Are people less likely to congratulate older or younger students for getting into RN?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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program?

what do you think?

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I think it has less to do with age, and more to do with the type of people in one's life who would be providing the congratulations.

My family is not very oriented to higher education, and the process of college is very alien to them. I was born to parents who did not attend college, and therefore, never understand the reasons for general education classes, prerequisites, remedial classes, etc. They would always ask me questions such as, "Why are you taking science classes? Isn't that a waste of time? What type of job could an English class possibly get you? Why are you taking college math if you already had math classes in high school?"

Until recently, my family thought that anyone from off the street could start attending nursing school without any prior classes or testing. My father once thought that an associate degree could be earned in 1 year.

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My parents are not that supportive. I'm 24 and they think that I'm too old to just start the RN program. They say I'll be almost 30 by the time I get a job as an RN. They feel like I should have accomplished this by the time I was 21/22.

And when I tell people I got into a program they never congratulate me. I think its because I don't look fresh and young like i just got out of high school

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My parents are not that supportive. I'm 24 and they think that I'm too old to just start the RN program. They say I'll be almost 30 by the time I get a job as an RN. They feel like I should have accomplished this by the time I was 21/22.

And when I tell people I got into a program they never congratulate me. I think its because I don't look fresh and young like i just got out of high school

Well, congrats! I'll be 24 when I start as well, luckily my parents, family, & boyfriend are behind me 110%

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

At 24, trust me when I say that you will be one of the younger people in the nursing program. I will also bet top dollar that some of your classmates will be middle-aged people in their forties and fifties.

I was 24 when I completed an LPN program and 29 when I graduated from an RN completion program. Relatively few nurses have completed nursing school at age 21 or 22. It is a field that attracts a high number of people coming from second careers.

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I'm 42, so definitely an older student. My family is so thrilled and excited for me. All of them and all of my friends now know how competitive and crazy this is. At first, I think they were all just playing along, but now they see that I'm serious about this, and am actually able to do it. They were so proud when I got accepted and got my scholarship.

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I think it has less to do with age, and more to do with the type of people in one's life who would be providing the congratulations.

My family is not very oriented to higher education, and the process of college is very alien to them. I was born to parents who did not attend college, and therefore, never understand the reasons for general education classes, prerequisites, remedial classes, etc. They would always ask me questions such as, "Why are you taking science classes? Isn't that a waste of time? What type of job could an English class possibly get you? Why are you taking college math if you already had math classes in high school?"

Until recently, my family thought that anyone from off the street could start attending nursing school without any prior classes or testing. My father once thought that an associate degree could be earned in 1 year.

My family is sort of the same way, although they are supportive. My parents both went to college, but they didn't finish because they met and got married right away. My dad only had one year left, and my mom only completed one semester. When I first started this path, the idea that I actually had to get accepted into a nursing program was completely alien to my mom. And when I was accepted to a BSN program as a transfer from the CC, she thought it would take 4 years and was suprised that I would be done in '14. What did she think I was doing at the CC?

What really bothered me, was very recently my mother expressed the opinion that she thought college was a waste of time :crying2:. I'll be the first one in my family (besides her parents) who has went to college/received a degree. She's almost 60 and works at a thankless retail job, and will never be able to retire. If I don't do this now, then I'll be following in her footsteps, and that's not really how I want for myself. I know she's proud of me, and she brags about me, but when she said that I was like :confused:. What about just wanting a sense of accomplishment? I'm 35! She also made my younger sister feel like crud when she expressed interest in going back to school. Aren't parents supposed to want better for their children?

Sorry for the rant. I think it really depends on who you tell, and if they know how hard it is to get into a program, and the work involved to get there!

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My parents are not that supportive. I'm 24 and they think that I'm too old to just start the RN program. They say I'll be almost 30 by the time I get a job as an RN. They feel like I should have accomplished this by the time I was 21/22.

And when I tell people I got into a program they never congratulate me. I think its because I don't look fresh and young like i just got out of high school

Congratulations! Anyone at any age deserves to be recognized for such a great accomplishment! I can't wait to find out if I get in or not!

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Thankfully my parents are very supportive. Right now I turned 23 and am just starting back to college. I probably won't be done until I'm closer to 30. My mom is an RN and she didn't get done with nursing school until she was 27 or 28 and has had a wonderful nursing career for the past 20 years. I would rather finish later and do something I love than be done with school in a year and have a job I end up hating.

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Sometimes parents are selfish, hopefully without realizing it. People sometimes hesitate to appreciate something, that they have never experienced. .. If you want to be a RN - go for it, dont' let anyone say you can not or should not.

Age doesn't really matter in nursing school - everyone will be working hard, studying tons..... aim to be one of the ones who graduates .... at whatever age :)

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I graduated my LPN school 3 months after turning 39. I start the 2nd year of a two year ADN program in two weeks, I turned 43 in April.

I have gotten 100% support and sincere congraduations from family and friends both times from both family and friends who hold higher education degrees and from those who never had the opportunity (or never wanted to) attend college.

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I wonder what percentage of Americans old enough to have adult children think that college is a complete waste of time (as opposed to those who think that college is not for everyone).

If the number is as large as the anecdotes imply, then it explains a lot.

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