Newbie here! 1.5 yrs Pre-nursing req + 2 yrs of nursing school + 2 yrs of BSN... Help?

[Carolina0529]

Hi everyone! I'm Carolina, a 20 yr old female living in San Diego, CA, attending San Diego City College, aspiring to be a future nurse and a nurse practitioner at some point. I have some concerns that hopefully some nurses who have been or are in nursing school can help me with.

So I always wanted to be a doctor, I love medicine and helping people, I have always been the type to care for my family and others when they are sick, prepare warm food, give them over-the-counter meds, etc. And I love it.

However I do think it is a long time in school and much sacrifice to become a doctor, before I even thought of being a nurse I looked for some satisfaction in Bio and Chem, which is currently my major and I am still doing the prerequisites which are the same for nursing school, so all in all I am still on the right path and there is no need to change everything I am doing whatsoever.

But I inquired on San Diego City College School of Nursing, and turns out you apply a year before attending nursing school, and applications are only in the Fall. September to November 1st, so recent applications have just closed and are NOT accepting anymore, which wouldn't have mattered because I still need to finish my generals.

So that would mean I have about:

2 yrs of Pre-reqs

2 yrs of Nursing school

+ Transfer to SDSU to complete my BSN, by then I am a RN with an A.A., hopefully I can begin working by now

And finally, 2 yrs at SDSU to complete my BSN.

So, I am 20 yrs old, I feel like I have lost so much time since I lost a year of school due to personal family issues. I just don't want to be bothering my parents at home much longer, I feel like they'll be thinking, "When is she gonna leave?" I don't know if parents actually think this or not, but that is what is on my mind.

I'm sorry for the long rant, I just feel crushed because this is really what I want to do and my dreams are slowly disappearing in front of me. Both of my parents are caregivers, I also feel they will be disappointing I didn't pursue something else b/c they always tell me how hard taking care of patients is, and they probably wanted me to work in something where I didn't have to take care of people like they do.

Can someone please share some advice or personal stories?

Sincerely,

Carolina

[drew619]

Like jess.mont said, you do your prereqs at CC and then transfer to a bachelor's nursing program. However, most state nursing schools in California are 3 years after you transfer except for CSULB and Sac State which are 2 years. Another nice thing about these two schools is that they accept students for Fall and Spring whereas most schools just accept in Fall. As for your plans to attend SDSU, it is one of the most competitive state nursing schools and from what I have heard they don't like to take transfer students.

My advice to you is if you want to go to a CSU nursing program, try and get all As in your prereqs because the programs are very competitive. Also, be open to moving out of SD. I am a San Diego native and finished my prereqs at Mesa. I am currently waiting to hear back on my apps to CSULB and Sac. I am also an older student (27) going back to school so don't worry about a specific timeframe that you have to adhere to.

If you have any questions let me know because I know how difficult it can be applying and getting information on the programs

[Carolina0529]

Hi, thanks for your reply!

I'm not really worried about getting in.. I'm more worried about the financial aid package. You see, everything at my CC (SDCC) is covered by my Pell Grant, BOGWAIVER (I don't pay for classes), EOPS (Pays for books, supplies), and I receive my full Pell grant in cash by DD.

So, I'm a little worried about how it's gonna go down at a CSU. I qualify for the EOP, and the Pell Grant as well.. But who knows.. I'm going to commute so I'm getting a car this year which is really exciting! But I need money for gas and food while I'm attending, which wont be for another year and a half, but still, I can't help but worry.

Would you happen to know anything about this? *crosses fingers*

Anything at all about what is the standard financial aid package for a 30-33K income family of 4, my net calculator for SDSU says it's about 11,000 K for the whole year, but I'm so confused bc don't students at CSU get any money left over from disbursement?

Tuition and fees for 1 year is about 11,000 and something, so I think it would basically be enough to cover my fees.

I tried researching this online and I can't really find anything on it, perhaps I'm searching wrong, but if it is that way, then I better start saving up b/c I'm in for a rough ride lol!

[drew619]

Not too sure about financial aid. You will most likely have to pull out loans; I know I will be to cover living costs. On the bright side, you will be going into a well-payed and high growth field so paying off loans should be easy unlike a degree in the arts.

[Carolina0529]

That is the bright side, but I am sure something will turn out! I will speak to my counselor about this. Thank you.

[MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN]

You said you always wanted to be a doctor, I didn't read you always wanted to be a nurse. If you really want to be a doctor go that route. You have no concept of how young you actually are & won't understand until a decade from now probably. If I could go back in time to when I was 20 I'd be blazing a fantastic trail.

[NICUMurse87, BSN, RN]

You said you always wanted to be a doctor, I didn't read you always wanted to be a nurse. If you really want to be a doctor go that route. You have no concept of how young you actually are & won't understand until a decade from now probably. If I could go back in time to when I was 20 I'd be blazing a fantastic trail.

If I would have gone into nursing at 18 instead of wasting 4 years on psychology, I'd be a senior nurse practically, instead of a newbie. I wish I had followed that same advice.

[allisonmcx]

Honestly, I'm 22 myself and I always feel bogged down knowing that I may not have a nursing job until I'm 24-25. But we both just need to remember that we are only in our early 20s. people become nurses in their 50s! We don't realize how young we are, but in the scheme of a lifetime, a few years doesn't make a huge difference :)