Head is spinning....

Nursing Students General Students

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I just dont know where to start. My dream is to be a nurse, Id LOVE to be a L&D nurse. I want to do this SO bad. I didnt do well in HS at all and didnt take my SATs. So I know there are pre-req classes I need to take and do well in before I even get into a nursing school. Correct? Also can somebody tell me again the classes I'll need?! Thanks

Well I called my HS to get my transcripts and I have to fax or mail my name, year I graduated and school I want them sent to. I dont know what school to have them sent to bc I dont know what Im supposed to be doing? Do I call community colleges? When they ask for my transcripts do I tell them the school will mail them? I thought they get sent to us and we give them to the school.

Also since I did horrible in HS, do you think it'll be hard for me to get into a college? I know I can do this bc its something I really want. I just dont know where to how to start.

THANKS!!!

Specializes in Orthopedic/General Surgery.

I didn't take any algebra in high school and not very good grades overall and scored very low on ACT the first time I took it. When I got older and decided to go to nursing school I went to the Junior College and worked my behind off studying and taking remedial Algebra classes, Chemistry, A & P, etc. took the ACT over again, and transferred to the University for my BSN where I graduated with highest honors. So if I can do it, you can too. You just have to do it and be preparded to have no life outside of school for that time. Good luck and best wishes for success!

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.
I didn't take any algebra in high school and not very good grades overall and scored very low on ACT the first time I took it. When I got older and decided to go to nursing school I went to the Junior College and worked my behind off studying and taking remedial Algebra classes, Chemistry, A & P, etc. took the ACT over again, and transferred to the University for my BSN where I graduated with highest honors. So if I can do it, you can too. You just have to do it and be preparded to have no life outside of school for that time. Good luck and best wishes for success!

kmblue has given you excellent advice. For someone who didn't do well academically in high school, or on the ACT (or SAT), a community college offers an opportunity to "turn things around". You will not need ACT or SAT scores to enroll in a community college. If you take your pre-requisites there and earn good grades, you will be in an excellent position to re-take your ACT and apply to a university (if a 4-year BSN program is what you desire). While you might not qualify now for university admission, based on your high school record, chances are good that you may be accepted in a few years with solid grades in your pre-requisites, a strong ACT score, and some relevant volunteer experience (in a hospital, nursing home, or community health center), or possibly work experience as a CNA.

Good luck to you!

Ask your high school to mail the official transcripts directly to you. Be sure to order as many copies as you need because it can take a while sometimes to get transcripts and you don't want the added pressure of waiting for them while under an application deadline.

You may want to go to your local community college and speak with a counselor. They'll be able to give you direction as far as where to start with your coursework.

Best of luck to you.

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

i have a lot of weblinks for you to check out that have information about nursing that you need to read. you need to find out how college admission works, what it takes to get admitted to a college, whether or not you will need to take the sat, the kinds of courses required to get into a nursing program, and the official nursing schools in your state.

forget about hs. you start college with a clean slate. you may have to make up some deficits, but you can do that. you aren't the first or the last person that has happened to. each college publishes an official college catalog that contains all the information you need to know about how to apply for admission and what the requirements are for admission. most colleges today have websites where these college catalogs are now kept online. here is the website for the college board, the people who make that sat test. you can get loads of information about the sat as well as how to prepare and get admitted to a college on their huge website. here's some links:

this is a page with links to all the colleges and universities in new jersey.

http://www.nj.gov/highereducation/colleges/index.html

to answer one of your questions, it is up to you to contact your high school and write to them, give them written permission, pay a small fee, and tell them who and where to send your official high school transcript. an official transcript is one that is prepared by the high school, usually embossed with a special seal, and sent in a sealed envelope with the school's letterhead to the college(s) you are applying for admission to. colleges do not accept anything other than an official transcript when they are considering you for admission. this is done to eliminate the possibility of someone submitting fraudulent transcripts. the catalogs of the various colleges will give you specific addresses where your transcripts are to be sent. you can have the high school send you a copy of your transcript that you can keep for your own records. i have a file that contains a copy of a transcript from each the colleges i attended. after 40 years, you just can't remember everything.

i went back through your previous posts and found you were posting a lot to the new jersey nurses forum, so i'm guessing you live in new jersey. this is a link to the new jersey board of nursing (http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/medical/nursing.htm). if you will scroll about halfway down this home page to the heading "schools" you will find 4 links to pdf files that contain lists of the official schools of nursing, by category, in your state. you can search for schools that are close to you. check their websites or write to the department of nursing of these schools and ask for information about their nursing program. each school of nursing will have different pre-requisites. this is why you need to look at each schools admission requirements. each school will have admission requirements to get into the college as well as admission requirements to be accepted into their nursing program. there are different levels of nursing: lpn and rn. you can go to a diploma school, get an aa (associate of arts) degree, or a bsn (bachelor in the science of nursing) degree to get an rn.

now, about nursing. johnson & johnson has a very nice site where you can read about nursing and how to become a nurse: http://www.discovernursing.com/. also, on their site is a page of links to the various specialties in nursing. here's the page on labor & delivery nursing: http://www.discovernursing.com/jnj-specialtyid_244-dsc-specialty_detail.aspx. you will also find information and discussion on the pre-nursing student forum as well since many who post there are taking their pre-requisites before applying to nursing programs.

best of luck to you!

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

:welcome:

Go to a site like discovernursing. There are nursing schools listed as well as a wealth of information to get you started. Once you discover the accredited schools in your area, start making phone calls and appointments to learn as much as you can about their requirements.

I don't know what state you're from, but do a web search for "your state board of nursing". You should be able to locate NCLEX (the nursing test) score results for the schools you are interested in. That will give you an idea of how well they are preparing their students to pass their state boards eventually.

The very first step after that will be to make an appointment at the campus(es) you are interested and talk to their counselors -- preferably a nursing counselor if they have them. They will lead you down the right path for your location since each one can be different.

Start taking prereqs (sciences, human growth and development, etc.), coreqs (English, history, electives), and anything else you can as soon as possible to make life in nursing school easier by not having these distractions to deal with. The students in my class who are still working on those are often overwhelmed and nursing classes in and of themself are quite enough to deal with!!!

I am 51 and didn't do so hot in high school. I have taken classes through the years and was surprised to find out about 5 years after I graduated HS and started taking classes how "smart" I was!! It took me some time to realize it was maturity and having a goal more than anything else that was making me so wise!! I avoided sciences all my life and got serious about nursing around 4 years ago. I am doing well and have just completed my second semester of an ADN program at my local community college.

I also attended this same CC several years ago when I got a bachelor's in business. Once I got my associate's there, I transferred right in to a university without SAT or ACT scores. I don't know if there's an age range or a certain number of college credits needed to be completed, but those tests may be irrelevant and not needed once you establish a decent GPA at the college level.

This is a good place to come to have additional questions answered....we will be your cheerleaders!!

Best wishes!!

OMG you guys....THANK YOU ALL sooooooooooo much!!!!!! Im in NJ and will be checking out the NJ link after I post this! I really appreciate all your help!!!!!!!!!!!

Another one here who didn't do so hot in HS. I have made all A's and B's in nursing school. You can do it!

Specializes in Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Call Center RN.

Please do not waste your time getting transcripts from your school. Colleges will not accept them as someone said earlier. There are just too many ways for someone to tamper with them. And it must have the "Official" stamped on it. Now for everything else good old fashion foot work. After you at the links above, you will need to go to the school you want to get into. You need to get your application (and with bad grades in high school they will usually let you in on a probationary status) fill it out and wait to be accepted. I would start as general studies. Usually they have freshman study skills courses to help you figure out how best to study for you. Also take some english and math to work on your skills. Talk to a counselor there, I would also check in with the nursing department. Let them know you are eager to learn. You can also take some "medical terminology" classes to get to know some of the nursing department faculty. You will need to prove yourself and it won't be easy. Been there. But it is best to do it when you are young rather then try it when you have a family. Good luck!!!!

Specializes in Emergency.

I got my GED in 1987. I just graduated from a community college with an ADN in registered nursing. In my experience, HS is not the issue, your prerequisites are. If you buckle down and get good grades in your prereqs, getting into nursing school should not be an issue. I went with this degree option, because I can work as an RN after I graduate, and there are lots of colleges in my area that I can go to if I decide to go further with my education. Good luck to you!

Amy

Specializes in Orthopedic/General Surgery.

Kmp77 I just got home from two 12 hour night shifts and was tired when I posted earlier. The other posters gave you very excellent technical info. on how to start. They are right. I just went to the career counseling center at the local Jr. College and they set me up with a nursing counselor who had the catalogue for the Univ. and started me taking all the prerequisites. It was very long and hard but the instructors at the Jr. College WANT you to pass (pass with A's). The classes are small and you get more individual attention. (sometimes to the point that I thought we were being a little bit spoiled). I chose the Univ. for BSN because in the end, when I got to the nursing part, it was going to take two years either way, so figured a BSN at the end of two years was better than an ADN at the end of the same two years. I was 42 when I graduated and couldn't be happier. Was worth all the suffering, LOL. And wdwpixie is right. When we get older and wiser we find out that we aren't as not smart as we thought! And support from family and friends is good but NOT required for success. The only one who supported me was my dad. It felt like everyone else was actively trying to make me fail. Once you make up your mind to do it, just plot the course and stay true. In the end YOU will be the one you will have to answer to, not all the naysayers. GOOD LUCK!

It's never too late to try. Although your highschool grades do count, from my expereince, the college pre-reqs are of most important. Enroll in a community college and really focus on those classes. You can build your college transcript up this way and have the schools focus on those grades. Take a CNA course as well if you can (they have these at comm colleg). This will give you a glimpse into nursing to make sure it is what you want to do. Good luck!

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