Not excited about Fall semester

savnlivzPRN, LVN · Jul 28, 2010

Keep you head high...

Your kids wont hate you or anything yes, they'll be sad that you'll be gone but hey you've already been gone right because you go to school...

You are 48... and have (as i'm sure) done a great time raising your kids! you need to stick it out and finish your dream show your kids that anything is possible as long as you have the heart and the drive. As for your friend whose been trying for 3 years... doesn't that tell you something? It tells me she wants it pretty bad! Go for it!!!

I have faith in you.... and you will make your minis proud!

mariposabella · Jul 28, 2010

Not that Im a working mom, but if you really want to be a nurse its not a waste of time to finish up those pre-reqs. You do have to make sacrifices though. It sucks you are in California I know pre-nursing students are having a really tough time getting into nursing schools, its so competitive and so many people applying. If you can manage to get As in Micro and A&P 2 it should maybe bump you up to a 3.5. Are you applying for ADN programs? Or are you applying for BSN programs too? It might be easier to get into a BSN program. I dont know I dont live in CA. Dont give up, you might regret not finishing up your degree. Have you told your family that you will be working and going to school full time and that getting your degree means a lot to you, but that you still love them and that you will have to neglect them sometimes. And that whenever you can spare time you will spend it with them? If you can get them to understand that, you should be okay. Does your 19 year old help around the house? You have come this far. I think it would be a good idea to post this in the California forum too.

moma8gma1 · Jul 28, 2010

If you can manage to get As in Micro and A&P 2 it should maybe bump you up to a 3.5. Are you applying for ADN programs? Or are you applying for BSN programs too? It might be easier to get into a BSN program.

I plan to apply to both types -- 2 CC's in my area (lottery) for ASN and CSUS for their BSN program.

I try really hard, but I tend to be a solid "B" student when it comes to sciences. I get straight A's in most of my other subjects, but the sciences are tough for me. (Chem was the worst, but I still managed to get a B -- a miracle!) I will give it my best effort, of course, especially since an "A" in A&P2 would mean I wouldn't have to repeat Micro to apply to the CC's. (They require a B average in the sciences, so I was told that I need an A to offset that C.)

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Both posts have made me feel better. :)

tokidokifantasy · Jul 28, 2010

Please don't give up!! Nobody knows what the outcome will be unless you try. I know how you feel because I felt the same way as I was taking prereqs two years ago, I kept telling myself I was not good enough, I wasn't the smartest, and I didn't have the best grades, so what makes me think any school would want to accept me compare to 400 other applicants. Even after I finished my prereqs, I didn't even bother to apply considering how competitive it is in California. I just simply did not believe myself. Well, in the end of the last year, I felt like I need to give it a try, but I was still a bit hesitatant. I do take rejections well, as in the bottom of my heart that was just an expectation awaiting. So, I lagged...lagged lagged....and then...I got into a car accident in the beginning of this year, and then that moment, I felt like the world stopped. I felt like......oh this is how dying feels like? wow...and there was just a voice telling me I have got to do something about my life. So, for the sake of myself, I applied for the program in March, I applied to three. I didn't make it through the second round of the first college I applied because I didn't pass one section of the Entrance exam, it was not TEAS. Second College was Cerritos, and third was ELAC. I passed TEAS and transferred my score to ELAC. I still doubted, still felt like oh....its lottery drawing, what makes me think I would be selected.

ELAC sent me a letter saying I passed the first round of selection, so all I have to do is submit my TEAS, but I still haven't heard from then. Cerritos College sent out my acceptance in June. I have waited a month while others have already gotten their acceptance. So, in back of my mind, I was thinking, oh...I didn't get it. Now I would have to wait to see if ELAC will accept me.

You have know idea how delighted I was when I got my acceptance from Cerritos College, I was like...Oh wow!! on first try!! I didn't celebrate it, the one month delay just made me realize how much I wanted this, and how much I will treasure this. I do not have the best grades or the best GPA, but I learned with determination and faith, anything is possible. Please try to apply, don't let your fear stop you like it did for me. I think I am more prep now for nursing school than I was 5 years ago, because I am more mature and I know why I am choosing this. This isn't like applying for college, I was clueless back then, ppl just apply all colleges, based on how prestigious the school is, or how many of your friends are goining. I think when older age students apply for nursing program, they pretty much have the mentality of why they are there, what their goals are, and what they want to accomplish in life. I can't say I was prep for this when I was in college, college was just a total "let's party" kind of life style. LOL!! Good Luck!! Don't let anything stop you from achieving your dreams.

Justanotherday · Jul 29, 2010

I only have four children at home (two are teenagers, though) and I also feel guilty sometimes about how much school takes me away from my family. Even when I am home, I am often studying or doing homework. I take two classes at a time. My husband has had to help a lot, so that makes me feel like I'm neglecting everyone sometimes. I keep telling myself that in the end it will be worth the four years it is going to take me. I have been a housewife for 20+ years so it has been quite an adjustment for all of us for me to go to school. My teenagers help me with my younger ones and I let them know how thankful I am for them.

With the amount of children you have, there shouldn't be any need for you to do much housework. Get a chore chart, send a teenager to the store for you, have the 7 year old sort the laundry, etc. We always joke that child labor laws do not apply to one's own children.

I don't like lottery systems, I don't think they are very fair. My school bases acceptance solely on GPA, so the pressure is really on to get as close to a 4.0 as possible. Which can be stressful.

If it is God's will for you to get in, you will get in. You are so close to finishing your prereqs, you might as well finish, right? And if you have to retake Microbiology, so be it, but maybe having that hanging over your head will be the motivation you need to get an "A" in your last class so you can be done.

moma8gma1 · Jul 29, 2010

I only have four children at home (two are teenagers, though) and I also feel guilty sometimes about how much school takes me away from my family. Even when I am home, I am often studying or doing homework. I take two classes at a time. My husband has had to help a lot, so that makes me feel like I'm neglecting everyone sometimes. I keep telling myself that in the end it will be worth the four years it is going to take me. I have been a housewife for 20+ years so it has been quite an adjustment for all of us for me to go to school. My teenagers help me with my younger ones and I let them know how thankful I am for them.
With the amount of children you have, there shouldn't be any need for you to do much housework. Get a chore chart, send a teenager to the store for you, have the 7 year old sort the laundry, etc. We always joke that child labor laws do not apply to one's own children.
I don't like lottery systems, I don't think they are very fair. My school bases acceptance solely on GPA, so the pressure is really on to get as close to a 4.0 as possible. Which can be stressful.
If it is God's will for you to get in, you will get in. You are so close to finishing your prereqs, you might as well finish, right? And if you have to retake Microbiology, so be it, but maybe having that hanging over your head will be the motivation you need to get an "A" in your last class so you can be done.

That has pretty much been my life for the past 25 years: home with the kiddos, taking 2 classes at a time the last few years to knock out the prereq's. I homeschooled for 10+ years, too.

Thanks for the encouragement -- I know what you've said is true! (And I agree about the lottery -- but maybe it will let in some students who can't get high GPA's but who will be phenomenally compassionate nurses.) Grades aren't everything, afterall.

Thanks, again. :)

Justanotherday · Jul 29, 2010

Very true, the lottery system can make it possible for an average student to get accepted into nursing school. Unfortunately, it can also keep the students who have worked their tails off to get a 4.0 or close to it out of nursing school. So it can be good and bad.

We homeschool, too. I will have to enter the evening/weekend nursing program when the time comes so I can continue to be home with my younger boys. My school has a day program for fall students, and an evening one for spring students. One of the reasons nursing makes so much sense to me is that I can work part-time/weekends until my little guys are older, then switch to days/full time. Maybe when I retire, I can do medical missions trips, travel the world, and come home and play with my grandchildren. :rolleyes:

moma8gma1 · Jul 29, 2010

Very true, the lottery system can make it possible for an average student to get accepted into nursing school. Unfortunately, it can also keep the students who have worked their tails off to get a 4.0 or close to it out of nursing school. So it can be good and bad.
We homeschool, too. I will have to enter the evening/weekend nursing program when the time comes so I can continue to be home with my younger boys. My school has a day program for fall students, and an evening one for spring students. One of the reasons nursing makes so much sense to me is that I can work part-time/weekends until my little guys are older, then switch to days/full time. Maybe when I retire, I can do medical missions trips, travel the world, and come home and play with my grandchildren.

The place for those with the 4.0+ GPAs is at schools like CSUS -- those students are rewarded with higher points in the scoring system they use to rank applicants, plus they end up with a BSN at the end, while CC grads only have an ASN, but can then apply to CSUS's RN-to-BSN program.

A high GPA does not necessarily mean that person will have a compassionate bedside manner. (I was seen once, and only once, by a dentist who was just the WORST! He must have confused me with the mannequin he worked on in dentist school! ZERO bedside manner.)

A weekend/night program sounds perfect for a busy mom little kids! Unfortunately, there is no such program in my area. My ideal is a part-time program so I can still take care of my family, but there is nothing like that here.

Justanotherday · Jul 30, 2010

A high GPA does not necessarily mean that person will have a compassionate bedside manner. (I was seen once, and only once, by a dentist who was just the WORST! He must have confused me with the mannequin he worked on in dentist school! ZERO bedside manner.)

Wouldn't it be nice if "Bedside Manner" was a required class?