I need some guidance!

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I have just graduated from high school in 2010 and I really want to be a nurse. I have applied at my local community college (not knowing anything about admission assessments or prerequisites) and I obviously did not make the cut. So now I'm just getting some general credits. The Fortis Institute near me is offering an lpn program. It is approved by the state of PA but it is not accredited. The person who interviewed me there loved me and is working with me to try and get me in. The program there is 18 months. There is also a vo tech offering an lpn program, which I am still waiting to hear from, which has an articulation agreement with the community college I attend. That program is 12 months. Now knowing that I must take at least a year of gen eds at the community college, I am having a hard time making this decision. I'm not sure weather I should stay at the community college and just keep trying or to try and go to one of these lpn programs. Sorry if this has been posted numerous times. Any advice?:uhoh3:

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I think you should stick with the general ed courses at the community college, then apply for the RN program. Not that many places are hiring LPNs anymore. Also, they are making current LPNs go back to school to become RN. You want to go to a school where credits will transfer especially if you want to eventually get your BSN or MSN later in life. Good luck to you. I wish I had thought about pursuing a career instead of a job when I graduated from high school.

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I would also recommend going the vocational school route over attending a unaccredited, for-profit college. You should not expect the credit earned from an unaccredited college to transfer anywhere --- meaning you might have taken out student loans and need to re-do everything.

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Thank you guys, it's a hard decision. I'm leaning more towards getting the gen ed's at a community college. I am a recent high school grad but when I was in high school I had no idea what I wanted to do and when I was looking into nursing I had no idea how competitive it really is to get into. I did not have chem (but I did have the choice) and I did have the opportunity to take anatomy in high school and my guidance councler told me I didn't need it- so obviously any unmotivated teenager is not going to do something that they don't need to. These are the things they don't tell you in high school! I just need to have patience... which I do not have!

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You're leaning towards the better decision. Please don't go to an unaccredited school, very risky, and costly. Believe me, you don't want to burden yourself with debt like that. The less debt you can obtain to get the degree you desire, the better off your future will be.

Having a year of pre-reqs will help you. It will help you get into a pattern and be able to be organized before starting the hard core courses. You will be more mentally prepared.

Take your pre-reqs, do well (and if you're having issues get a tutor- they are usually free at the school), and then apply away!

Good luck to you!

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