Are we a dime a dozen?

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Ok, so I am enrolled at a 4 year college, but I am currently taking a couple of prerequisites for the BSN program at my local community college. It seems as though EVERYONE wants to be a nurse, many of the students are in their late 20s and some already have a bachelor's degree. I can't help but feel exasperated. I feel as though I am competing with EVERYONE, and I feel that I am at a disadvantage because some of the older students already have a bachelor's degree.

I keep hearing how there is a nursing shortage, and I can't help but feel that this information is inaccurate. EVERYONE wants to be a nurse. Nursing schools are facing gluts of applicants, many of them are there just to get a job. I feel like it isn't fair for an 18 year old to have to compete with both her generation AND older people who already have college degrees and years of work experience on their resume.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Welcome to the REAL world... get used to it. Life is a competiton!!

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:yeah:lol nicely said...after posting i went back and read the entire thread... i dont mean to be mean but seriously some people said the most ridiculous things. There should be a two programs one for people with degrees already and one without lol....Come on guys just buck up and get good grades and get in on your own. A lot of programs dont even give points to people with degrees or work exp. And you can get the same point for work exp if you volunteer at a hospital. I agree there is a lot of competition and i think thats cause a lot of people are getting laid off and coming back to school. Those people are determined to get in and they have very high gpa. all this of course makes the gpa requirement go up for nursing school. Oh well what are you gonna do. Just get as many A's as possible and get into nursing school. Lifes the competiton sometimes its the way it is.... This is a serious career we dont need second best. so if you really want it make it happen

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

Wow Candace409 (sorry if i got that wrong) I could not have said it any better! great post and completely true! I loved it just wanted to say that because kudos wasn't enough!

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i agree,

i too is 18.

and obviously i had no job experiences or whatsoever..

my only strength are my grades and determination to get into the program.

i have tried many times to get into nursing.

so many tests i have taken.

i wasn't admitted to most of the schools as it is very competitive.

i almost gave up, and thought to myself: what else could i do in my life besides nursing? i don't know any other stable career that i could do in my life if i didn't get into the program.

then, I GOT IN!

finally!

so don't give up, i think it's not just the age that matters...

it's ur "will" to hold on and reach ur dreams to become successful.

as cliche as this may sound."age is but a number"

i'm sure if u do very well on ur pre-reqs, and study really hard for the entrance exam...there's no reason why u can't get accepted. even if ur just 18.

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That is great news Newbiestudent! Congrats! you are exactly right. you were determined to make it happen and it did. im sure you are going to do awesome in the program and be a great RN! best of luck

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

Oh to be 18 again.

Very OT but I just want to give advice to the younger ones. Don't goof off. Don't worry about your friends/boyfriends or girlfriends/parties or whatever. Just go to school & focus on your grades. Friends come & go. Your grades will be with you forever. I should know..because of my stupidity freshman year I got a big fat "F" in a class & it made it VERY VERY hard to get accepted to NS. I got accepted to one, but not the one I wanted.. but I'm going to go though & make the best of it !! But please..dont make the same mistakes I did :(

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Specializes in ICU hopeful!.
Oh to be 18 again.

Very OT but I just want to give advice to the younger ones. Don't goof off. Don't worry about your friends/boyfriends or girlfriends/parties or whatever. Just go to school & focus on your grades. Friends come & go. Your grades will be with you forever. I should know..because of my stupidity freshman year I got a big fat "F" in a class & it made it VERY VERY hard to get accepted to NS. I got accepted to one, but not the one I wanted.. but I'm going to go though & make the best of it !! But please..dont make the same mistakes I did :(

I cannot agree/quote/encourage/condone/remind/restate/etc enough of what MiszKimberlyCNA said.

DO NOT GOOF OFF.

Unless you are prepared to wait years to get into NS - (say, 10 maybe?) to be able to explain a significant change in your study habits and desire to learn - your studies are your top priority, and I mean TOP.

Friends will do one of two things: be understanding and supportive or mock you, make fun of you, and try to pressure you into coming to hang out. Boyfriends will do one of those same two things. Be your own favorite person when it comes to your NS education - in other words, put yourself first, nobody else! (Obviously those with children and/or spouse, be reasonable).

If you have a boyfriend and feel like dedicating more time to him than your studies - I seriously suggest you rethink your life plan. Remember the same can go for friends/partying. It is MUCH EASIER to take a year or two off and work and get to play "adult" and then get accepted into school, kick a** in your prereqs, and get into NS, than it is to go to school, play too hard, have your grades suffer (especially if you are able to pull C's which are usually passing grades in pre-reqs), and ultimately have that affect your morale regarding your dream and your plan for life.

Seriously...if you are fresh outta high school and aren't sure if you want to go to college right away, or fear that the temptations may be too much for you, there is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with waiting one semester, one year, or even two years. If you want this, you'll find a way to make it happen, and if that means the best thing to do is take a little time to re-group, that's okay. You'll still want to be a nurse in a year, in two years, and in five years (I contemplated nursing the last 3 years myself). Remember - you gotta do in your heart what you know is best for YOURSELF!! :) :redbeathe :nurse: :yeah:

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Lots of young nurses are having a harder time even getting into school because of the large amount of older women and single mothers wanting to get into nursing, mostly for monetary gain and job stability.

I have to disagree. That comment is short sighted and offensive.There are numerous reasons why some people attend nursing school (or any type of schooling) later in life. Why would you assume that it's mostly for monetary gain and job stability that older women and single mothers are going back to nursing schools? Monetary gain and job stability would be the reasons why ANYONE would go to college, regardless of major. Now,what about the older men going back to nursing school? I have several in my class. I guess they aren't included in your statistic.

Nursing is nothing glamourous. There are several other career options that we could take that would provide a better or equally comparable standard of living and definetely a better work schedule.

The only person that you are competing with is yourself. You will or will not get a job based on a host of factors and it won't be because an older person was hired. Do what you have to do and don't worry about how many people are in your nursing class or want to take nursing classes, because honestly, they aren't worrying about you.I promise. It's each man for himself.

I'm in my late 20's. I entered nursing school after getting a degree in Sociology and working in banking for 7 years. I always wanted to be a nurse, but never had the courage to attend nursing school. Finally, I made up my mind that I needed to give it a try because I didn't want to have any more regrets about not fulfilling certain goals. My family is full of nurses and I've always admired them and wanted to be just like them. So, not every older is in nursing school only for monetary gain and job stability. I could earn an equal sum or more if I just completed a MSW (Master's in Social Work). Nursing is just like any other field where you never know when there's going to be a job cut. Oh, and guess what! If the census is low in the hospital, you don't work. So, that doesn't sound very stable to me. My best friend is an RN and sometimes she only works 2days a week, because the census is low. If you look at the job listings for some hospitals, you'll also see that there are a lot of positions for nurses PRN. Not stable.

So, again. Just do what you have to do to be successful and not worry about who you feel may be your competition. Everyone has different goals regarding career paths. You never know how many of your fellow classmates have NO interest in doing what you are planning to do. Some of my classmates are in nursing school and have plans to leave the country and work. Some of my classmates are going straight for their MSN. Some of my classmates will be working in a Dr's. office. Some of my classmates are already employed with a facility and have a contract with them, once they earn their RN degree. We may all be on the path to graduating in May, but we're not all on the same career path. Look at it that way, and focus on you. If it's for you, then it's for you and no one can take "your" spot, take "your'"job, or take "your" anything.

Oh, and as for entering nursing school...it's competitive. Each school has it's own criteria. It's up to you to do what it takes to make sure that you meet that criteria. No one has an advantage. The same student's that you feel are keeping you out of school are some of the same student's that had to overcome obstacles and work really hard to get their slot. Find out the school's criteria and meet it or exceed it. That's all there is to it.

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When you have several hundred applicants and less than 200 spots open per year, it is going to be hard not to look at others as competition when they are.

Are any of these evil old fogeys stopping you from getting a 4.0 GPA and walking right to the front of the line for one of those coveted spots?

Put up or shut up kiddo.

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When you have several hundred applicants and less than 200 spots open per year, it is going to be hard not to look at others as competition when they are. I am not saying this to be cold hearted or anything, but it would suck to be turned down because everyone else was older and had more life experience than you.

There is a list of criteria that must be met for acceptance. I've seen the lists and NEVER have I seen on the list

*Old lady

*Old single lady

*Old single lady with kids

*Old single lady with kids and experience in life

What I HAVE seen is :

X amount of points for a certain GPA,

X amount of points for having completed pre-reqs with a certain grade,

X amount of points for a degree in another medical related field,

X amount of points for Community Service,

X amount of points for HS grad who completed a medical related curriculum or earned college credit in HS,

X amount of points for College Degree,

X amount of points for current employment in the medical field

...etc.

When you have a certain number of points, you are then considered for a slot. ACADEMIC GPA is the first consideration and carries the most points of all critieria. With a high GPA, nothing else on the list even really matters. That's who gets the slots first at my school and most other schools.

That's what I've seen. If you were rejected, it was NOT because someone was older and more experienced.

You should contact the school of your choice and find out exactly what you need.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Dear God, I see alot of the older students took a line from my post and just ran with it. No need to get offended, but the fact of the matter is this: Most of the older nursing students THAT I KNOW are going back to school because they lost their job or want a job that has a decent salary and benefits, not necessarily because it is a "calling."

And to the Intern, I never said the older people were "evil", so do us a favor and knock it off with the attitude.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

And to those who keep raging on about how it is all about GPA, test scores, and volunteer experience, what if an older student and a younger student are neck to neck in terms for a spot? Should that older student get a spot because he/she is older and supposedly "wiser" and "more mature" than the younger student?

Also, should I, an 18/19 year old with a 3.96 gpa, extensive volunteer experience and a newspaper columnist, be refused a spot in a program for my classmate, a pregnant 27 year old who only pushes for C's, has a 3.0, two kids, and NO volunteer experience soley because she is older?

I have a feeling that some older students will say "yes"....ageism in reverse at its finest.

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