I know I'm not the first to ask this, but..

Southernkitten · Apr 6, 2008

How are you doing in the rest of your classes? Are your grades all together passing or failing? Have you thought about quitting your job? You would need to seriously tighten your belt but it can be done. If this is something you want, then GO FOR IT! You can either go deeper into debt or cut back on expenses. I have chosen the deeper into debt route - I have a credit line that I use to cover bills I can't pay. My friend lives with her grandparents to save money and gets books from the library instead of buying them (they are usually a previous edition but it works for her). Go speak with the teachers and ask if they have any hints. Instructors who feel a student is trying and looking for answers/help will usually help out if the grade is borderline failing. I was failing patho my first semester but the instructor worked with me weekly and I ended up with a B. YOU CAN DO THIS. Go see the financial aid office and find out if there are additional scholarships/grants you might qualify for. Ask everyone you can think of how they are doing it and you will find a way. Good luck!

suanna · Apr 6, 2008

If you failed 3 for 3 I don't blame you for wondering if nursing isn't your field. I don't know you from Adam but I can tell you- it only gets harder. If its time constraints or aptitude the demands will get tougher, the questions harder, and the schedule more intense. I don't want to be discouraging but you may be better off quiting before you end up with a huge student loan bill and no degree to pay it off. Talk to your counselor now. They may be able to offer suggestions on how to improve your test scores. If not, there are other fields you can transfer you undergraduate credits into. Once everything gets "nursing focused" the credit hours don't apply to much else.

NurseBrittney · Apr 6, 2008

do you enjoy your clincal experiences, because thats what your day to day is going to be like for the rest of your career... i think that matters more than wether or not you enjoy the book work

Flames9_RN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Apr 6, 2008

Maybe ur just studying wrong. Maybe its a good time to visit your tutor centre if ur school has one. Mine does and its free, or ask a few other students how they study for exams. I know many of our text books have study guides available. They are more of a workbook, and I find them extremely helpful. They ask multiple choice questions, fill in the blank, matching, and they tend to concentrate on what you have to know!! And they come with the answers,lol so if I dont have time to do them, I just rip out the answers and study from that!! have you reviewed ur last exams?? if not do so, and see where you went wrong and get a feeling for the type of questions they ask. Your obviously a smart person, otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted into the program, you CAN do this!! Now lets go out and kick butt on exam #4!

MB37 · Apr 6, 2008

Do you know why you failed? Do you think it was only because of work? Have you seriously explored every single scholarship and loan opportunity out there? Have you hit up every living family member for a loan? If you have, then what do you do for a living and how well does it pay? Have you considered waiting tables/bartending? If you work at the right place and are good at it, you can make more than enough to pay the rent without having to work full time (depending on where you live). I bartended for eight years, waited tables before that, and I don't believe I ever worked 40 hours a week unless it was by choice. I never starved, and I put myself through a lot of schooling. Where can you cut corners? Can you get a roommate? Do you need cable? Can you sell some stuff on ebay? Do you have a phone line you can get rid of? Cut down to the bare bones on your cell service? Eat more ramen? Give up a Starbucks habit? Bring your own lunch (more ramen) to school and don't pay for the cafeteria? If you've already done all of that, and still need to work full time, and still believe it might be why you're failing, then perhaps this isn't the right time to be in school - you might be a great nurse someday, but you might be someone who needs a lot of study time to pass, and you might need to withdraw and increase your hours at work - then you could put some money aside and return to school when you can afford to quit or at least decrease your hours.

strider1500 · Apr 7, 2008

I truly appreciate all the responses, as far as my ability to obtain further financial aid, that is out of the question. No one I know can co-sign for additional funds, regarding scholarships, yes there are billions of dollars just sitting out there, but I can't rely on applying, being accepted and being awarded a scholarship. I have bills to pay, just like all of you.

As far as cutting corners, I am only living on the bare minimums, I live an hour, one-way, from my school and the gas is killing me. I have a mortgage on a mobile-home so, unfortunately, I just can't up and move.

The main reason I failed the exams was because I don't have enough time to study, due to my work and drive time. I have actually tried to sell my musical equipment and have received no offers.

Thanks again.