Do you ever feel like you will be a student forever?

One of my undergrad friends and I joke around that we'll major in college because we both changed majors twice in college and now we've both graduated and researched and felt that nursing is actually the field that we should have pursued six years ago when we got into college the first time :)

The fact that you took 52 hours in one year's time is amazing...I'd put that in all-caps. That's like...two years of classes all in one. I'm almost inclined to say you're bionic, hahahahaha...having said that, just go ahead and apply for a nursing program. You've taken your prereqs...now all you can do is apply and pray that you get in. From what it sounds like, you'll do just fine! I think you're probably just a little worn out from all the school-related stress, but I think in the end, when they see that you have worked your behind off the past year and managed to make As and Bs, then they'll have good things to say. Just keep your head up.

I had to re-read your post...how in the world did you work full-time and take 52 credits in one year? My senior year of college, I think I took 43 hours in one calendar year combined and worked part-time. Please fill me in on your secret!

I feel like this also. I've been working full time and attending school part time for almost ten years.

I was working towards getting into a BSN at a 4 year, taking all my support courses at a CC, but have realized now, that is crazy. I could never get in with a gpa of 3.5

So now I have enough credits to have a bachelors, but no nursing credits. I had to retake many "B" classes, and get "A"s so that I can actually and FINALLY get accepted somewhere.

I am now hoping to gain entrance into a nursing program, by the RN route through a CC, still haven't been accepted. I will still have two years left of school if I do get in though, just from nursing courses and clinicals.

It's been a long and frustrating road. No one ever understands. Everyone thinks I'm exaggerating when I tell them how hard it is to gain accpetance into a nursing program.

They have NO idea!

Anyways, after finding this website, I feel so much better. I know I'm not the only one going through this. It does help some.

Just keep at it, nothing worth having comes by, without lots of hard work and determination!

I had to re-read your post...how in the world did you work full-time and take 52 credits in one year? My senior year of college, I think I took 43 hours in one calendar year combined and worked part-time. Please fill me in on your secret!

It's actually been 5 semesters worth, so not that amazing! I started in Spring 2005 and just been going year round ever since. I haven't taken any breaks. I did spring, spring mini-mester, summer, fall, winter mini-mester, spring, spring mini-mester and now I'm in summer 06. Summer ends in 2 weeks and then off to fall again! Thanks for the words of encouragement!

Spill~ I completely understand! It's frustrating trying to tell your family and friends about the process. They completely don't get it and have no idea about the process and the struggles. My friends can slide by with C's and are completely fine with that. What do they care, they are getting their degree. They don't have to worry about getting into the program! Good luck to you! I hope you can make it in! A 3.5 is a great GPA, I can't believe it's not "good enough"!

Yup, I've also been at this for 10 years. After next week I will have 131 hours, 2 associates, but no bachelors, and by the time I actually finish it I will have WAY over 200 hours. It's frustrating and nobody understands it. but that's okay as long as I understand! Everytime I try to explain to my family about associates RN and BSN they start getting that glazed over look!

Just keep at it and know you're not alone!

Yes I feel like I will be going to school forever. I already have a BA and that is hindering me in getting my RN because of limits on financial aid and student loans caps. We have a baby on the way and I am not working right now so we don't have a lot of disposable income. As a result I have been paying for my pre-req's out of pocket and taking them one at a time. I was hoping to be able to stay home for a full year after I have my baby but I don't think that is going to be possible. If I want to go to get my RN durig this decade I will have to go back to work for a while and bank as much money as I can.

It's hard but I try not to think about how old I will be by the time I graduate. Instead I am trying to focus on taking one class at a time and doing the best I can at it. Also when I think I am going to 3_ by the time I finish...my next thought is that I am going to 3_ someday regardless of whether I get my RN or not.

i already started nursing school and by the time i graduate i will be a third year senior. and of course i plan to pursue further degrees.

student for life!

Yep!! Got a BA in '99, an MS in '03, took '04 off, decided on a career change to ADN and started my prereqs in '05. Will finally have my ADN in '08 and plan to get an MSN. By the time I get my ADN, I will have been in school for 26 years mostly full-time, with only 1 year off. Yikes! I think I'm going to need a break!!

Yes!

I graduated in 2002 as well, was just in a bad place in life. I jumpped into the Community College gung-ho but was acctually a complete slacker. I took a year off to figure out who I was and where I wantted to be and went back two years ago have a year until I get into the nursing program.

What really depressed me was last night I picked up the little local paper and it had college Graduation announcements and they were all people I graduated high school with. It's like they all have these new shiny degrees and a chance to go out and get jobs and houses. And here I am still living with my parents and going to the community college.

casi -- You're 22!! At 29, I'm even jealous that you've figured out nursing is for you at an age I wish I would have (i.e. no husband and kids at that point for me, I WISH I could still be living with my parents as that would have opened up BSN/MSN as an option for me ). Nevermind the classmates we will have that will be in their 40s and 50s. Maybe if you had gone to nursing school at 18, you wouldn't have been ready or successful.

At 33 years of age and three more years of school left, I should be the one feeling the way you do hehe. The way I look at it is that it has to come to an end sooner or later. At 22 years of age you should not feel the way you do. Good luck to you.

casi -- You're 22!! At 29, I'm even jealous that you've figured out nursing is for you at an age I wish I would have (i.e. no husband and kids at that point for me, I WISH I could still be living with my parents as that would have opened up BSN/MSN as an option for me ). Nevermind the classmates we will have that will be in their 40s and 50s. Maybe if you had gone to nursing school at 18, you wouldn't have been ready or successful.

I'm sorry!

I've just been going through this slum as it seems all those people I was friends with jumpped on the growing up bandwagon. They've graduated college, are getting married, and contemplating kids. Honestly, it scares the crap out of me. I can't even begin to contemplate having children!

Though I will say I have one up on the maturity level than quite a few. I can't tell ya how many times I have heard "OMG EW! You work in a nursing home, I can't even go into one let alone work in one! Those places remind me of death!"

Anyways, it also feels that school is taking forever because since I've startted back I'm working on the general AA and women's studies cert. as prereqs to transfer to a 4 year college plus all the nursing pre-reqs that don't fit into those. So it feels like I'm taking loads of EXTRAS.

It will be worth it in the end right?

I went through those same feelings a while back, even did some therapy for it! I felt like all the people I graduated high school with were doing somethng better than me - my mom was always calling to read things from the newspaper about my former classmates saying they had graduated, gotten married, finished med school, had kids, running for office, etc. I was floundering, taking general ed classes and trying to figure out what I wanted to do. But I can tell you that when I look at some of those others, I have matured a lot more. Maybe it's because I got out there a little earlier and experienced the real world, and how harsh it can sometimes be. There's a 19 year-old girl in my nursing class who is married and has a 3 year old. A lot of times having a child so young makes you more mature, but not in this case - everytime something comes up we have to hear how "nasty" that is. She says "I ain't cleaning out nobodys impaction, that's for my CNA. I ain't doing *insert any nursing task* that's nasty." I'm 28 and don't have any kids so I haven't had to clean up a lot of diapers but I can do those things. Okay, so I got a little off topic there... What I wanted to say was I think sometimes when you wait a little to figure out what you want to do it makes you appreciate it a little more when you finish. You will be more mature in your actions and others will notice that. I feel much more prepared for the challenges of nursing now than I did when I was 20 and my critical thinking skills are MUCH more developed, which is a big plus in nursing.

Don't beat yourself up for this. Some of those people you've been reading about in the newspaper were probably like a lot of my former friends and they chose a major in college because they had to and after graduating and trying out a career in said major they don't like it. I know a lot of people who graduated and then had no idea what to do! Many of them ended up going back to school, or working in a meaningless job that had nothing to do with what they went to college for. At least you are going in to a field that you like and that has some job stability.