Career change and moving to CO, advice welcome!

U.S.A. Colorado

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Hi there,

I am currently in the process of enrolling for pre-req's so that I may apply for an accelerated RN program in the Denver area. I'm living in Portland, Oregon with my boyfriend, who just got promoted and will need to relocate to the Denver metro for work within about six months (yay!). I just got laid off of my corporate job and know that my passion is in helping others, so I think I am being called to change careers and pursue nursing :-)

A little about my undergrad background- I somehow was able to get a BS with very few hard science courses (took chem and psych, LOTS of geology hehe) and finished with a 3.6 cumulative in Communication/Rhetoric. I still need to take A&P, Microbiology, and re-take Stats. I'm planning to take all of these in Portland before we move (taking them winter term so that the only thing I will need to finish up after the move is A&P 2). I am hoping that this is a good plan and am open to any advice you may have on giving myself the best shot to get into an accelerated program as soon as possible.

I've been reading about Regis (like the fact that it is Jesuit, I went to a Jesuit high school so am all about service-learning), and UC Denver. I'd like to visit both campuses, but am also open to other suggestions on where to look. I have heard horror stories about people being wait-listed for years on end...is this true? In Oregon, all programs are determined by lottery, so I am glad to get away from that system. If I am wait-listed, should I get a CNA or other license so I can work in the field before school?

Any advice and words of encouragement would be appreciated. I would especially love to hear from people who changed careers into nursing and felt like they were "starting from scratch". I'm so excited to get the ball rolling but want to make sure I cross all of my t's and dot my i's before the big move.

Thank you for your help and have a great day!

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Get As in all your remaining prereqs and you could be competitive. There are no waitlists, only merit based entry Regis is by far the best choice economically and career wise, but having that school tempo is a personal choice. UCD or Metro State are also a excellent choices, but probably more expensive since you will be out of state.

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Get As in all your remaining prereqs and you could be competitive. There are no waitlists, only merit based entry Regis is by far the best choice economically and career wise, but having that school tempo is a personal choice. UCD or Metro State are also a excellent choices, but probably more expensive since you will be out of state.

Thanks so much for the reply SummitAP! Do you know by chance when I will be considered an in-state resident? We are supposed to move to CO in April 2012. I think for Oregon schools it's 1 year, but not sure about CO. That might make a bit of difference on which term I apply to be admitted in.

Thanks again, I appreciate it!

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

One year with a CO address and you're a resident.

I may be wrong, but it would seem to me that even with out of state tuition, CU is still going to be less expensive than $35K/year at Regis.

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As a relatively new RN grad who has worked with nurse grads and students from CU,Regis, DSON, and Metro State's accelerated programs, I can say all four schools turn out great new RN's. Also, last I knew there was no in-state tuition discount for Metro's nursing program, and it was still significantly less expensive then Regis or DSON (not sure about CU).

I was also a career changer, having never worked in anything close to healthcare before. Although being a new RN is much harder then I thought it would be, I still think I made a great decision!

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

Nursing is a flooded career, choose another health care field.

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only merit based entry Regis is by far the best choice economically and career wise

Huh? CU is merit based as well, and is the most selective of all the schools in the state. It's ranked #15 nationally and costs less than Regis. I'm not sure I would agree with this person. Personally I would wait a year before applying so that you can get in state tuition.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Huh? CU is merit based as well, and is the most selective of all the schools in the state. It's ranked #15 nationally and costs less than Regis. I'm not sure I would agree with this person. Personally I would wait a year before applying so that you can get in state tuition.

Reading comprehension! The OP is out of state, thus CU is not cheaper. I never said CU was not merit based. Where did you get that?

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Reading comprehension! The OP is out of state, thus CU is not cheaper. I never said CU was not merit based. Where did you get that?

I wrote above that even with out of state tuition, I think CU would end up being cheaper. I just looked - out of state tuition for that first year would be between $20-24K. Regis would be $34K. I also think that Regis requires you to live on-campus as a freshman.

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