Help!!!.. Where Should I go for Nursing School? I am really Having a Hard Time.

FocusRN · Jan 25, 2005

Okay here it is, I am mailing off my application for Nursing school soon. If I am accepted or rejected I will know by Mid-April. And the program starts in June, and lasts until Aug. 2006. Now the program only has 60 spots and is very competitive! Lots of people are applying this year, so I am worried, if I don't get in I need a back up plan. And right now I don't know what to do. So here are my options:

1) I get into my first choice, and that is where I go, and be done by Aug 2006

2) I go into another community college's program (which I may not get in to), and wait until Jan 2006 to start, I'll be done in Dec.2006

3) Go to a Voc tech (automatic acceptance into the program, as long as you pass the TABE and have a high school diploma) (starting in june), for 18 months, and be done by Feb or April 2007 (it is really cheap about $400 total for full-time per semester including books and materials but sometimes they add on an extra $5, and I may be able to transfer some of my classes over, I have to check on that 2morrow, but if so I should be done sooner)

4) Go to another "college", that is recognized by the BON, start the nursing component this Sept, and be done in Sept 2006 (automatic acceptance, as long as they get their money) (okay so what is up with this one, well they don't accept transfer credits from other schools. So even if you took some pre-req's before, you have to go through their 5 month pre-req program, and take all of the pre-req's there. This school is basically a money pit. I know that but, they do produce good nurses. So do ya'll think I should try to get them to accept my credits or just go with the flow of how they do things? I still don't know how much their tuition is, they are so secretive!)

Help me please, if you have more than one option fo me please list them, in the order that you would go with. And before you make a decision please take the following things into consideration:

-I am 9 months pregnant with my first child

-If I go with the program, that I want to, I will not have to work for a while

-If I go with the second choice school, I will have to travel really far

-If I go to the voc tech or the other "college", I will have to go to school

M-F from 8am-3pm, which means I will have to work to pay for daycare, and I have no idea, what kind of job I can get that will allow me to be a great mother, and spend quality time with my son and fiance, be great in school (or atleast average grade wise), and not go out of my mind doing it. Plus having to go to school M-F 8am-3pm for like 12-18 months, and having to work, is basically like having two jobs, and then adding mommy to the tab, is really tuff.

*Note if I do have to work I will only work enough hours to send my baby to day care, and that is only $300 a month, but payrates are really sucky right now, down here.

Ohh and if I go with #3 the voc tech, they have an on campus day care that is $10 per day/ $50 a week for me. Which would make only $200 a month for me, but I would still have to have my baby is some other kind of day care when I work.

What should I do?????????:o:o:uhoh3: :uhoh3: :uhoh3: :uhoh3: :uhoh21::uhoh21::uhoh21::crying2:

And even if you don't reply thanks for reading, it feels so good to be able to express myself and stop holding all of this in!!!...

proudmommielpn · Feb 6, 2005

Well, here is my 2 cents. I waited until I had a child she was 3 when I started. I was working full time at a nursing home, married and went to school all at once. You just have to do what will most benefit you and your family. As for me I went with the Vocational Technical School. The first semester I went to school on Mon-Wed-Fri worked 7-3 Tues-Thurs-Sat-Sun and then second semester I went down to working only Sat-Sun then by the last semester I had went down to only working either a Sat or a Sun. It can be done. I started in August of 2000 and graduated in May of 2002. We went all through the summer took two weeks off at Christmas and that was it. You find time for the extra things in life but when you go to school you have to want to do it. My husband helped a lot with our daughter and my mom and his mom helped alot. You just got to do what is best for you and yours. I just know in my situation what I picked. Don't be deterred because some people say that the Vo-Tech route is not the best because I feel like I got just as good education there as I would have anywhere else. Matter of fact, right after I graduated they joined with the local community college and the students that were originally registered for the college had to start taking some of their classes at the Vo-Tech. Now they are one big school. Imagine that.

BAtoLPN · Feb 6, 2005

Okay here it is, I am mailing off my application for Nursing school soon. If I am accepted or rejected I will know by Mid-April. And the program starts in June, and lasts until Aug. 2006. Now the program only has 60 spots and is very competitive! Lots of people are applying this year, so I am worried, if I don't get in I need a back up plan. And right now I don't know what to do. So here are my options:
1) I get into my first choice, and that is where I go, and be done by Aug 2006
2) I go into another community college's program (which I may not get in to), and wait until Jan 2006 to start, I'll be done in Dec.2006
3) Go to a Voc tech (automatic acceptance into the program, as long as you pass the TABE and have a high school diploma) (starting in june), for 18 months, and be done by Feb or April 2007 (it is really cheap about $400 total for full-time per semester including books and materials but sometimes they add on an extra $5, and I may be able to transfer some of my classes over, I have to check on that 2morrow, but if so I should be done sooner)
4) Go to another "college", that is recognized by the BON, start the nursing component this Sept, and be done in Sept 2006 (automatic acceptance, as long as they get their money) (okay so what is up with this one, well they don't accept transfer credits from other schools. So even if you took some pre-req's before, you have to go through their 5 month pre-req program, and take all of the pre-req's there. This school is basically a money pit. I know that but, they do produce good nurses. So do ya'll think I should try to get them to accept my credits or just go with the flow of how they do things? I still don't know how much their tuition is, they are so secretive!)
Help me please, if you have more than one option fo me please list them, in the order that you would go with. And before you make a decision please take the following things into consideration:
-I am 9 months pregnant with my first child
-If I go with the program, that I want to, I will not have to work for a while
-If I go with the second choice school, I will have to travel really far
-If I go to the voc tech or the other "college", I will have to go to school
M-F from 8am-3pm, which means I will have to work to pay for daycare, and I have no idea, what kind of job I can get that will allow me to be a great mother, and spend quality time with my son and fiance, be great in school (or atleast average grade wise), and not go out of my mind doing it. Plus having to go to school M-F 8am-3pm for like 12-18 months, and having to work, is basically like having two jobs, and then adding mommy to the tab, is really tuff.
*Note if I do have to work I will only work enough hours to send my baby to day care, and that is only $300 a month, but payrates are really sucky right now, down here.
Ohh and if I go with #3 the voc tech, they have an on campus day care that is $10 per day/ $50 a week for me. Which would make only $200 a month for me, but I would still have to have my baby is some other kind of day care when I work.
What should I do?????????:o:o:uhoh3::uhoh3::uhoh21::uhoh21::uhoh21::crying2:
And even if you don't reply thanks for reading, it feels so good to be able to express myself and stop holding all of this in!!!...

WOW. Let me make a suggestion: since this is your first child, hold off on making the school decision for as long as you can, or at least until your child is a month or two old (whichever is the longest time period). And don't be against changing your plans.

I am divorced with a 7-year-old. My plan was to work 3 twelve-hour night shifts in a row, and take 4 classes (including my Fundamentals clinical class). Well, I had to drop the fundamentals class, and that will put my graduation back about 8 months. But, even though I want to finish school ASAP (like YESTERDAY), I DO need to make sure that I don't "burn out" before I even get started and that I have enough of "me" left for my daughter. You need to do the same, and I am not sure you will fully realize what your child will require of you (and what you really want to give) until that child has been in the world for just a little bit.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! And PACE YOURSELF! You will finish school, AND you will have your beautiful family as well.

:)

BAtoLPN · Feb 6, 2005

See above....