'd made the decision to become a nurse. I really enjoyed LTC but found working in the hospital to be a good additional way of seeing my classes put into practice by the RNs/LPNs. Also, my hospital employed student nurses as interns; they did CNA duties and LPN duties. That would be a great learning experience! The only reason I didn't do it was because my manager knew I was going to move after finishing school, and she preferred to give the spots to those who wanted to work at that hospital as an RN. But def. something you should look into!

Each college is different. My particular school would not allow any student to work during the first semester of nursing classes. (General classes didn't matter, I am talking specifically about the semester we began the actual nursing classes.) During the second semester of nursing classes, most of the students got a job as a nurse tech or CNA, but they would be exhausted from work, and complain that they had 12 or more patients to care for. Easier for you who don't have kids, tho. Maybe work every Friday and Saturday night, get a night shift differential ($$) and leave Sunday nights for studying. You could probably work 12-16 hour shifts, if you don't have classes the next day. Don't worry about missing the social life on weekends; in nursing school, you won't have a social life, ha ha. Just kidding....... maybe.

Each college is different. My particular school would not allow any student to work during the first semester of nursing classes. (General classes didn't matter, I am talking specifically about the semester we began the actual nursing classes.) During the second semester of nursing classes, most of the students got a job as a nurse tech or CNA, but they would be exhausted from work, and complain that they had 12 or more patients to care for. Easier for you who don't have kids, tho. Maybe work every Friday and Saturday night, get a night shift differential ($$) and leave Sunday nights for studying. You could probably work 12-16 hour shifts, if you don't have classes the next day. Don't worry about missing the social life on weekends; in nursing school, you won't have a social life, ha ha. Just kidding....... maybe.

A school not allowing students to work in nursing school is not the norm. The majority of my classmates worked to some degree as did I, and many would not have been able to function with out a paycheck

Congrats on You!!! You're obviously a smartie, because they are extremely competitive. I'm an alumna - MSN 91.

TMC (Texas Medical Center) is an enormous complex with a lot of schools and students. There are TMC resources that can help you locate other students looking for roommates & or car pool arrangements. Here's a site that is used by a lot of students (Rent a Room in Medical Center, Houston on the Web's No.1 Room search site ).

Most TMC facilities also have employment opportunities for nursing students who have completed their first clinical semester.

Best wishes - hope you have to time to explore Houston.