Nursing School

California has some of the worst waiting lists in the nation for nursing programs, unless you're willing and financially able to pay plenty of money to get admitted into a private trade school RN program such as Maric or San Joaquin Valley College.

How much do you think I would be looking at? I mean if I have to relocate, so be it.

I was planning to do an RN program and then get a masters in nursing. I was looking towards UCSF for that.

San Joaquin Valley College has a fairly new RN program in California's Central Valley, and I don't know how much the tuition runs.

Maric College's RN program is about $45,000.

I'll see what my options are in 2 years. As I need to do my general education at a community college. The only thing that worries me about the central valley is.. the HEAT!!

ProLogic, have you looked into the pre-reqs for the 2 year program you're interested in? That might be just the right amount of time for you to complete pre-reqs and apply. You could also take a nursing assistant course or get a part-time job at hospital during that time that would not only boost your application but also provide you with good experience.

Be sure to inquire at the school as to any impacted courses or wait lists for pre-reqs as well - ask more than one person as well since you don't want to base a major decision on one person's unwittingly telling you incorrect info.

Also find out the acceptance rate and policy for any program you're thinking of applying to. As another noted, many California schools have many more applicants than seats in any one class and have variable methods for selecting who gets admitted (eg GPA, wait list, lottery).

I wish I could tell you it's as easy as choosing a program and applying, but most places in Cali that's not the case, except perhaps for private, more expensive programs.

If you CAN afford a private school, you might want to consider a BSN program where you earn a bachelor's degree along with a nursing license. That's a four year program, but as you are learning, it will likely take at least 3 years to complete an ADN program (2 yrs + pre reqs + possible wait lists).

I think there are also some public unis (Cal states, UCs) that have BSN programs (less expensive than private) but I don't know any specifics. Something else to consider if you've got the grades and interest to go straight to uni.

Good luck!!!

ProLogic, have you looked into the pre-reqs for the 2 year program you're interested in? That might be just the right amount of time for you to complete pre-reqs and apply. You could also take a nursing assistant course or get a part-time job at hospital during that time that would not only boost your application but also provide you with good experience.

I am going to talk with my counselor this summer, I will talk to them about meeting the pre-reqs for a nursing program. I am also looking into volunteering at my local hospital.

Also find out the acceptance rate and policy for any program you're thinking of applying to. As another noted, many California schools have many more applicants than seats in any one class and have variable methods for selecting who gets admitted (eg GPA, wait list, lottery).

Yes I was informed about California's unbelievably high waiting lists. It already looks like I'm going to have to look for schools out of my area.

If you CAN afford a private school, you might want to consider a BSN program where you earn a bachelor's degree along with a nursing license. That's a four year program, but as you are learning, it will likely take at least 3 years to complete an ADN program (2 yrs + pre reqs + possible wait lists).

I'm going to have to take a look at private schools. The school mentioned above by another user, Merics or something, $45,000 is too expensive for just an RN program.

I think there are also some public unis (Cal states, UCs) that have BSN programs (less expensive than private) but I don't know any specifics. Something else to consider if you've got the grades and interest to go straight to uni. Good luck!!!

UCSF has a nursing program, its for people who are already RN's.

You've got a good start! It's a lot of work to get all that info and much of it you won't end up using, but you have to wade through it to find what WILL work for you.

You can probably start looking up program pre-reqs in the college catalogue ahead of time. Then you could have questions prepared for your meeting with the counselor. There's usually a copy of the catalogue on the school's website or you could go to the school and pick one up. It also can be kind of fun to read the various class descriptions in the catalogue!