Overall advice desperately needed with potential career change & school choice

[christina512]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site...

I am writing this first post from my blackberry so please forgive any mistakes, lol

To sum up my story, I just turned 30, single mom to almost 5 year old, I'm currently working as an insurance agent and have been for 3 1/2 years at the same office, but I feel like it was something I just kinda fell into while looking for any job at the time, I was a newly single mom after leaving a bad relationship and moving in w/ my parents, even though I was not required to go to job training and the program through the state because I was going through appealing and waiting on social security disability benefits, I wanted to anyways...so I did. Shortly after I did get approved for ss benefits after 3 years and a lot of problems and hard times with mental illness (bipolar) 3 years prior when I first applied. But anyways I hadn't worked for awhile but wanted to try again knowing that I could part time and still receive ssdi but work on getting my life back and not need it eventually, so I ended up getting a job at the insurance agency in my city and it went on from there with me eventually getting my license.

But I realize lately that its not something I want to do forever and that a lot of things about it, if not all are not for me. For years after high school and after dental assisting training thru h.s. I worked as a dental assistant but between problems with my illness and situations I was going through I didn't stick with it. I thought a job change and something different with a fresh start was gonna be great and it was for awhile until lately and realizing I want to do something different & finally go to school. So here I am trying to develop a plan to do that. Between grants, loans and my income each month from ss I could go full time and with my daughter starting school it works out even better. I really feel like I should go if I have the resources and can do it, and also before I wait till I'm any older.

So that's my story, guess I'm just looking for encouragement and advice as to whether I am making the right decision :-)

Also I am trying to choose a community college to go to, henry ford, monroe comm. College and wcccd are the 3 I'd choose from..they all seem to have good programs but my main worry is scheduling, my daughter will be in school from 9-3:30 but latchkey is available also, making it possible from 7-6pm does anyone know which school could work considering my hours I could attend? Mccc is 30 minutes from me, hfcc is 20 minutes and wccc is about 20 minutes also..any advice on school choice would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance :-)

[MySimplePlan]

This Henry Ford CC grad is going to tell you to look at HFCC. However, the challenges will be the same at all three schools: most clinicals will start at or just before 7 am, so who will get your daughter off to school on those days? Granted, it's only two days a week, but they can be a challenging two days where kids are concerned. Some clinicals are placed far from your home; it's not unusual to have to leave your house at 6 am on those lovely days. In the winter, it's even lovlier .

Some PM clinicals are available, but that doesn't sound as if that would work for you. However, if you had a willing family member to watch your little kindergarten pumpkin at night, maybe it would.

HFCC nursing classes let out by 1 pm. I imagine the others do, too.

The HFCC Nursing program is really adding more and more schedules to their rotation; the NSG program is being offered at night, on the weekends, and other flexible times to target the working parent. Certainly, one of them will work for you. To me, they are the ones tweaking their program the most to offer as many opportunities to obtain your RN. Of course, I am not aware of all the particulars of the other programs you are considering.

No matter which college you choose, they all require about the same pre-requisites to enter their programs: English/writing classes, basic computer class, Intro to Psych, Lifespan Psych. and some others which escape me. After you finish your 'pre-reqs, you must have a passing grade on the NET test, which is a nursing entrance exam every nursing school requires you to take and pass before entry. (it's just basic math and moderate reading comprehension.)

The three colleges you are considering have very different application processes. You need to achieve the highest GPA you can on those pre-reqs to increase you chances of getting accepted. WCCCC considers your GPA the most; HFCC is a first-come-get-your-fine-self-on-our-two-year-waitlist. Not sure about our southern friends in Monroe. All three will seem challenging and maybe even a bit intimidating to meet all the requirements, classes, objectives and who knows what else they want to get into one of these programs. If you want it bad enough, you'll do it. You just start knocking down each goal, each class, one at a time. Don't let time or the end-date slow you down - you are still going to be that age anyway - why not have an RN when you get there? If you keep that little kinderpop cutie in your head as work toward your goal, it seems to keep you on a focused path.

If this is your time, then go for it and don't look back. Most people don't know how to pay for this, but you seem to have that difficult part worked out, so you must utilize that and don't blow it. You are way ahead of the game just because you have ready funds. Use them wisely. Work very hard.

Visit all three college sites to get a feel for what best suits you and what you are able to do. For Henry Ford, go to www.hfcc.edu and look under the "Programs" tab and start reading. Print it out. Compare it to the other two. It also helps to look back on this site and see what others have said about MCC, WCCC, and HFCC.

Good luck to you.

PS...How did you type all that on a little Blackberry?? Exhausting.