Home Schooled HS Student to Nursing School - How?

[burner830]

Hi there,

I'm in my senior year of high school in an online school and have decided I want to pursue an Associate's Degree in nursing. I have my eyes set on an accredited community college in my state with a waiting list.

My high school courses have consisted of:

• Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, Psychology, AP Biology, and Intro to Medicine
  
• Algebra I & II, Geometry, and Trigonometry
  
• Four years of Language Arts
  
• Three years of Spanish
  
• Four years of social studies
  
• Other misc electives
  

I have held straight As in all of these classes.

I'm set to take my SAT in December.

Additionally, I'm hoping to take a tour of the college/information session within the next month or two.

My question is: What else do I need to do to get from where I am now to nursing school?

I feel very terribly unprepared and ignorant about the entire process. Is there anything I can do to ensure a spot on the waiting list? Are there courses I need to take after I graduate high school? Any insight whatsoever would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

I'd suggest making an appointment and going in and talking to counselors at the school you are considering. Most CC require all new students to take placement exams in math and english, so you'd know what you need ahead of time.

And if there's a wait, take some of the pre-reqs, co-reqs: English 101, 102, math, A&P, Chemistry, etc & get them out of the way before you get in.

[Extra Pickles]

Start by calling the school you are interested in attending and ask them what their requirements are for the nursing program. Any community college is going to require you to take pre-requisite college courses before being eligible to apply for the nursing program. Usually they include college-level chemistry, microbiology, A&P I and II. Depends on the school how many courses you will need before gaining admission to the nursing program.

You won't go directly from high school graduation to any nursing program anywhere. Most people need a year or more of pre-requisite courses before applying.

Call the school. Speak with an admissions counselor, and find out where to go from there. Good luck to you!

[BrendanO, MSN, RN]

Get a copy of your high school transcript and any standardized test scores (did you take the AP Bio test? no SAT or ACT as a junior? PSAT/PLAN?), then make an appointment with the admissions office at the college. You need to get into the college before you can get into the nursing program.

As MrChicagoRN said, if you can't start the nursing program immediately (which may be a competitive process or a lottery, depending on the school), start getting the gen ed requirements and general science courses out of the way. The folks at the college will be able to outline for you which courses you can take without being 'officially' in the nursing track.

Good luck!