If I could go back to when I started college, I would have choosen nursing.

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I would have choosen nursing; now it is too late.

I am 19 and about to transfer soon. If I wanted to go nursing I literally would have to stay another year at CC for prereqs which = 4 years (and seeing everyone of my friends graduate) and then at least 2 more years for my BSN or ADN. And ADN is not worth 6 years of studying; but I heard BSN's are nearly impossible to go into. :(. My GPA (only 3.0) wouldn't be that great; so I probably wouldn't be able to get a BSN. I am so sad :(.

If nursing is what you want to do now, get to it! I have a Ba, and it has gotten me nowhere. Maybe you could go out of state? Also, prereqs are a way to bring up your Gpa. Because your Gpa is low, to me that means you are not loving what your doing. I had a 3.2 whenni graduated with my Ba, now I have a 4.0 in all my prereqs. A VERY IMPORTANT POINT is that if you need to get financial aid, it is easier to get for your first degree. But once you have that Ba, you will be excluded from certain loan and grant programs. Besides, you either need an ADNnor BSN to get your masters. I'm 28 and starting an ADN program next month. Go volunteer, do something like shadowing a nurse. Then, tell your parents this is what you want. And go do it!

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You are 19! Nothing is too late. I know many people just starting pre-regs at 40. Your problem is, you're measuring your success by others achievement, which is never a good thing. We all have our individual timeline, as life is different for all of us. If you wanna be a nurse, be a nurse. Stop making excuses for why you can't, especially ones that are irrelevant to your success.

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU.

I have to agree with everyone else on here and say that it is never too late, especially when you're 19! I am 28 and was just accepted to an Accelerated BSN-MSN program that I will start in September. I've always been interested in the medical field, but had low self-esteem and told myself I probably wasn't smart enough to make it. I got my B.A. in Law & Justice Studies when I was 22 because I thought I would settle with being a lawyer, but then realized halfway through my senior year that I didn't really want to do that. So I finished out the degree just to have one, and then spent the last 6 years working various administrative jobs at a chemical company (I'm an Executive Assistant right now).

I first started going back to school in Spring 2011, when I thought I wanted to get my MBA. I took an Intro to Marketing class, and it didn't take me very long to realize that I hated it, lol. So it was over that semester (at the age of 27) that I realized it wasn't too late for me to pursue something in the Nursing field. I overcame my insecurities (well, most of them...I'm still a little scared sometimes!) and started taking night and weekend science prereqs the next semester (A&P I in Summer 2011, A&P II & Chem I in Fall 2011, Nutrition & Chem II in Spring 2012, and Microbio coming up in Summer 2012). Now I've been accepted to a great program, and am excited to start this new phase of my life in September!

Do I wish I had taken all of these classes my first time around so that I could already been working as a Nurse? Well, yes, part of me thinks that way sometimes. I think that's normal. However, I don't think I would have been ready for it before now. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of my current workplace, I still know that I've learned a lot here over the last 6 years. And I am hoping that the experience I've gained will help me to excel in Nursing school. So in the end, I really don't have any regrets about anything I've done. I can't wait to start in a few months! Good luck to you!!!

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Never too late. There's plenty of people in my classes who are like 40 and they're going back to school for nursing. :) Best wishes.

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I have to agree with everyone else on here and say that it is never too late, especially when you're 19! I am 28 and was just accepted to an accelerated BSN-MSN program that I will start in September. I've always been interested in the medical field, but had low self-esteem and told myself I probably wasn't smart enough to make it. I got my B.A. in Law & Justice Studies when I was 22 because I thought I would settle with being a lawyer, but then realized halfway through my senior year that I didn't really want to do that. So I finished out the degree just to have one, and then spent the last 6 years working various administrative jobs at a chemical company (I'm an Executive Assistant right now).

I first started going back to school in Spring 2011, when I thought I wanted to get my MBA. I took an Intro to Marketing class, and it didn't take me very long to realize that I hated it, lol. So it was over that semester (at the age of 27) that I realized it wasn't too late for me to pursue something in the Nursing field. I overcame my insecurities (well, most of them...I'm still a little scared sometimes!) and started taking night and weekend science prereqs the next semester (A&P I in Summer 2011, A&P II & Chem I in Fall 2011, Nutrition & Chem II in Spring 2012, and Microbio coming up in Summer 2012). Now I've been accepted to a great program, and am excited to start this new phase of my life in September!

Do I wish I had taken all of these classes my first time around so that I could already been working as a Nurse? Well, yes, part of me thinks that way sometimes. I think that's normal. However, I don't think I would have been ready for it before now. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of my current workplace, I still know that I've learned a lot here over the last 6 years. And I am hoping that the experience I've gained will help me to excel in Nursing school. So in the end, I really don't have any regrets about anything I've done. I can't wait to start in a few months! Good luck to you!!!

I sound exactly like you! But I'm getting my degree in Liberal Arts and maybe pursuing a masters. But I told my parents (whom are paying for my tuition) that I wanted to do nursing, they said I should get my BS (******** haha jk) degree first then find what I want to do. They won't let me go into nursing or approve of it..

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My ADN program doesn't require pre-reqs other than high school biology, chemistry, and algebra. All the other classes (A&P, Micro, Eng, Psy, etc) can be taken while you're in the nursing program. (Side note: the majority of us have a good chunk of the non-nursing classes done before we start but it's not required.) 5 intense semesters from start to finish and you're done! I'm 45 and will be starting the nursing program in January. You are NINETEEN YEARS OLD...you are sooooooo far from it being "too late"!

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Specializes in ER, Med-surg.

You're only 19.

I actually had that problem, but I took out an extra year to do the prereqs. It's worth it to be able to have a useful degree. Sure I'll only be graduating with an ADN when my friends are graduating with bachelors in marine biology, art, and other useless majors, but I'll have a job two years before they will too.

I guess I do find it kind of embarrassing that I won't have a bachelors when I was originally supposed to. I was in honors and AP classes in high school, so not having a bachelors by 2014 is viewed as disgraceful by most of my high school friends. Nursing programs are hard to get into, and I doubt many of my art major friends would be able to do it. You shouldn't put off your schooling just because you think you need a bachelors right now, that's just silly.

Suck it up, get your pre-reqs done, and apply to every single RN program in your area. It's worth it.

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all I can tell you is, it's not too late.

I graduated in 1989 with a BFA in theater management. Spent 3 years getting a masters so I actually had the connections to get a job.

now, Im 45, just finished my pre-recs at the local CC and got accepted into an accelerated Bacc2 program for a BSN.

As a side note, that first degree might actually help you get into a BSN program, around here at least (houston, texas), getting into a Bacc2 program is a lot easier (aka there are fewer applicants to compete against with roughly the same class size) than getting into first time BSN program. The Bacc2 programs also tend to be a bit more flexible with your gpa IF you have a really good average in your pre-rec classes.

ps. I forgot the downside. Once you have a bachelors degree, forget financial aid and most scholarships. Loans will be your only option if you cant self pay.

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Specializes in ER, Med-surg.

I just want to add that, after you get your bachelor's degree, you will be unable to get Pell Grants. I don't know if you use that, but if you do, it's something to consider.

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I think when you're young, you play the "I shoulda" game a lot. When you get older, you just accept the past as something that happened and cannot be changed. Instead of looking back and being sad, you look at your situation today and how you can get to your goal in the future and you start working on it.

It happens. Plans change. People change.

Just think about how you can go into a nursing program from here on out. If it's a BSN or an ADN, just start by taking your prereq's. If your parents are not on board, then talk to them. At the end of the day, you'll have to punch in the clock and make the living you studied for. They won't work for you. So it's gotta be something you want to do.

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