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

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Hey guys! I feel like if anyone could see where I'm coming from it would be you guys! I feel like I am going to be a student forever! My frustrations may come from the fact that I am taking 14 credits this summer :uhoh3: (3 weeks to go!) and simply my brain just hurts! I guess I could do some background here. I graduated 2002 and went straight into college not knowing what I wanted. Then first semester got sick and had to have surgery and ended up only being able to use one grade from that semester. Took a year off to recover and figure out life, then took a 10 month MA course. After that I was sure nursing was for me so Spring of 2005 got into the CC and started taking classes. I now have 55 credits and this fall will finish my final 13 credits to finish all pre-req/co-reqs/required core curriculum for associates & bachelors degree. I guess it's not bad to finish 52 credits since spring of 2005 (I also work full time usually min. of 50 hours/week, no kids yet just a hubby) It's just so frustrating that everyone knows I've been going to school forever yet they don't understand why I don't know when I'll graduate. Nobody understands this nursing school process, they think you just sign up and you're in. I am getting ready to apply for nursing school and I'm just terrified that I won't get in. I know that I'll never know until I apply, but I just feel like I'm not the best. I'm an A/B student which is good considering my demanding job. But sometimes I have to prioritize classes and what I'm studying for with my time allotted and just can't pull out straight A's. I guess I will see the light at the end of the tunnel when I finally get to the point of getting in a program, but all the uncertainty is just so frustrating! Does anyone else feel like their life is on "hold" for school? I'm to the point where I want to start a family, but have to put it on hold for school.
Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

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.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

student for life!

This is my attitude too. That is why it does not bother me to get my degree the long way RN-BSN, where I can pay cash rather then the short financially hard way Accelerated BSN or MSN, where I have to take out loans and a second mortgage.

Just to let everyone know, I have two degrees, and people think I am insane because I am still in school. ;)

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Specializes in LDRP.

ha! i am going to be a wise old woman at the rate i am going...i have been in college on and off since '91!

started w/ a psyche degree--got a couple years into that then switched to english-so got three years of my ba done then got married. dh had a bad car accident so had to work a couple years was told we could never have children...

surprise--got pregnant right when i went back to school to finish my ba. so, decided to be a sahm and work pt so dh could finish his ba (which he did thank god). started prereqs in 2001, then got accepted into clinicals in 2004. finished first semester and had the best semester of my academic career! then--moved w/ dh for his job after 1st semester, and couldnt transfer my credits to any other school so sat out of school for 3 semesters!!!!!!!! decided we would move back because i would have to completely start over otherwise (all schools in my new state had totally different pre-reqs too)...

yeah, so here i am, getting ready to start second semester of nursing classes. [color=mediumturquoise]and i will graduate december 2007!!! at the ripe old age of 35! :) go me!

you are 22--get over it sweetie! ;) it's all good!

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i too feel the same way about school it hurts to know that i could of done this back in 01 when i graduated but i wasnt willing at the time. at some point and time working at a dead end job i decided i dont want to work my a$$ off for the rest of my life it was clear to me i had to get educated. again i been going to school off and on since 01 my grades were not the best. from 01-04 i was a total slacker and the least motivated individual you will ever meet my gpa was a mere 2.22 thats the type of student i was. well those days are gone now just last spring i attended school full time earning a 3.67gpa i still have a long way to go before i have an acceptable gpa. this fall im taking 3 pre req class and still have 3 more to go before i can apply for the RN program, my goal is to finish the other 3 pre reqs in less than 2 yrs time taking winter/summer classes and then the wait begins. i feel confident that i can maintain good grades i want nothing less than A's hopefully it will be enough to boost my gpa up in hopes of getting accepted. im turning 24 this oct. and from the looks of it i wont be done till im 30 :scrying: by then i would have been going to school for 13 yrs. my parents are approaching retirement age soon and i want to support them when they do. right now im lucky to have 3 older sisters to help pay for rent, anyone who lives in OC knows how expensive it is to live here. if i only knew the things i knew now back then.... life is a handful sometimes i feel like giving up and just work for the rest of my life....

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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!

your post is the shortest and most direct.

the person who is a student for ever is a person who will have the healthier mind and be more aware and alive of their surroundings. learning thru out life is what life is all about. it keeps things interesting and you can teach others. anyone going into or in the nursing profession who takes their career seriously in order to grow and promote knows that going to school or taking a course here and there is really part of the career path they have choosen. it is an admirable way to be and think. :pumpiron:

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ha! i am going to be a wise old woman at the rate i am going...i have been in college on and off since '91!

started w/ a psyche degree--got a couple years into that then switched to english-so got three years of my ba done then got married. dh had a bad car accident so had to work a couple years was told we could never have children...

surprise--got pregnant right when i went back to school to finish my ba. so, decided to be a sahm and work pt so dh could finish his ba (which he did thank god). started prereqs in 2001, then got accepted into clinicals in 2004. finished first semester and had the best semester of my academic career! then--moved w/ dh for his job after 1st semester, and couldnt transfer my credits to any other school so sat out of school for 3 semesters!!!!!!!! decided we would move back because i would have to completely start over otherwise (all schools in my new state had totally different pre-reqs too)...

yeah, so here i am, getting ready to start second semester of nursing classes. and i will graduate december 2007!!! at the ripe old age of 35! :) go me!

you are 22--get over it sweetie! ;) it's all good!

you are 35--- get over it sweetie, i am 100 hehe.:rotfl:

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Specializes in Cardiac,ICU,.

I have been in school for 6 years. First an Associates in Medical Assisting and than started Nursing. I am now 31 I have two kids 15 yr and 10 yr and I homeschool both of them and finally getting ready to go into my last semester of Nursing. Has it felt like forever O yes. But I am finally seeing a light at the end of the long tunnel I have traveled. Educating my kids and trying to keep up my grades has been tough, taking one day at a time and having a very best friend that is always there for me and a supportive husband has helped but at the same time is not always a cure for the hard day to come. It's nice to know I am not the only one that feels like it has taken forever.

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Specializes in LTAC, Homehealth, Hospice Case Manager.

Personally, I think it's better late than never! I've tried off & on (due to lifes wonderful obstacles!) for 23 years to go to nursing school. I always knew nursing was what I wanted to do & did manage to get a Medical Assisting certificate behind me 8 years ago (not that MA is anything close to nursing, but is at least in the medical field). If you have a dream, no matter what age you are, keep reaching...it will come to you. I felt like it would be forever when I started this last time & my grandmother swore up & down I was destined to be the "professional student"! People told me that it would go by fast & at the time I'm thinking "Yeah, right...you're not the one doing this!" However, I can honestly say they were right! I have exaclty one class day left in nursing school & (after reading all your posts) I'm sitting here wondering where the last 3 years have gone! Anything worth having is worth working for...to all of you I say "Hang in there!!!" That light at the end of the tunnel will be visible before you know it! All my best to all of you! :wink2:

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Specializes in Ortho/Neurosurgical.

Casi

Most of the newly graduated will have majored in something they will discover is pretty much either a) useless unless you had a kick butt internship or b) isn't what they really wanted (and they apply to nursing school) or c) they discover they really need a masters to actually use (hi psych majors....you know what I'm talking about). Chin up, you're doing what works for you, I echo ladybugsea's thoughts.

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Specializes in just clinicals..

I have been trying to complete a two year degree since october 2001... Between surgery, divorce, and an accident I feel like I will be fifty before I am done. I have two associates but not my RN yet. This is taking forever. I know where you are coming from it seems like school will never end. :mortarboard: ?????????????? someday

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I am only taking the courses I need to get my associates RN degree, so I will only have 19 credits racked up before I actually apply to the nursing program this year, and 23 before I start (If I get in!). You are smart to do this before kids; I have 4 little ones and wish I'd known I wanted to do this before they came along! I'm 34 compared to your 22, so you have plenty of time to accomplish both your goal of becoming a nurse and a Mom! If I actually get in, it's only 4 years of schooling for me, not too bad!

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My story might not be as bad as some of your are but oh well. I am only a sophomore and i'm only 18 years old. I feel like things are never going to happen for me. I knew i wanted to be a nurse since i was in the 7th grade. My first year of college i totally screwed up. I took biology but end up dropping it. Then i took it again the next semester and i passed the lecture with a C but not the lab. I got a D but i needed a C. So now i have to take the lab for a 3rd time. Now because i didn't take chem and i didn't pass biology lab, i don't have my pre-reqs. So i didn't get into the nursing program. I might have to do a 5th year if i stay at the college i'm at. I don't want that, therefore, I might change colleges if i get accepted into this other college. I feel like i will never graduate. Like the years just won't pass. Sometimes, i feel like i don't have what it takes. But then all i have to do is study more. I've wanted to become a nurse for about 7 years now and i'm not letting anyone (including myself) rob me of my dream job. It will eventually happen. Even if i have to do that 5th year.

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