Nursing school with a family, anyone?

[reach4stars]

Hello- I am new here.

Just wondering if anyone out there can give me some tips on becoming a nursing student (at 37 yrs old) married, with 2 kids (3 and 10). I graduated high school and went to a Jr. College for a little over 2 yrs. I have several credits however they were taken so long ago, most need to be taken again. I am wanting to go into nursing or become a sonographer. I have researched both for years and at this point I would love to do either one. My issue is that the school that is near me runs their nursing program during the day. I currently work a fulltime 8-5 job. My husband works overnight...we basically pass the torch in taking care of the kids and are rarely home at the same time, so we are like single parents. I am not seeing the possibility of doing this. We cannot afford for me to quit my job to go back to school. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and rent here is expensive. We don't make a lot, but too much to receive any type of financial assistance. I honestly don't know how people do it except straight out of high school which I tried but sorely failed when I decided to get married and have kids first!

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Could you transition to a job where you work weekends only? Like as a CNA in a facility?

[FutureNurseInfo]

Do any of the schools in your area offer evening or weekend nursing programs? At least part-time ones?

[rnnluvnit2006]

How exciting to be able to go back to school...

What kind of work are you doing now?

You mentioned you will need to take prerequisites to get into a nursing program so at this point in time, the nursing program hours at the school you are considering is irrelevant.

You can take most if not all of your prerequisites online. If your math or sciences are over 5 years old, you will have to do them again.

This is good news for you though, because online classes are pretty easy to manage with a family

You need to go to the school that you want to attend and sit down with an advisor and see what classes are required for admission

then you need to go the jr college or university of your choosing and do the same thing, and see if the advisor can assist you in creating a schedule that will work for you.

It can be done, but requires a little bit of planning an commitment on your part.

I went back to school with 6 kids at home. I got pregnant with the 7th in my last semester of nursing school. It was a 5 year trek from prereqs to completion, but well worth it. It was a challenge, but do-able.

you will also be able to qualify for financial aid, not necessarily grants, but Stafford loans are always available. You will need to fill out a fasfa to find out what your eligibility is.

Its a long tough road, but well worth it. Good Luck