Looking for encouragement

Hi all,

I've stalked this site in the past because it honestly is very insightful to read everyone's comments, but now I've made an account because, to be frank, I really need some encouragement. I receive a TON from my mother, an ICU nurse of 25 years, who attended the same school that I am going to be attending this coming Fall for her Associates in Nursing, and then she went on to a different school to get her BA. So, she's been through this and has heard things and wants to give me a boost, but it's sometimes nice to hear it from someone who isn't biased.

A little bit of background about me. I was in school four years ago, and honestly slacked is an understatement. I never took it seriously and half of my classes, I did not attend and/or withdrew. And when it was too late to withdraw, I would take a bad grade. The classes I did try, I got decent grades - As and Bs, except for two.

I originally started as a Psychology major and to this day do have a desire to go on and, once I become a full-fledged nurse, continue on and work towards becoming an psychotherapist. What led me to nursing? Besides having grown up in the hospital and a real interest in human health, right now it is about the fact that I am a single mother and I need to get myself on a path to better supporting myself and my son. So, I decided to take the route of an Associates to be done asap and then, after hopefully landing a job, I can continue on with psychology.

In the four years, I have changed completely. I take school very seriously and have waited four very long years to start. Here's the problem. One of the classes that I took over four years ago (Intro to Psychology), I had a horrible professor that gave horrible grades even when you tried, and ended up with a D. Intro to Personality in the same semester I got an A. As I sat registering for classes the other day, the person assisting me pretty much told me give up on nursing because they'll never accept you with the D.

Now, I had told him that when I originally signed up for school, they had told me that I would be getting a fresh start and all my classes would be gone and nothing would be transferred in. I'd lose quite a bit, but I was 150% okay with taking everything over that I needed to. Two weeks later, I find out they transferred 30 credits and that D is in. Fortunately, they were able to remove it and I am taking it over this semester and refusing to get anything but an A (lol), but as he put it, they'll still pull up your history and most likely will reject you.

I literally said, "But I want to try. I want to take the classes, get the grades up, and then meet with the nursing department and explain everything to them." He said, "Yeah, you'll file an appeal." He's pretty much setting me up from day one that this isn't going to happen. Has anyone ever had success in a huge gap of time, retaking a class, pleading and explaining why you want it and why you know you're worth it and getting accepted into a program, or is he actually right and my chances are non-existent?

I will be trying my absolute best regardless, but I rather have it in my mind if my chances aren't great.