Nursing school at 38?

Editorial Team / Moderator · Oct 3, 2018

No 38 is certainly not too old! Go for it. I was 34 when I became an LPN, RN at 36, MSN at 46, APRN at 48....

Ha! Paramedic at 31, RN at 36, MSN at 43! But not an APRN. Awwwww. I lose! Just kidding!!! Hoping to have a DNP at 47 (ughhh) so I can finally stop going to school!!

OP, it can be done. It is, all the time. :)

dderrough · Oct 4, 2018

It is definitely not too late! I turn 39 next month and am currently in school finishing up all my prereqs. I have been in school now for 2.5 years ( I started when my youngest started kindergarten). I am planning on playing to the ADN and BSN programs near, but won't even be able to apply until next year. But I went to end up with a masters so I know I have plenty of years still ahead me of school. I got married and had kids right out of school so it feels really good to finally find a purpose for my life other than being a wife and a mother.

RichT · Oct 5, 2018

Wow! I'm so glad I read your post. I'm a bit older than you were, have completed my prereqs and am waiting to hear back. I studied like crazy and have a 3.64 on my science prereqs and am hoping that's good enough. It's really stressful but now or never!!

Elle7745 · Oct 5, 2018

Wow! I'm so glad I read your post. I'm a bit older than you were, have completed my prereqs and am waiting to hear back. I studied like crazy and have a 3.64 on my science prereqs and am hoping that's good enough. It's really stressful but now or never!!

I wonder how hard it is to get into a nursing program? Another thing to worry about! What if someone did all that work on pre-requisites and it wasn't good enough! A 3.64 sounds good to me though!

Etak, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2018

I wonder how hard it is to get into a nursing program? Another thing to worry about! What if someone did all that work on pre-requisites and it wasn't good enough! A 3.64 sounds good to me though!

It really depends on your area. Some places are so impacted that it's either extremely competitive or lottery (or both). Others, if you meet the requirements, there's room for you.

In my area, we're advised to have a back up plan because even the top 4.0 student is looking at a lottery unless they are willing to relocate. I've heard that dental hygenists have the same prereqs, so that might be an option, along with a lot of other medical related fields. I personally don't have a back up plan yet because nothing has caught my interest the same way nursing has. I'm just planning to apply to any program within driving distance, there are about 5, and hope that the statistics are in may favor for at least one of them to pull my name. I figure if I can't get in within the first two rounds that I apply I will re-evaluate my backup plan.

edited to add: there are also private school programs that appear (at least in my area) to be much easier to get in. The downside is that they are also waaaayyyyy more expensive.

Dyvinite, RN · Oct 6, 2018

I'm 35 and I'm waiting on placement for the nursing program. Never give up if it is your passion. You took care of your kids so now put yourself first.

Elle7745 · Oct 6, 2018

I'm 35 and I'm waiting on placement for the nursing program. Never give up if it is your passion. You took care of your kids so now put yourself first.

Are you nervous about not getting accepted into one? Now that is my new fear lol

I didn't realize (at first) that you have to be chosen to even attend.

Dyvinite, RN · Oct 6, 2018

No, I don't think age will affect your placement. I'm excited and not worried about it. Just let go of the anxiety and think positive. I know it is hard to do so but once you do you will feel a lot better.

8130 · Oct 7, 2018

First of all, it is not too late. In fact I think that after raising children and being a mom you are likely better prepared for a nursing career. I too am 38 and will finish this December. About four years ago I decided to take anatomy and physiology which was a prerequisite for the nursing program. It was a great test for myself to determine whether studying fit into my life and whether I could be successful. I recommend doing the same! Register for a prerequisite for spring semester. See if it's something you think that will fit into your life! You'll be amazed that sometimes taking some dedicated time to focus on school may actually be a nice change of pace for you :) I too was home with my kids until my youngest went to kindergarten. You can do this and still have many years ahead of you to work (assuming you want and need to anyway). Also I strongly recommend the community college route. Very affordable!

Luccabell3 · Oct 7, 2018

You can do it, but it's always easier said then done! My journey to become a nurse has been one of sweat and grit; I was like you a stay at home mom that worked part time and thought I'm going to do this! Why not?

First things first you have to research your area and what you will be competing against to get into a program. I live in the PNW and the nursing programs here are limited and all are bottlenecked with applicants. If you have a family you can't just get up and leave to go to a school in Timbuktu, there's schedules and commutes to consider so figure out what schools are a reasonable possibility and get as much info about the application process.

I graduated with my associates in pre-nursing in 2015 and it took me two years to get into a local (driving distance) program! There have been many tears, lots of applications and denials, I have to say getting my acceptance letter was really like winning the lottery! It was one of the best accomplishments!

Im currently in my second semester of nursing school and it is hard. Having 3 children (14,12,9) for sure puts me in a unique situation, I'm the third to the oldest in my nursing cohort and currently 38 years old.

I would recommend getting some patient care experience to see if it really your passion. Also how will you pay for school? if you do loans you have to follow through while paying cash allows you to have some more flexibility in changing directions if you decide nursing isn't for you. The path of prerequisites is pretty specific and there's not a lot you can do with them if you decide not to follow nursing, meaning you might be able to go into research or some other science field but once you commit you really are limited.

Im not trying to discourage you, but I did not do my research and thought getting in to a local program would be a breeze! I had a 3.6 gpa and that barely made it, most everyone that applies has a 4.0,competition is stiff!

With that, my saying is "time is going to pass anyways, might as well do something with it!" Accomplishing this goal of mine at the age of 38 has been truly life changing and is such an example to my children. I'm happy that I decided to embark on this journey and know you can do it too, it really is so rewarding!

Luccabell3 · Oct 8, 2018

Time is going to pass anyways, might as well do something with it! I'm currently in my second semester of nursing school and I'm 38 years old. It has been a haul, I have three children (15,12,8) and help care for my father that has Parkinson's.

First off, you really really need to research schools in your area. You can't just pick up and leave to attend so and so school in Timbuktu. You have schedules to balance and commutes to consider aka; family. I can't stress this enough, does your local community college do a lottery, how competitive is it? Most schools are inundated with 4.0 applicants, this alone tells you what you'll be up against. I live in the PNW and it took me 2 years to get into a local nursing program, programs where I live are limited and bottlenecked with applicants. I do not by any means have a 4.0 gpa, more like a 3.6 but it took me a long time and many tries to get accepted.

I would also recommend working a bit in patient care to see if you really are passionate about nursing. Once you start the road of pre-req's time will fly but once you're on the trajectory it's hard to get off, especially if you're taking out student loans. Pre-req's for nursing are hard to transfer, in the sense that if you decide to go another route, you could use those pre-req's for PT or maybe some degree in research but they don't in themselves give you a lot of options alone. So once you start you really need to follow through. I got my associates in pre-nursing, and though I'm glad I did as I'm at a University now, this degree wouldn't have done me any good if I got accepted into a local community college. The pre-req's themselves are about 2-3 years depending on how much you can handle, then once you get into a program theres another 2 for your license. Its a sad reality to think of having 5 years of schooling only to have your RN license and not your BSN license; you really need to plan out how you want to do it.

This all might sound discouraging and that's not my goal. I love being on the older end of my cohort, I also love that I'm setting an example for my children. This is no doubt the most challenging and the most rewarding thing I have ever done, besides being a mom. I feel very lucky to be where I'am and have worked really hard to be here. You can do it too but explore, talk to people, get as much information as you can so you can get the most realistic picture. Hope that helps!

hotpeppa · Oct 16, 2018

I feel almost like this is my moment to try for this but I can't get the negativity put of my head saying that 37 is too old to start.

Go for it. If you look at my post history I came here four years ago asking the same thing I was 40/41 at the time. Unfortunately, I listened to the negative forces in my head and talked myself out of it. This September, I finally started my first semester back in school, after being out in over a decade! I'm taking my preqs PT in the evenings, while I work full-time. I'm carrying 10 credits: A&P I w labs, Human Developmental Psychology and a language.

Had I had to guts to pull the trigger four years, I would have been done and well on my way into my career. Time waits for no one. Now I won't be starting a nursing program until 48/49. I won't be done with my Masters until I'm in my 50s. And its OK. :happy:

My advice for anyone is to be afraid and do it anyway. Break it down in to smaller manageable pieces, and knock them out one by one. I psyched myself out by thinking of EVERYTHING at once "OMG THE NCLEX, I haven't taken a science in over 20 years, I gotta take Statistics but I suck at math, will i find a job without healthcare experience". I was a ball of negativity.

Late last year, I decided I was sick of my life and was finally ready to do the work. I literally had made a list of basic things (and crossed them off as I got them done) in order to not feel so overwhelmed. Like literally "Order Transcripts from HS, Send to XYZ, Get money order for application, Fill out FAFSA, Order textbooks" It literally helped to not only see what next steps I had to do, but I felt accomplished as I completed each one.

I'm so excited at the possibilities. It's great being in class with other future nursing students or medical professionals. I'm also not putting pressure on myself with strict deadlines. I know I'll make to finish line, I'm just going to take it slow and steady.

So believe that you can and I promise you, that you will! If you can do ultra's you can definitely do this.