MSC - Confused after changing my major!

U.S.A. Georgia

Published

Good morning! I need a little advice! I am going to be attending Macon State this fall as a transfer student from Wisconsin where I completed my first two years of college with a major in Elementary Ed. I'm changing my major to nursing and am trying to learn about the program, as it is entirely new to me! I am trying to decide if I should do the BSN or ASN program....I have all of my english, math, psych, soc and phy ed classes done, so I assume it would be waste to not use them to transfer for a BSN. However, I have not completed ANY of the required Bio or Chem classes that are needed for the program, because with my previous major, I did not need these classes. However, it looks like if I were to go back and do the BSN program, it is going to take me about 3 or 4 years still to finish. With the ASN program, I will onlyl need one math class and AP1 and AP2 and Micro. Mainly, what my question is, can I take any of these four classes together? Or can I take them while in the Nursing program? Because, if not, I will still have to wait four semesters to take these classes before I can start the nursing classes? I am not sure if I am understanding this correctly and am waiting on hearing back from the nursing dept (I don't want to keep bothering them, I know you are all waiting for your acceptance letters! :) So any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!! I am completely new to this, but very excited and just want to get on the right track. Also, any advice for applying to the programs? Right now my GPA is only at 3.4 and unfortunately the classes that bring it down are my sciences...yikes! But I am determined to do anything to get it up and become a nurse :)

Thank you for your help!

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Go dor the Associate's degree first. As soon as you pass the boards and get a job, start looking for an AD-->BSN(or even MSN!) program you can handle while working. You're employer might pay part of your tuition. But, the best reason is that your education will be TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!. Once you are a nurse, any education furthering your occupation is a deduction, but not becoming a nurse initially. Your job options may be a little limited when you first start out, depending on what part of the country you are in, but even diploma nurses like myself can get a job.

In your case, tho, I might finish your Education degree as something to fall back on, then go to a program that prepares nurses with other degrees (BS/BA-->BSN). Your education background will surely be useful in nursing, as my Chemistry background was to me (I had a BS in Chemistry with some MS level courses, so I breezed thru all the science parts of nursing)

You might also consider getting a part-time job as a nurses' aide or home care aide to see if you like the nitty-gritty of nursing. I know many people who loved nursing school but couldn't stand the actual nursing profession--better to find out now.

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Thank you so much for your response ddunnrn!

I didn't realize that about tax deductions and also, going back to school at 24 after working as a social service technician, I have a lot of bills and can't really afford to stay in school for years right now, so the ADN route would probably be best because then I can at least get out and start working in the field. And I def. want to eventually go for my Masters, which is why I thought I should go ahead and get my Bach right now, but it makes more sense to start working.

Does anyone know anywhere in Warner Robins that would be a good place to do volunteer work to learn more about the nursing field? Right now I work in a Day Service program for Consumers with mental illness and I am extremely interested in Psych nursing. I'd love to find somewhere to volunteer and learn more about the field.

Also, when applying for the nursing program at Macon State, do they look at your cummulative GPA or just the classes that pertain to your major?

Is there anyone else out there who is attending MSC in the fall as a pre nursing major?

Thank you so much for your help!

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I can't tell exactly where you are from, but if your state has a state mental hospital nearby, see if you can volunteer there. You will see all sorts of interesting cases, and you will also learn about the sorry state of mental health care in most of the country. I started out as an RN working in our local state hospital which in its heyday had over 7000 patients. It also had a horrible reputation, which was only partially deserved. But, having worked there on my resume opened many doors later, because interviewers knew if I could work there, I could work almost anywhere. If you have any more questions about psych, please feel free to email me :

[email protected] (Dave Dunn)

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