"Hi!!" and a question about nursing school

[tara07733]

This is my 1st post! My name is Tara. I am 39 and will just be starting my core/pre-req classes before applying to the nursing program at my local community college. I have a question:

At what point do you go on the waiting list for nursing school? Is it once you take the general admission exam for the school (not the nursing exam) and they know that you are interested in the nursing program? I just recently took the basic skills test so that they know if I need additional math and/or english classes and was told by the counselor that the waiting list is 18-24 months. I guess I'm just not sure what that means. Can someone help?

Thanks for reading and I hope to get to know you all and to be involved in the discussions. This is a great board and resource.

[tbell2]

It depends on the school. At my community college, you can apply to the nursing program when you are in the last of your pre-reqs. So I was finishing those up in fall 2007 and applied for spring 2008. Didn't get in for spring, applied again and got in for fall 2009. Actually worked out perfectly for me because I knew I couldn't start in the spring (I had twins that march) and I knew I would probably not get in. The average wait at my school is 1 semester.

[hunydew2262]

Do you have an advisor for the nursing program? Our community college actually has a pre-nursing option and the advisor for the program let us know what we needed to take. We all applied at the same time for admission to the program the following fall. I would check with the nursing department as well. See if you can talk to some of the nursing students. If you really want to know how the program operates, they will have information from the student perspective.

[cursedandblessed]

all of them are different, i was accepted for my last fall admission (fall 08) after i met with the nursing advisor. that was in feb 07. the way my college does it-your acceptance date gives you about a year and a half to get all of your general ed out of the way-so your two year program is actually about 3 in reality, but leaves you with only nursing classes/clinicals to focus on.

i started all the general ed classes(that i didn't already have:my english, speech, electives, and psych classes were fine) that summer 07 with a bridge biology (i hadn't had a bio class since 1982-i was really glad i took it) and stats. fall a&pi and spring a&pii and micro concurrently. summer o8 left me with pharmacology and lpn level dosage calc.

those who didn't get the general ed classes out of the way struggled horribly, i can think of a couple who dropped out for spring to finish them up and are starting back this fall.

so go see a nursing/prenursing advisor. now. (jk)

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

You need to call the nursing school. Talk to the secretary in the nursing office and ask her what gets you on the waiting list. My guess is that you have to apply and be accepted into the nursing program otherwise anybody could get on that list and that would make the list longer than the River Nile.