Please help meeeeee

It sounds like you really want to be a nurse so my advice is to just do it. I just graduated from a community college nursing program that I waited 2 just to get in. Now that I'm finished it was all worth it. I am still looking for a job which is a bummer, but I had a great nursing school experience. I remember getting my acceptance letter that said I had to wait two years to start and I felt like that it was going to take forever and I felt like I had to find another school. The University I wanted to go to was so expensive so I just waited for the community college. While I waited I still when to school and took extra classes and got a job as a phlebotomist which was a fun job. Just hang in there and follow your heart. :heartbeat Other people might regret becoming nurses but that doesn't mean you will.

thanks for responding. I wish I could go back in time..but I guess I should just finish my BA degree now. I don't know really

The way to look at it, is to look at where you are and what your choices are from here. What your choices were a few years ago are irrelevent. Your feelings wont think so, at least for a while, but feelings are not very dependable guides to reality... so keep looking to your head about it instead of your feelings. Don't surpress your feelings, just acknowledge them without dwelling on them. Eventually, your feelings will get in line with your head.

So, first where do you want to go? It sounds like you want to end up a nurse. If you are still struggling with whether that is what you want, then I'm answering the wrong question here. I don't really know how to help you with that question.... other than people are much more likely to write (post) negatives than they are positives and you'll get higher percentage of people who can't find a job posting than there is in the general population of nurses (because people who have jobs tend to be less likely to have time to post much). Usually, getting a job or volunteering is a good way to tell if you like something (look at what the nurses are doing rather than what you are doing), but hospitals vary a lot, so maybe try a different one or a different setting (dr's office or rehab clinic maybe).

Second, where are you?

I think you have a few prereqs for nursing, but not all of them.

You are about a year away from getting a Bachelors in Psychology.

Third, where can you go from here?

You could finish your degree in Psychology. Then either find a job based on that or continue school for nursing (or some combination of both... go to school part time while you work or work for a while then take classes...).

You could go straight into nursing.

You said you can't afford the private school, don't have the grades for the community college, and there is a long waitlist for the NS at your current school. So going straight into nursing is not really an option (unless you can find a school you haven't considered yet... perhaps one that will count only the nursing prereq classes and let you retake the ones you didn't do well in).

It looks to me like your best option is to get on the waitlist at your current school while you finish your bachelors in Psychology. That has the added benefit of less jumping around (not dumping on you, but it would look better to future admissions people and employers if you finish something, even if it isn't what you ultimately want to do).

You don't have to take an accelerated BSN just because you have a bacholors. You could still do a standard nursing program. I know some scholarships are restricted to first degrees and others are not. It is by no means a given that you won't get any scholarships. However, even if you didn't get scholarships, you could still work your way through. Either by stretching out your bachelors so you have time to work (that might be a good option if you know the waitlist is three years long). Or by finishing the degree, getting a job with it and saving as much as you can.

thank you for posting. It helped me a lot. I agree, If I switched now it would look fishy for future employers. I guess I'll stick it out. I do want to be a nurse. I have A&P1 and A&P2, CHEM, General psyc, development psy. Never took micro yet. I have my other gen eds, math, history, english, sociology, psyc etc etc. I have approx 80 credits. I need about 126 to graduate with a BA. So, I could graduate in a year, if I take summer classes. I have to admit, I thought about switching to a hospital based program where you get an ADN there. The app deadline is April 15, 2010 and I'd have to take the TEAS to get in. The only thing holding me back is the constant bouncing from school to school. My mom, who I'm really close to, thinks I should get my bachelors then decide because atleast then I'll have accomplished a degree in the process and if I decide to go back for nursing I can get my BSN. I live in NJ and a lot of hospitals want to BSN Nurses. Well see...one day at a time

thanks for the advice:heartbeat

Wow Hon - take a breath. And please use paragraphs. Your OP was very hard to read.

Have you got that 'stress thing' under control yet? You described a pretty dire situation in your original BSN program. No matter where you go, nursing school is going to be stressful so I would advise you to work on your coping mechanisms. Otherwise, you will just bomb out again - and reeeaaalllly hate yourself afterward.

I would agree with a previous poster. Don't even consider an accelerated program. Aside from the cost issue, if you had difficulty coping with the pace of a 'regular' nursing school - you would be squashed flat by the pace of an accelerated one. Take a longer, more deliberate route that won't incur a lot of debt. You'll get there eventually. And by the time you get your license, there will be more jobs for new grads.

I agree that it might be best to finish your degree program that you are in. As far as after that, are there any direct entry Master's programs around you? Just another option to look into.

You are probably correct about financial aid for second bachelor's...I never used any kind of aid for my 1st degree (parents paid out of pocket for everything), and I STILL did not qualify for anything but a few measly loans. I ended up getting one private loan for the whole amount, because I did not want $10k here and 10k there all over the place. Looking back, if there had been a direct entry master's program near me, I would go that route.

Another option is to just take a year or so after your degree and work. Assuming you live at home, and minimize your expenses, you could possibly save enough in a year or two to make those private schools do-able! I chose a private school because, once I factored in the time wait-listed for the cc and the additional pre-reqs needed at state u's, it was actually about the same cost in the long run.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but from what you have said it seems you may have rushed some decisions in the past that you now regret. Maybe it would be good to just slow down and take some time after getting your psych degree and make sure you make the best possible decision for the rest of your life. You sound like you are excited about nursing, and that is great, but it will all come in time. Be patient and remember that there is more to life than school/work...enjoy some of that too! :)

I have a question for you...why can't you apply for nursing and then you will be on the waitlist for a year or two until you get in and while you wait you can finish your bachelors?