married with 4 kids, never been to college, age 29, can i do this? am i too old?

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I have never been to college except when i was younger i went to a vocational school for medical assisting which i had to drop out because i was young with 2 kids at the time with no help from their dad. now i'm married with 2 more kids and i desperately need a career. i cant depend on my husband forever. I was looking into to Chamberlain College of Nursing in Houston because there are no waiting lists. I can not afford to take risks at a CC at this point and age of my Life. What I'm asking is if there is anyone out here like me that is in nursing school now or have graduated? how tough is it with mutiple kids? My husband is very supportive and we can now afford for me to attend school but money isn't the issue. I'm just nervous that it'll be too overwhelming with all these kids we have.

Specializes in CMSRN.

Never too old! I'm 39 with 3 kids. If you can utilize the community college first I would urge you to do it. That would be the cheaper method to get all your pre-reqs done. If at that point you wanted to attend Chamberlain you could have covered at least your first year of pre-reqs and quite possibly a few of your second year too.

This would certainly save you money.

We are a military family so we have had to move around a lot since I started taking classes, which meant that I had many credits from different colleges to transfer in and most of the related credits have transferred in saving me a huge amount of money.

However, you decide to go about getting your degree, you are certainly not too old and I wish you the best of luck.

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My oldest student was 63. She was married for 40 years to a guy who told her she was worthless, stupid, and could never amount to anything. She always wanted to go to nursing school, but that was out of the question. And when the old SOB died, she took the insurance money and went to nursing school.

She wasn't any better at nursing than her younger classmates, but she was better at life. She had seen her parents die, had had children, and had a wealth of life experience that her 19-year-old classmates did not have. She knew want to sit quietly in a bedside and listen, which is something they had to learn. Her white hair and calm manner made her easier to talk to and her patients trusted her.

I don't know how long she was in nursing after she graduated, but I know that she was a good student and would've made a very good nurse.

29? You got this. Think what a good example you'll be to your kids. Do avoid debt, do the community college route. I don't know why you would see that as risky; I think risking crushing debt is worse and lasts a lot longer.

If you lack confidence, remember my student. If she could do it, you certainly can.

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I'm 35, four kids ranging in age from 14 to 3. I am working on my prereqs right now. I finished up my CNA and am only about 1/4 of the way finished with my prerequisites.

If you're too old and busy, I'm definitely too old and busy. :up: I have a friend who is in her 50s, five kids (only one still at home, though) and is working part time as a CNA and has two semesters left for her BSN. If she can do it, we can.

I am taking the "risk" of attempting to get into my community college's program. I am dual enrolled at the CC and the University, so I can earn my BSN while I earn my ADN. But it is much better this way, financially.

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You are STILL young. I have friends/ know MULTIPLE people who are in their 40's doing an RN Diploma program (In Pittsburgh, PA) It is 16 month accredited program. After you complete, you can sit for your NCLEX Exam and become registered and Licensed in your state of practice. I would say don't even go to community college (it's a joke) or even a 4 yr traditional program. Your best bet is to find a nursing school and start there. They will have programs from anywhere from 1-2 years. Anyways, you will be paid the same starting rate whether you have a 1-2 year diploma or 4 yr bachelors degree (this does vary by location, although it might only be a dollar difference). Once you become an RN, you can start working at getting paid good money and then in the future if you still want to obtain your BSN, you could always search for an online RN-BSN program in which you take 4 semesters online and receive your BSN. Piece of cake!!!!!!!!!!

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I'm 28 and married. We have 3 kids and I'm in my 3rd semester of pre-reqs. I've enjoyed my TC experience so far and the teachers I have had were amazing. The nursing program at our TC has a 90% NCLEX pass rate which is pretty darn amazing. Online classes would help with the child situation for your first semester of pre-reqs I think. Atleast that what I did and I was working at the time. So you do what you think will work for you sweetie.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

I'm 27, have 1 child & am married. I'll be 29 if everything (school wise) goes according to plan.

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I'm 30 now and have 3 kids, including a special needs child. My husband works in another state so I have no help in the home front. I have finished all my pre-reqs for ADN and am working on the general classes for BSN. I should be starting nursing school in January, I'll be 31. It's hard but if I can handle it, you can handle it.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

I decided to become a nurse at your same age: 29. My situation may be different from yours because my marriage was rocky (but I thought it was the "normal" type of rocky everyone experiences.

In the end, I became a nurse, but ended up divorced. I do not regret making this choice. I became an Lvn and am now in a Lvn to rn bridge program.

I'm so glad I decided to pursue my "dream", regardless of the the toll it took on my family life.

29 is not too old, lol!!! 😀

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You can do it!!! I am 29 with 4 children between 4 and 9. I am 3 months away from finishing at Chamberlain College of Nursing. I had all of my prereqs done before starting. Get as much done at the CC before applying and apply for scholarships. I got the Nurse Corps Scholarship. Good luck! Not old at all!

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RNlife6 -- which Chamberlain do you go to?

Congratulations to everyone on this thread for following their dreams. It should be a testament to everyone still looking to fulfill what they may be missing! I enjoy reading these threads.

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I started at San Jac college when my baby was 3 months old and still having my 12 year old. I was 30 years old when I began my first semester of pre reqs. I had already been out of high school for 12 year and had never been to college. Now I'm in chamberlain at 32 years old and I can tell you it is possible. Is it easy? Of course not, but it's all about time management and motivation. You can absolutely do it.

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