Expectations being a Nursing Student

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Hello, everyone! I am currently a pre-nursing student at Eastern Michigan University.

I just recently finished my long and grueling semester. In the semester I just finished, I was taking 6 classes (A&P 1 and 2, Mathematical Reasoning, Life Span, Anthropology, and Writing 2) School was LITERALLY my only priority. Good news, though... I made straight As, 4.0. :) And I hope it will be enough to get me in to the BSN program I am applying to. I only have one choice, it wasn't my initial choice to do it that way, but I found that a lot of the choices I had at the time didn't accept my A&P courses... How convenient. :sniff: So, that's another reason why it felt like a lot of pressure for me.

So, IF I do get that acceptance letter, what should I be looking for, looking out for, etc.? I heard nursing school was hard. Some people believe that it was the hardest thing they ever did in life. Is it really that hard? Were you/are you able to work during the program? Nurses who have already made it through and current nursing students, what was/is your experience?

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I am a pre-nursing student as well, but oh boy, I am proud of you having passed all 6 courses with As!!! I can even say you will be likely successful in nursing as well. But that is just my thoughts.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

If you can balance 6 courses and still make all A's I think you are off to a very good start! As a current nursing student, nursing school is NOT the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. It takes being organized, motivated, and the willingness to make some sacrifices in other areas of life, but it IS survivable, and dare I say it, even a livable and enjoyable experience most of the time.

I am in an ABSN program so work is pretty much prohibited unless working extremely part-time, so I am not working during the program. I think in a traditional program a part-time job is do-able. Most students I know in the traditional program at my school work 16-24 hours a week, and there are a few who work full-time hours (typically 3 12s) while in school and are doing fine.

A lot of how difficult nursing school is depends on what else you have going on in life, how you are as a student, and your general approach to facing challenges.

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I'm very much like you! But I just finished my undergrad bachelor's degree a month ago and will apply for an accelerated BSN. But I totally know about the stresses of university! I had absolutely NO social life and worked very hard and have a decent GPA :)

I've also heard of everyone saying nursing is so hard. I'm pre-nursing so I can't comment on how hard the program is, but take these comments with a grain of salt. Most people are either coming directly out of high school or are coming back to school after working for a while. Some people have prior university degrees and then do an accelerated program, but I would definitely not say they are anywhere near the majority of people in BSN programs. People who enter directly out of high school or who have no attended university before will say nursing is hard because university is hard. I'm not in nursing, yet I still had full-on crying tantrums where I threatened to drop out twice every semester of my entire undergrad degree. University is hard. If you are currently in university you know this and have developed effective study habits. Being a university student already teaches you great things like how to prioritize, NEVER procrastinate, time management, best way to succeed in tests, school resources, etc. In addition, some people enter nursing with a husband or/and kids and a lot of these adult responsibilities which will definitely make nursing way harder than if you only had school in your life.

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Specializes in Neuro/ ENT.

All nursing schools are different. So my experience may be totally different than yours. I also went through nursing school with four kids (giving birth to the last one during finals week of my second semester of actual nursing courses). I made it out with 4.0 in nursing courses (my goal to maintain scholarships and for future admittance to DNP programs). But let me tell you, it just about ended me... definitely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I graduate this weekend from a BSN program, passed my NCLEX this last Monday... and I am so completely burnt out. I'm crawling over the finish line like a crawler from the walking dead.

It all all depends on your program, your current and future goals, and your support system.

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Go in with a good attitude, a good work ethic and don't let yourself get bogged down in the politics and bs and you will do fine. It isn't that it is so hard, as it is not like any classes before. I had As going in and did not get straight As throughout but made it through (unlike over 50% that started with me). It is fast, it is challenging and it is not black and white, so go in with an expectation that you will change your way of looking at exams and such. I didn't work during school, just work study at the library and I graduate tomorrow at 50+ y.o. :)

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Well, I had to quit my job to go to nursing school because the classes conflicted with my work schedule. There is no way I could have taught during the times I had to attend class. I was on an official sabbatical when I went back to school. I never bothered getting a part time job because I was fortunate enough to be able to pay for school out of pocket and have a supportive husband.

Of course, plenty of people were/are able to work part time and go to nursing school. It's doable.

The classes seemed more difficult to me than my first bachelor's and master's, however, I was also older. Still, I studied more than I ever recall doing before and my grades were fine. It wasn't overwhelming or anything by a long shot though. Anyone with time management and study skills should do just fine.

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