Need advice from California Students

[calstudent10]

Hi. I'm a southern california student and I recently decided to do pre-nursing after completing 1 year of biology track courses at a Texas school. I moved to california because my family relocated here. I was originally enrolled at UCR but when I realized I wanted to do nursing had to withdraw because they don't have pre-nursing courses..or well their courses aren't geared towards that. I'm enrolled at MSJC and will be taking a late start sociology class. I am hoping that I can finish the pre-reqs in time to apply to a Spring 2008 nursing class. If there are any california nursing students that could possibly tell me what kind of qualifications they had to get into a BSN school, I would greatly appreciate it. I know all the schools are pretty much "impacted" and have looked into their sites. They have point systems and I also talked to a counselor at msjc but I'd still really like to get your experiences. For example, most of these schools seem to include in their criteria or point system students that are bilingual (likely to be spanish). I don't know how I could possibly fit 2 semesters of spanish prior to applying but if necessary i will try. Also I noticed that some include health-care experience. My mom wanted me to look up EKG classes so I can do some kind of EKG tech/help and get experience. I'm looking into CSU LB, CSU SB, CSU SM, and SDS. Anyway any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Just make sure you have a minimum of a 3.7 grade point average, solid letters of recommendation, and some healthcare work experience before applying to any nursing program offered by the California State University system. Becoming a CNA is quicker than EKG tech training; in addition, CNA work will be more pertinent to your future as an RN. Good luck!

Check out the California State Univ. site: http://www.csumentor.edu

[calstudent10]

thanks! How long does it take or what is the process of becoming a cna? I tried to look it up and got all confused. Do you know if classes can be taken on the weekends? I'm also taking part in a clinical care extender program where students get trained to help out in the hospital/patient care. There's definitely patient interaction but it's more volunteer because there's no pay. Does that work too?

[puresass]

it sounds like your "clinical care extender" program would work as long as you get enough hours before you apply (i think sdsu requires something like 60 hours for it to count?) & get a letter from them once you've got enough hours saying that you volunteered/worked there. definitely keep your grades high & get all of your pre-reqs out of the way.

good luck!!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

How long does it take or what is the process of becoming a cna?

Becoming a CNA takes anywhere from 6 weeks to 2 months. These courses are usually offered by local community colleges, vocational schools and adult education schools. The cost of the cheapest program tends to be a few hundred dollars.