I am so confused I don't know what to do

[FutureRN81]

Hello everybody, I am new here and I have suddenly got the itch to becom a nurse. I just dont know how to get there, or better yet the right or best way to get there. Let me give you a little info about me. Then I am asking for opinions and/or suggestions.

I am a 29 year old single parent. I got pregnant pretty young(17) abd had my son at 18. I never graduated high school, but did get my GED in 1999. A few years back I took some college courses at a community college, but fell way behind. my gpa was/ is very low(1.82). I ended up dropping out of the community college instead of trying to improve my grades. And when I dropped out, it messed up my financial aid so I ended up owing money(about 1500 dollars to the school) which i have not been able yo pay back. Recently my son was in the hospital to have a sugery. While staying in the hospital and talking to nurses led me to decide that nursing is what I wanted to do. I have always had the desire to help and take care of people.

Now that I want to go back to school amd study nursing, I dont know how or where to apply. The community college will not release my transcript until I am able to pay for the tuition I owe. And I dont even know if the credits I have will help me. They were fir a human services degree(mostly psychology amd social work courses). I dont know if I should go into a BSN program or a hospital based RN program. Which would be better for me given my situation. Also, what are some good hospital based programs here in NYC? Or would it be better for me to enter into a BSN program as a freshman, would I even be able to do that?

Please if anyone has any advice or info for me it would help me greatly. Thanks a lot!!

Also sorry if this post is hard to read, anf if there are many mistakes. I am typing this on my Iphone.

[Guest27531]

Take a deep breath...

You need to get a few things in order in your life. Obviously, you need to get your financial situation back on track. Since your Community College won't release your transcripts until you have paid the money you owe them, that is a priority. If you have a plan to pay them off within a few months, you can start doing your research regarding a return to school. Here's what I recommend doing:

1. Plan your repayment to the Community College

2. Make a list of all nursing schools in your area that will work physically (ie you won't have to move to go there, they offer evening or weekend classes if you are going to be continuing to work while you go to school, etc)

3. Research all those schools and make notes on their program (entry requirements, tuition, days/time of classes, pre-requisites needed for application, etc). Through this process you will be able to rule out one or two.

4. Once you have identified the few programs that would work for you compare them to each other with respect to pre-requisites and competitiveness. Through this process you will probably be able to rule out another one.

5. When you are left with the "ideal" school give it your full attention. Call them and ask for application deadlines, application requirements, etc. If you find someone to have a full conversation you can often discover that there are courses they will accept that you can start taking while you are waiting for the application to be processed.

Unfortunately, it is possible that none of your Community College classes will count toward your nursing degree if you choose an Associate Degree program. A few credits may transfer if you choose a BSN program although schools can sometimes be picky about this. Just go with the flow once you find the right school. With your limited financial resources it doesn't seem feasible to start a 4-year BSN program but financial aid packages may differ so check that out.

I wish you the best of luck.