help!! I really need advice

[starnurse2b16, RN]

Hello everyone, I really and truly want to be a nurse. But I have several obstacles to over come. Which are: 1. I have two small children and very little support. 2. I share a car with my fiance 3. I have to attend a school in January or I will have to start paying back my loans. Which I can not afford to pay back right now. I need and want to go to school.

I really wanted to attend keiser university in January. Since the adn program is accredited and they offer great class schedule . Here is what is stopping me from attending kesier university. My admission counselor informed me that in order to be accepted to the adn program. I must get a passing score on the teas test. You only take the teas test twice and if you fail both times. You can't take the teas test for another four months. Also, I just found out that since I have five prequites to complete before I can enter the nursing core. If I start in January , I will be done with my prequites in May. Kesiser university only offers nursing core in January and September each year. Which means that after I finish my prequites, I have to wait three months before I can start the nursing core.

My second choice

Is to attend Florida Career College adn program. The pros of the program: 1. This school is closer to my house. 2. Cheaper tuition 3. their hessi exam only consists of math and reading. I should not have a problem passing this test 4. I can complete rn program faster than at keiser university.

The cons of this program : 1. This is my biggest concern. Their nursing program is not accredited. I was Todd from Jacksonville university. That I could still get my bsn as long as I completed my prequites at a accredited institute. I could still attend their rn-bsn program.

My third choice

Is to attend keiser university or concord career college lpn program(24,000). Later bridge to a rn program in the future feel like these school charge too much for a lpn program.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

OMG - Do not attend a non-accredited school. Even if they are claiming to have 'accreditation in progress', just wait until it happens. You may already know this - if so forgive me, I don't want to come across as patronizing - but there is no 'fast track' in nursing. It is a step-by-step process, and you can't skip any of the steps. There are a lot of hurdles to cross, even the process of applying and being accepted will take a lot of effort. Each school has it's own rules & they don't make exceptions.

I realize that you are facing a hard deadline with loan paybacks looming, but you should not jump into a nursing program simply to put off those payments.... Investigate the possibility of deferments instead. You don't want to make any rash decisions just because you feel rushed.

[DadStudentPerhaps]

I would be Leary of attending a non-accredited school.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day:

Agreed... only stay with accredited programs / schools.

Thank you.

[starnurse2b16, RN]

Thank you everyone. I think everyone is right. Im not gOing to attend the school that is not accredited. I don't want to waste my money or Time.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

Do not attend the school that is not accredited. You may not be able to sit for the NCLEX afterwards which would be a complete waste of money. Really 3 mos. is not long to wait to get into the program. That is how my program is. I will finish the prereqs in May and start the program in August. Believe me you will be ready for a break once May hits.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day:

In addition, should you go on to further your degree, there's no guarantee whatsoever of what credits will transfer or not transfer. My personal experience is that I went to an accredited college for one year, then to business school (non accredited) for two years for an associate degree. Now that I'm switching careers, working on my prerequisites for a nursing program, I had to go through an easy process for the accredited college (they accepted 9 credits -- which was very close to 100%), and for the 93 credits of the associate degree, I'm fighting to just get THREE (3) credits transferred. Which, by the way, looks as if I will loose that battle from several directions. That costs time (class time, study time, commute time) and money (tuition, books, supplies, gas, etc.) in terms of taking courses I would not otherwise have to take.

Thank you.