I am a Fall 2011 hopeful and was hoping for some advice. I did not get into 3 schools so far this time around..so now I have 2 more to hear from. I am on the wait list to the nursing program at SMCC for the Spring of 2013 (seems so far away!) and that is where I will go if I do not get in for this coming Fall.
My question is, if I DO get in and the program is 1.5 hours away, should I make the daily commute? I assume I would have to be up there Mon-Fri. What is your schedule like as a first year nursing student? Can I commute, go to classes, clinicals, and work? I guess I should just wait to see if I even get in...but I am getting stressed
I don't know if I could handle both limiting my hours at work in addition to adding the expense of 3 hours of driving 5 days a week...but on the other hand how could I say "no" to a nursing program that both myself and SO many others pray for everyday!?
I have also considered just waiting to begin at SMCC and working my bum off for the next 1.5 years to save money and not have to work through the 2 year program once it beings. That idea is appealing to me, but again...if I get in for Fall '11 how could I turn it down? Would I be crazy? I apologize for the long post, but my boyfriend/family don't seem to understand...any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
The school I've applied to has two campuses. The first year of NS, you go to campus #1 which is an hour away from me, the second year, you go to campus #2 which is 15 minutes from my house. It sucks, but I'm willing to do it and just suck it up for that first year.
The first semester we had class everyday. This semester we have class 2 days and clinical 2 days. Every school is different so try to find someone in that program. One thing to keep in mind is where does this school do it's clinicals and at what times? Our clinicals are spead out at various facilities and at various times including weekdays, weeknights and weekends. That could make it difficult if you live 1.5 hrs away and have clinicals til 11pm followed by a 8am class.
Thanks so much for everyone's advice! I got the letter yesterday, and I DID get accepted! I am very excited, but now its decision time. I have to let them know by April 15th if I will be attending. I guess its not the drive or time itself I am worried about, more the expense of that driving. The clinicals can be as far as 3 hours from my home town!
I think a pros/cons list is a perfect idea :) thanks for your responses it has opened my eyes to the many factors to consider while deciding, some of which I didn't think of before!
my comute can be anywhere from 40 min to 1hr 20 min, depending on traffic. I go to school 3 days outta the week, and 1 day for clinicals. Id say you need to take in to account:
the mpg of you car
how to schedule your classes
and if your an auditory learner. You can utilize your time better with some nursing tapes.
I am attending a school that is over an hour from my home. I moved a mile away from the school and am so glad I did. A month's rent is certainly cheaper than a month's worse of gas for a long haul like that every day. Not to mention, I would lose my mind if I had to drive that far on a daily basis! Time is precious and I'd rather have those extra 2+ hours to SLEEP IN or do homework or study, seeing as how I hardly have time for that stuff as it is.
Commute for 90 minutes? I commute 34 minutes to school three days per week (I am full-time) and about that same amount of time for a one day per week rotation. From 2/10/11 - 3/10/11 I spent $279.01 on gas.
I think it'd be cheaper to move if I were you. It'd be cheaper for me too since I work and go to school in the same city. I just couldn't find a decent place to move into here before school started so I moved back to my home town 40 miles away...,and I HATE it.
I feel pretty stretched at times. I have some rules for myself. I do not do school work after 8:00 pm. I only get to run two to three days per week now, and I never get to lift anymore. I work a lot and as much as possible. The job trumps school for me. Usually I can do a lot of school reading at work if I want so I get that done but given the two options work comes first. All that said, I'm fortunate for a variety of reasons that make it so I don't have to do any studying beyond basic reading. If I had a to spend three hours on the road everyday I couldn't/wouldn't even do that.
I think a pros/cons list is a perfect idea :) thanks for your responses it has opened my eyes to the many factors to consider while deciding, some of which I didn't think of before!
If I were you I would do it.. Do remember that we live in MAINE!! lol there is a drive for anything! And I have several friends that did not make it into this program, out of all of us I was the only one that got accepted to CMMC fall 2011. I think you should see it as a sign and go for sure. I know they had about 300 applicants for 60 or so seats. And its not M-F it is actually M-Th. So that could help you knowing its not 5 days but only 4. Where do you live? Maybe we could carpool!
thank you for the info! I know it is so competitive I really think I would regret not going for it. I was planning on calling or meeting with someone from the school to find out what schedule I can expect. Do you know if they are full days M-Th? Or on the days with just class are they short days? I live in York and if I do end up going would love to find a carpool!
thank you for the info! I know it is so competitive I really think I would regret not going for it. I was planning on calling or meeting with someone from the school to find out what schedule I can expect. Do you know if they are full days M-Th? Or on the days with just class are they short days? I live in York and if I do end up going would love to find a carpool!
Dagmar was the one who told me it was m-th but i am not sure how long the days are.. I know some of the clinical days are like 7-2 ish and such.. but as far as class days i am not 100% sure. If I were you, I'd just call and ask to talk to Dagmar she would be able to tell you how long the days are. It also depends on whether or not you have finished all of your pre reqs and will just be taking the nursing class, or if you do have to take other classes too. I only have 3 classes to finish to be done with my pre reqs and i am taking them this summer at USM so I don't have to worry about anything but the nursing classes. I do know they will be sending out more information shortly on everything else such as tuition, schedules, books, clothes, all of that stuff but if you need to know ahead of time just give them a ring. Too bad we couldnt car pool since I am north and you are south! lol
Mom/Nurse2b
143 Posts
The school I've applied to has two campuses. The first year of NS, you go to campus #1 which is an hour away from me, the second year, you go to campus #2 which is 15 minutes from my house. It sucks, but I'm willing to do it and just suck it up for that first year.