1hr Drive to Nursing School

hamolady · Sep 5, 2016

I highly appreciate your input and i think it also depends on how bad i want it..and i want it bad lol....I know Austin traffic sucks but that just comes with sacrifice and dedication...thank you so much

InfirmiereMaybe, BSN, RN · Sep 5, 2016

Hey. If you take 195 and give yourself enough time to get to Austin, traffic won't be so bad. Have you considered Cedar Park, Round Rock area. They're closer to Austin and maybe a bit cheaper? Just a suggestion.

I thought about attending CTC at first for my ADN but decided to apply to UMHB instead. I'm completing my prerequisites at CTC and will be applying to UMHB this spring. Just another option if you don't want to commute but really an hour drive to Austin isn't too bad in my opinion.

hamolady · Sep 5, 2016

omg that's a good idea...i can probably move to Round Rock..great idea and thank u very much...I have 3 babies and a hubby i am going to see what our plan is going to be thank you so much...

tmorris1102 · Sep 5, 2016

I will have to commute an hour to Ns. I live in Long island and I have to travel to Brooklyn, I think that its worth it if its something you really want to do. Also its so competitive to get in I just went straight for it. God luck!!

hamolady · Sep 5, 2016

So true .....you are so right....and i really want it so bad the next class starts January 2017..It's now or never...thank you so much for your input i.truly appreciate you!!!!

amoLucia · Sep 6, 2016

Just a thought - even if your school were just around the corner from you, you'll still have to contend with getting to & from clinicals. They can also be a significant drive. Sadly, travel is a miserable way of life!

Good luck with whatever you choose and thank you for your service.

jeneroo · Sep 7, 2016

If this is the school that you really desire to go to, make the drive. I'm currently driving an hour plus to school three times a week for classes and clinicals. I live up in the Pocono Mountains and the school that I wanted was an hour south of me, but it is probably the best in the area (96% NCLEX pass rate, all of my friends who have attended loved it and got jobs quickly, the hospitals that they do clinicals at are the best in the area, etc.). I hemmed and hawwed about having to make that drive in the very wee hours of the morning but I think it will be worth it. I'm only in week 2 but I am feeling good about my choice to attend this college. It's only a couple of years out of my life. I figure if I was able to manage 2 years of corequisite and prereqs into one calendar year last year in order to make this reality, than I can drive for a bit. Besides, the drive gives you an opportunity to listen to your recorded lectures daily.

If I can do it, with 6 kids (2 special needs, 1 severe special needs), a husband, and working part time, then you can do it. If I had the option to move closer, I absolutely would, but I don't. $$$ issues and my 4 school age children love their schools, not to mention that my husband loves where we live and he and my oldest son work up here as do I. If you are able to move closer than do so.

mrphil79 · Sep 7, 2016

I just started nursing school.

I applied to 3 schools, all with great reputations.

One of them was the University of South Florida's 2nd degree BSN program, which the campus is *literally* 5 minutes from my house.

I was accepted.

I was also accepted to the other two small state schools I applied to. One is 15 minutes from my house. The other is an hour.

Every aspect of the one that is an hour away was a better fit for me - the program has a great reputation, offers a BSN but will take 2 semesters longer to earn that USF (which seems counterintuitive, but USF's program would have had me doing a 22 credit semester that would have included included 2 clinicals, an 18 credit semester, and a 17 credit semester - all with clinicals also - and I wanted to actually have time to breathe while in school), and they threw all kinds of scholarship money at me.

So, with 1 option that accepted me literally 5 minutes away, one that accepted me 15 minutes away, and one that is an hour away, I'm now making the hour drive. I'm only 3 weeks in, but I love it and I'm really glad I made this choice.

mrphil79 · Sep 7, 2016

Now I've said what I have to say about the drive...

You kind of have a hidden question in there that you probably didn't realize you brought up...

I'm not going to disparage LPN or LVN programs, but I will say that there are many hospitals who wont hire them anymore, and many out there who are requiring their existing LPNs to get their RN or they will lose their jobs.

So there's that to consider.

There's also the pay rate - the average LPN salary is about $20k lower than the average RN salary.

You also want to be very careful with for-profit schools. You never want to go anywhere that will give you credits that you can't transfer anywhere - this can cause significant problems in your future. And there are for profit businesses masquerading as schools going out of business all over - this happens fairly often with smaller local/regional ones, but ITT Tech just announced today that they're shutting down immediately. Not at the end of the semester, not at the end of people's program, but they had signs on their locked doors today.

ITT was one of those schools who has credits that don't transfer...

Another thing...

As I said, LPNs and LVNs (same thing, just depends on the state) are being phased out of many hospitals - which means that you will likely be interested in getting your RN at some point.

(Hear me out...)

Let's say you get your LPN. 3 semesters of school. Then you decide 5 years later to get your ADN. Another 3 semesters of school for a bridge program.

You now have 6 semesters of school that you've gone through (assuming everything from Cybertex actually transfers to another school).

Most complete RN programs are 4 semesters. So by not being willing to wait until June of next year to get into an RN program, you're going to go for the LPN program in January, which will actually cost you an extra 2 semesters of schooling when it's all said and done - PLUS, in that 5 years between getting your LVN and going for your RN, you've been giving up $20,000 PER YEAR.

So, is it really worth getting the LPN just to get going sooner when it will cost you an extra 2 semesters of schooling PLUS $100,000 in lost salary compared to just waiting until June to get in the RN/ADN program at Temple?

159Nursesrule, ADN, BSN, CNA, EMT-B · Sep 9, 2016

I live in San Antonio and attended Galen college of Nursing, also a vet, the book stipend may not cover all of your books, so look for used if possible. The housing stipend is prorated also so be aware of that. Make sure whatever program you attend is accredited by ACEN and check the pass rates for that school on TXBON.

Perhaps one of your classmates may have a room for rent that you can use or perhaps roommates for an apartment. You more than likely will encounter long days and even longer clinical days.

Record the lectures and record your notes and listen to them on the drive is an excellent idea.

hollie18 · Sep 9, 2016

Hey, mama to 3 too and applying to a school with an hour, maybe more, commute. The program also starts January 2017. The schools are so impacted here in the Bay Area, I will be happy to just get in. It is a BSN program, as the closer schools are ADN programs. I am planning on recording and listening to lectures like the previous poster said. It does worry me to leave my youngest, 5 months, for so much time during the week committed to just commuting, but I just know the two years will fly by and it will be worth it to get the RN behind my name!

hope_is_w_feathers · Sep 9, 2016

My school is an hour commute one-way. Sometimes it sucks, but it's not that big of a deal. The only time it really sucks is when there's lots of traffic.