ARG! Considering dropping classes while I can...

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The reason I started school was because a side business I was working with someone on, got sidetracked and it looked like things were over.

I'm a fulltime single dad, commute 2 hours every day to the dayjob, work the side job, and have 9 credits (2 labs).

Just can't handle it all and the stress of doing too many things too badly is starting to creep up.

I'm doing my pre-reqs online, but am finding that as far as concentration and dedication goes, my current setup and organization isn't quite up to par.

I imagine I could pull off a B without too much fuss in my 2 science classes (BIO156 and CHM130), but the labor of the labs is where I'm falling behind.

Now on the 2nd day (which is already a 50% reduction in score), and t-minus 2 hours into the THIRD day (which is a 75% reduction in score), I'm thinking that while the classes are ok, the labs being done at home rather than in a class, will be my downfall. Especially in BIO where the lab isn't a separate class to re-take or fail.

I have time to withdraw, and I think I can wiggle a refund back.

I don't want to quit, but I think that if the side stuff only needs a few months of intensive attention, I can wrap that up, and THEN re-enroll in physical classes rather than doing it online.

Online classes seemed great, and they were to a degree, but labs online requires a crazy amount of dedication and preparation and that's where I seem to be dragging.

*sigh*

I know my situation easily merits being able to excuse myself for the moment, but it sucks to know that this is another few months of downtime =/

Any encouraging words? =)

I could drag on, but taking mental inventory, I just don't see myself doing well enough to do more than scrape by with a C due to the labs, and I feel that it would be better to drop and re-take in a few months where I'm "good", than to scrape by just to get the class over.

If I ended up with a D... seems that could potentially screw me up more than waiting a few months until my situation merits going back to school successfully...

I was so geeked too.. I love this stuff.. just don't have the time with everything else requiring my attention at the moment :o

Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

sorry to hear that Gilbert...

Will withdrawing let you keep a W on your records with no hit to your GPA?

Will physical classes be worth it to drive 2 hours, and still do it all?

If you do physical classes..the act of simply getting there may be just as much stress as the online...are you going to give up the side job before then?

Will giving up the side job now help?

Will withdrawing push your admission to NS back further?

Just a list of questions I thought of while reading this....

Also, if you have to do it, then don't beat yourself up. Speaking as someone who's already done 7 years of school (3 in accounting, 2 years of pre-reqs and 2 for ADN..last semester here, WHOO!)...believe me when I say I feel your pain. my first semester for pre-reqs, I did physical, and dropped out due to working night shift and having to work way...too many hours for budget...then I switched jobs and it got MUCH better....

so, if you do withdraw, don't put off re-registering....do it as soon as classes open up for fall!

thoughts be with ya...from the land of -6 wind chill!

Wow. You do have your hands full. I don't think any of us really realize just what we are in for. I would have thought I would have been able to pull nursing school off being the fact that my daughter is 16 and I don't have to work, but unfortunately, there were other issues I had to deal with also, and being a single parent in itself can really pack a punch. No matter what, your kids do come first.

I just had to realize that it wasn't my time. I am taking other classes and planning to re-enter nursing school this summer again, and just hoping it works out this time.

Best of luck to you.

Before you drop anything or give up, take a step back and inventory yourself. How bad do you really want this? And if you do drop, are you going to kick yourself later? Many of my fellow nursing students are people who started nursing school when they were younger, and are just now getting back to it. All the time that they lost is gone, and can't be gotten back. Perhaps there is a school a little closer to where you live, or a fellow student who commutes that you can carpool with and study while you are riding. Your children (depending on their ages) can be a great study tool as well (explaining how the bones and ligaments worked for my 7 year old daughter made it clearer to me than anything the professor said!), and you may have to set down a strict schedule and budget your time the same way you would your finances.

Whatever you decide, just know that you will make the decision that is right for you, but don't give up that dream! The dedication and work that you put into achieving it is the best example you can ever set for a child, because it shows them that you are willing to work hard for things that have meaning to you, and that is a beautiful thing!

Have faith in yourself, and the world will follow.

Depending on where you live and what school(s) you're applying to, Cs (or even Bs) in science courses may preclude your admission into NS. You know yourself and your situation much better than any of us do, and if you honestly believe that you don't have the time to devote to school right now, especially if your side job will be wrapping up entirely in a few months, I'd withdraw now. Make sure that those Ws won't hurt your chances either, they do at my school after you get too many. I have a friend who's a single father, and one of the most intelligent people that I've ever met - published author too - but he currently paints houses to pay the rent. He desperately wants to become an English teacher, but he doesn't want his daughter to be in day care constantly, and he can't afford to quit working. You have to put your kids first, and if you're working two jobs at the moment it might be best to wait until you have a little more time for school.

Luckily I haven't been accepted into NS yet, just taking pre-reqs.

The 2 hour commute is to work, but school is just right down the street.

Like the above poster said.. wanting to get into CRNA school down the road, I can't have C's clogging up the GPA on science courses if I want to compete with other applicants.. I'll need to take the all or nothing approach with regards to studying :(

I'm hopeful I can pick up again next semester, but for now, it's becoming obvious that for lab-related classes, I need to be there in person because doing it online isn't working =/

Specializes in 5th Semester - Graduation Dec '09!.

hey! I'm sorry to hear whats going on in your life. It really difficult to take 2 lab sciences at the same time!

I am a nursing student at one of the 3 Arizona universities. The college of nursing, at least at my school, doesn't frown down upon W's on transcripts. They view it as a drop. That is a good thing! But, every school that I have attended in AZ, including Yavapai College in Prescott and Pima in Tucson do not give any refund for withdraws.

What about withdrawing from one of them? Would that take off a considerable amount of workload? People who withdraw from all their classes one semester many times don't come back the next semester, and I would hate to hear that happening to you. It sounds like your family might really benefit from you getting a degree, even if it means you don't have to migrate 2 hours to work everyday.

I would stick to one of them!

hey! I'm sorry to hear whats going on in your life. It really difficult to take 2 lab sciences at the same time!

I am a nursing student at one of the 3 Arizona universities. The college of nursing, at least at my school, doesn't frown down upon W's on transcripts. They view it as a drop. That is a good thing! But, every school that I have attended in AZ, including Yavapai College in Prescott and Pima in Tucson do not give any refund for withdraws.

What about withdrawing from one of them? Would that take off a considerable amount of workload? People who withdraw from all their classes one semester many times don't come back the next semester, and I would hate to hear that happening to you. It sounds like your family might really benefit from you getting a degree, even if it means you don't have to migrate 2 hours to work everyday.

I would stick to one of them!

Hmm.. that would suck about the no refund =/ But yeah, I can't really take either of the science ones. I am also taking Nursing Terminology and that class is completely self-paced so I'm not behind on anything yet..

It's only a credit, but it's a good line of communication with the school and a way for me not to fall TOO far out of the routine.

Hopefully the W won't affect me in the future, both syllabuses say I have until mid Feb so I'm well within the time limits thank goodness.

Depending on how I do with terminology, I may end up taking up one more online class until my local comm. college starts their semester. I think I'll probably just take BIO156 first.. that's the main one keeping me from taking A&P, so it should be a good litmus test to see how ready I am next time.

:specs:

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