I am currently a senior in high school and I am 99% sure that nursing is my calling. I am certain it is what I will do with my life.
That being said, I'm also a very bookish person with a passion for politics, history and literature. I have every intention on going to nursing school but if it's wise, I'd like to get my BA in an unrelated field first. What exactly that would be yet, I'm unsure. I will be attending community college first so I have extra time before declaring a major is necessary. But I do know it will be a field related to the topics I listed above. Likely, English or something equally as un-nursey. Or possibly something slightly related such as community health.
I could use the four years to get my pre-reqs for nursing out of the way, along with taking classes in subjects I love (it's not that I don't love science, I just happen to love everything!) then do an accelerated track for Nursing afterwards.
Part of me thinks this will help me be well rounded and maybe even make me more competitive- is this correct? Will my first BA help or hinder me with getting into nursing school/finding jobs after? Is it safer to just go straight into Nursing school? And are there any Nursing jobs with any use for outside skills such as English/culture studies?
Thank you!
**I'm very blessed with the finances aren't a worry. I understand this route could be a bit pricier.
My understanding is that once you have a BA degree you can't get grants and I'm not sure if you can get govt loans. Maybe others out there that have gone back after getting a degree can clarify this.
Correct, once you have a BA/BS degree all grants go out the window. You can still get government loans, but there's a cap for undergrad government loans (I want to say $60K?). So if you've already maxed out your cap from your first degree and haven't paid it back yet you're stuck taking out all private loans or paying out of pocket.
I'm currently doing my second degree in nursing. My first degree was a BA in African Studies. I realized I wanted to do nursing in my third year of my BA, but stuck it out until the end of the program so I could get my pre-reqs done.
I certainly don't regret the knowledge or perspective I got from my first degree, but the amount of time and energy it took are things I can't get back. You can burn out pretty easily in university no matter what degree you're working on, and if you then have another two or four years to go, it gets daunting. An accelerated program is an even bigger challenge, so if you have the option to take it slow, I'd certainly go for that to maximize your potential for good grades. There's no guarantee you could take the accelerated option either. Since I have a BA without the requisite anatomy, microbiology, pathophysiology, psychology, and statistics courses, I wasn't even able to get into an accelerated program.
As other people have been saying, most nursing programs will require you to do liberal arts electives anyway, so there's plenty of space for you to explore other things you're interested in! If, as you said, finances aren't a problem for you, do summer school or an online course for the joy of learning even more. If I had known in high school that I was going to do nursing, I would have gone straight for it. The sooner you start, the sooner you finish, the sooner you get a job!
You can always take more courses at school later, but what you can't do is get your career started earlier!
Go for nursing. I received my Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice 4/5 year's ago. Never went to nursing school because of self doubt. However, going back now being 30 starting a family it's daunting especially the bills racking up.
I think it is awesome that you have many interests about what kinds of classes you want to take, however I think if you really want to pursue nursing that you shouldn't waste too much time on other areas of interest. Sit down with yourself and let yourself consider if nursing is your number 1 passion in life, and it feels like it is from your post, then start your nursing education now rather than later. I also liked taking electives in college that were non-science related. I loved the literature classes I took and the health education classes. It enhances the college experience by expanding your mind and reaching new levels of intelligence. You should start with the nursing route first. It'll save you time and money. Good luck!
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heb06004
127 Posts
Correct, once you have a BA/BS degree all grants go out the window. You can still get government loans, but there's a cap for undergrad government loans (I want to say $60K?). So if you've already maxed out your cap from your first degree and haven't paid it back yet you're stuck taking out all private loans or paying out of pocket.