I am experiencing what I'd like to call a "quarter-life" crisis. For most of my adult life I have wanted to pursue nursing, but after becoming a single parent those dreams came to a screeching halt. Since then, I've earned my B.A. in Corporate Communication (12/2014), but nursing keeps pulling at my heart strings. I figured why not do something that I am /obviously passionate about?
I visited Chamberlain College of Nursing - Houston last August and I was very impressed with the information presented and their facility. I applied not realizing that I would have to take the Hesi exam within a week of my application date. I hadn't studied a bit! I made a 74 and it shook me to my core! I thought yet again that maybe nursing wasn't for me. So, I started graduate school (01/2015) only to find myself completely miserable. I dropped my courses, pulled up my big girl undies, and decided to really give this a shot. However, I work full-time, I'm a single mom, and I am constantly wondering if I will be able to work my way through this program.
I am sure this was a bit much to read, but any advice is welcomed. I have literally poured through dozens of post on this sites and sites like this seeking confirmation that this is possible. I don't want my dreams to escape my grasp.
This is what for profits do. They have what they tout as "admissions counsellors", these people are nothing more than high pressure sales people. They are selling you a very expensive product, their tuition. They have this high tech school with all the fancy gadgets. They can afford those things because of their high tuition cost. Great, they have a fancy facility.
Their fancy facility means absolutely jack if no one will hire you afterwards. In the world of nursing going to a for profit college is bad and looked down upon. If you ever decide to further your degree later on, the only place you can do that is at another one of their expensive programs. There is a reason that no other schools accept their credits. Their programs are not up to par. They don't even meet the minimum standards to be accredited.
They are good at one thing, selling. I can tell you from personal experience. Once upon a time I started at a for profit college for business management. I was 20 and I did no research. I felt it was just a good idea at the time. I quickly began to realize what this school was about and withdrew. I decided to go to the community college across the street to go for nursing. But not after leaving me with over $10000 in loans and a waste of my time on my credits. They would not transfer anywhere. It was a year of meaningless work. I had worked hard while I was there. I currently have a friend who has been sucked in by two of these schools.
None of us on here can tell you what to do with your education. Just investigate each school and research all of your options. Paying $80-90k for a nursing degree is not a good investment. You are never going to make enough money in nursing to adequately make it a good investment because it is going to take you forever to pay that back. After all of your living expenses each month, there won't be tons left to pay that loan down quickly. Nurses make enough money to live off of but they don't make so much that you can afford those giant loans. You could buy a house for that amount of money. My sister has her doctorate in physical therapy. But she went to a very pricey catholic college. She can get a job anywhere she wants and makes excellent money. She is also married. Her husband has a good job. They can't afford a house though because of her loans. She's pregnant now and they have to live in an apt because the amount of her loans could buy two of my houses. To me, that's not a good investment.
The OP is desperate to become a nurse. Its clear she wants to jump right into a program. She is unable at this point to look at the entire picture. All she is focusing on is "becoming a nurse." Nursing school will impact her entire life financially, mentally, physically & emotionally. To make matters worse, she works full time & is a single mom. With the cost of the tuition alone, I'm unsure of how much money will be left over from financial aid, scholarships & loans (she believes she will be entitled to) that will offset the cost of rent, food, lights, gas, cable & so on if she's not working.
She stated she has friends/family who are nurses. I'm shocked that they haven't given her a reality check about what she is attempting to do. Many posters above me have explained perfectly why she should not go to Chamberlain or any for profit school.
I hope she realizes before its too late that she can go to a cheaper, reputable accredited program that won't put her into the poor house.
Also, won't tuition reimbursement only cover costs related to a degree in the field in which you currently work? Why would a corporate business (non healthcare) pay for you to become a nurse and leave them? What are they getting out of this?
First of all, to those of you who claim that I am DESPERATE I am NOT! I was confident in becoming a nurse and doing so by any means necessary just as I did to complete my B.A. Some of you have all focused of the fact that I named one school rather than seeing that I also included others that I am actively looking into as well. For the record, I like Chamberlain because of its convenience, but that is not the only option for me. I understand your concerns about the cost of the university, I am too and that is why I am finishing my natural science courses at community college.
I will say that some of the commentary here came across very negatively. I am not afraid of making sacrifices so that I can secure a favorable future for myself and my child. Whether that means I'll stay at HCC to obtain my ADN and pursue TWU's ADN to MSN program, apply for UT's AE-MSN, PV, UTMB, Chamberlain, or any other school. Either way I will be applying to multiple universities because I want options. I work in the healthcare/insurance industry and have done so far the last 8 years which is why my employer will reimburse tuition fees without stipulation. I looked at BON and saw the NCLEX pass rates for each of these schools, I compared tuition, program formality, and I have started to contact HR representatives as you have suggested. Ultimately, I will make the best decision for me.
I think everyone just wanted you to have a clear picture of the nursing school world. There are a lot of pros and cons to the ADN vs BSN, CC vs. University, etc. I hope that you make the best decision possible for your family and to be mindful of the amount of debt you are willing to take on for this degree.
I visited PV CON this afternoon and it wasn't a great experience. The director and admission coordinator weren't in office and their staff seemed unprepared for their absence. We were given packets with admission and Hesi information and I expected to be able to see the facility, but we were told that we could return on Aug. 4th for the next informational to have our questions answered and see the facility in detail. That wasn't a good first impression for sure! Next up, HCC!
I will say that some of the commentary here came across very negatively.
Take the comments for what they are, neutral parties giving information. Posters tend to be blunt and without sugar coating. Sometimes it's not what we want to hear.
Try reading the replies in a neutral voice.
Three things I would look at when choosing a school, NCLEX pass rates, the schools BON status, and price.
I definitely felt a way about the comments before, but I have applied the information that I've been given and I have found more than I'd known before. I am going to continue searching until I find a program that fits my needs.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
You absolutely should become a nurse. It's not a quarter life crisis. It's just the right time for you.
I do agree that you should take time to select the right program.
I also would like to point out that you are not judging the programs you have visited by the right means.
You don't need to feel amazing when you walk out the door after talking to an admissions counselor. You're not buying a vacation, you're buying an education.
An inexpensive community college won't have salespeople there on off times. They don't have to. People want to go to get their money's worth.
The things that matter in choosing your school are nclex pass rate, cost, scheduling feasibility, in that order.
These are the things that will make or break you as a full time worker and single mom.
If I were you, I would go the ADN route, then do a BSN bridge if necessary.
I haven't started nursing school yet, but researching different programs led me to All Nurses and here's what I've discovered so far: Private colleges and accelerated programs are the Evil that Nobody Talks About. They draw a lot of scorn backed up by a big heap of misinformation.
Sure, there are some *very* shady career colleges out there. Definitely. I do not dispute that fact at all.
But if you pass the N-CLEX, you are a nurse. Period. Is the program accredited? That means their pass rate needs to stay above a certain threshold. Programs with crappy pass rates lose their accreditation. What does that mean? Well, it means private colleges are in the business of making sure you can pass the exam. They are for-profit businesses. Their profit depends on you passing.
It would be so nice if I could have lived with my parents to do my prerequisites! It would be nice if I had a spouse who could pay the bills while I went to school. It would be nice if I had wonderful benefactors who would pay my rent so I didn't have to have a full-time job while getting my education. It would be nice if having kids didn't cost so darned much. But the reality is that many people don't have these luxuries (and they ARE luxuries). So the solution is to either languish on waiting lists at community colleges or go into a more expensive accelerated program. The program I'm looking at is an ADN followed by an ADN to BSN bridge. Overall cost upon full completion is about $65k. Yeah, holy crap, that is a huge number. Research Loan Forgiveness (so important to keep this in perspective), look up programs that offer to pay portions of your school debt (Nurse Corps is one) in exchange for service, take deep breath and realize that not everyone can graduate from school debt-free. For me the cost is worth it because I can begin working immediately after receiving my ADN (and passing the N-CLEX) which will be a significant positive change in my income. Following that will the the BSN bridge which is a further boost.
Everyone needs to stop looking down their noses at alternative schooling routes. A nurse is a nurse is a nurse. The amount of debt we carry does not affect what kind of care we can provide.
You say that but hospitals do take in to consideration the reputation of the school you attend, like it or not. No one is even really saying that outright to the OP. She just needs to be mindful about the amount of debt she will take on to have a nursing degree. The for profit school game is tricky and going 90,000 in debt for this degree isn't worth it! Nurses don't make enough starting out to warrant taking on this debt. And no one ever said that loads of debt will make you a bad nurse...but it may make you an unhappy, resentful one
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NurseGirl525, ASN, RN
3,663 Posts
This is what for profits do. They have what they tout as "admissions counsellors", these people are nothing more than high pressure sales people. They are selling you a very expensive product, their tuition. They have this high tech school with all the fancy gadgets. They can afford those things because of their high tuition cost. Great, they have a fancy facility.
Their fancy facility means absolutely jack if no one will hire you afterwards. In the world of nursing going to a for profit college is bad and looked down upon. If you ever decide to further your degree later on, the only place you can do that is at another one of their expensive programs. There is a reason that no other schools accept their credits. Their programs are not up to par. They don't even meet the minimum standards to be accredited.
They are good at one thing, selling. I can tell you from personal experience. Once upon a time I started at a for profit college for business management. I was 20 and I did no research. I felt it was just a good idea at the time. I quickly began to realize what this school was about and withdrew. I decided to go to the community college across the street to go for nursing. But not after leaving me with over $10000 in loans and a waste of my time on my credits. They would not transfer anywhere. It was a year of meaningless work. I had worked hard while I was there. I currently have a friend who has been sucked in by two of these schools.
None of us on here can tell you what to do with your education. Just investigate each school and research all of your options. Paying $80-90k for a nursing degree is not a good investment. You are never going to make enough money in nursing to adequately make it a good investment because it is going to take you forever to pay that back. After all of your living expenses each month, there won't be tons left to pay that loan down quickly. Nurses make enough money to live off of but they don't make so much that you can afford those giant loans. You could buy a house for that amount of money. My sister has her doctorate in physical therapy. But she went to a very pricey catholic college. She can get a job anywhere she wants and makes excellent money. She is also married. Her husband has a good job. They can't afford a house though because of her loans. She's pregnant now and they have to live in an apt because the amount of her loans could buy two of my houses. To me, that's not a good investment.