plz answer my qestion about GED

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Hi

Im Wanting To Become A Nurse im Not Lazy Ect But In my High School I Had very Bad Problomes With Grades Normely C-E's I Try Really Hard But I Still Fail. So IV Desided To Take my GED Now My Qestion Really Is If i Pass My GED Is There Really Any Chance of Become A Nurse? *reasion behinde wanting a ged is i have failed 2 tiems already on 9th grade and trying hard on 3rd time but seems its not work for me so iv desided to find out if i could become a nurse with a GED whats are my chances could u plz tell me? thank you

I understand what you're trying to say, but I really believe that have a goal can make a difference. The OP talks about "trying" and still failing, which gives you pause. But I am telling you from personal experience there's a difference between "trying" and "trying" with a clear goal.

Shouldn't graduating high school be a clear goal? I know what you mean too, having a clear goal of being a nurse is helping me to be much more focused in school this time around. Maturity has also helped.

And as I mentioned earlier, the OP will have a hard time going directly into nursing with only a GED. RN programs are so competitive that they won't even give her application a second glance. And finding a job without a h.s. diploma (while she's wating to pass the GED exam) will be a nightmare.

I just worry for this extremely young person who, at 16, could be making decisions that will impact her life in ways she can't yet understand. I am a strong advocate for finishing high school any way you can.

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But to think that you cannot handle high school, but will immediately be able to handle college, is unrealistic.

[emphasis mine]

This is really the core of it. Many people want to defend the GED route saying, "oh, I did it, and it worked out for me.". But these people almost always struggled for a few years before growing up, gaining maturity, and trying again. Remember that this person is 16 and will likely have to make the same mistakes most of you did if she decides to go immediately to college despite lacking the pre-requisit skills. Why would you encourage someone to waste years of their life, when they could buckle down, get the skills they need for college in high school, graduate on time, and save themselves years of struggle?

To *ac*:

Are you saying that simply having a goal (like wanting to become a nurse) is going to make up for a lack of academic ability/foundation (like the sorts of skills they teach you in high school, that this person has evidently failed to acquire)?

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You're confusing the issue. I never made the statement that higher learning is a direct sign of intellegence. Please remember the original context of this discussion. I was merely commenting on the importance of school in terms of having a successfull career. Einstein's career was many years ago, and school plays a much more important role in career success today. Also, while Hawking did not do poorly in school, his grades were simply nothing special. Either way, the man still had advanced degrees, which require....you guessed it: staying in school. You prove my point, BTW, by mentioning that now you get 4.0's. Could there possibly be any reason why you feel a need to work for these high grades? Hmm...could it have something to do with wanting to have a career in nursing?

All I'm saying, is that if you want to be a nurse, then go to school and don't take shortcuts (like skipping high school despite having low academic achievement) if you want to be successful.

I think a lot of people who have GED's or onece did poorly in school seem to take offense to my statements, believing them to be some sort of personal attack. This is not the case. Please remember to look at all my statements in the context of the OP's scenario.

[and the bit about gifted people doing poorly in school? are you saying the OP is some sort of secret genius, and thats why he's failing?]

Then I'll repeat my original post.

My mother dropped out in 9th grade, ran away and was homeless. At 19 she joined the army.

While pregnant with me I might add.

In her 20 years in the Army, she went from private (e-1) to captain (o-3). She got her bachelor's and 2 master's. She now is retired from the army (retired in 95 after 20 years) and is now almost eligible to retire and collect a pension from her job as an ROTC Instructor in a high school.

All based off a GED.

High school is not the only path. We need to encourage the OP to try and make their way as best they can. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

BTW - I get 4.0s NOT because I want a career in nursing. I was originally doing something else. I get 4.0s because I can't see paying all that money (which requires work that isn't so easy) for all those classes. If I have to work hard for that money I'm going to get the maximum benefit from it. Plus, to me getting 4.0s is actually pretty easy. I find clinicals to be WAY harder than classes. Of course that may just be the maturity that I have now at 31 speaking as compared to when I was in high school. Who knows?

ETA :

I do agree that success, no matter WHICH path, is totally dependent on having a goal AND the maturity to deal with working towards that goal. The goal however needs to be a real desire and the maturity will come when it comes.

I always noticed that the kids that do well in high school tend to mature sooner than those that don't.

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Stanley- it seems that your mother was probably very young when she dropped out of school, and probably waited a few years before going to the army. The point I've been trying to make is that it is not likely that dropping out of H.S. and going immediately into nursing will work out. Your mother had to take time to figure out what she wanted, as will be likely with the OP

ETA: your mother also seems to have struggled a few years before her life turned around. I am urging the OP to finish school so she doesn't have to endure homelessness and hardship. It's not fun (My family was homeless for a while when I was a child, we lived in a tent for 4 months). I hate to see such a young person go through that when they don't have to.

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Stanley- it seems that your mother was probably very young when she dropped out of school, and probably waited a few years before going to the army. The point I've been trying to make is that it is not likely that dropping out of H.S. and going immediately into nursing will work out. Your mother had to take time to figure out what she wanted, as will be likely with the OP

Heh, I barely figured out what I really wanted to do at 29. :D

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Then I'll repeat my original post.

My mother dropped out in 9th grade, ran away and was homeless. At 19 she joined the army.

While pregnant with me I might add.

In her 20 years in the Army, she went from private (e-1) to captain (o-3). She got her bachelor's and 2 master's. She now is retired from the army (retired in 95 after 20 years) and is now almost eligible to retire and collect a pension from her job as an ROTC Instructor in a high school.

All based off a GED.

Oh. My. God. You evidently havent been reading a word I post. Thats wonderful that your mother accomplished so much, but by your own admission, she did that as a result of joining the army (which no doubt gave her a large amount of training and the opportunity to go to college).

Again, there's no need to get defensive about you or your mother or anyone else havinga GED. I'm just saying that for a 16 year old thats failing the 9th grade (repeatedly), getting a GED and going directly to nursing is unrealistic and generally a BAD IDEA. Seriously, can no one separate that from some other story about struggling for years and then going back and finishing their education?

Edit:

DA314:

Didn't see your post (must have gone up after I hit 'reply'). Thank you very much for that post, as its basically the point I'm trying to make.

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ETA: your mother also seems to have struggled a few years before her life turned around. I am urging the OP to finish school so she doesn't have to endure homelessness and hardship. It's not fun (My family was homeless for a while when I was a child, we lived in a tent for 4 months). I hate to see such a young person go through that when they don't have to.

Sometimes the best teacher is the struggle.

Struggling early on is a far better teacher than school ever was.

You are so right though. Finishing school and making the effort to do well will make thing MUCH easier down the road.

BTW - Do they even let 16/17 year olds in nursing school??? I was under the impression that you had to be 18. Maybe it's different in every state.

OC- No one's getting defensive. I'm only saying that it may be unrealistic in your view but that is not everyone's view OR experience. Some people can handle that kind of struggle and some can't.

Grades aren't any indication of the OP's capabilities. The fact that the OP found a proper place to get information shows that they have the foresight AND maturity to get information and advice (which is usually lacking in 16 year olds). It's nice to try and warn the OP but don't sell the OP short.

Not everyone operates under the same limitations or with the same abilities. I've seen pretty immature and frankly, quite stupid RNs. I've seen very mature and highly intelligent people that can't make it through school and work menial jobs.

While nursing school is extremely hard to some people, others find it easy. College to me is a far easier and satisfying experience than high school was. Besides, I'm almost tempted to believe that anyone CAN make it through RN school and pass the NCLEX after some RNs that I have met.

It ain't rocket science. ;)

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BTW - Do they even let 16/17 year olds in nursing school??? I was under the impression that you had to be 18. Maybe it's different in every state.

....

Grades aren't any indication of the OP's capabilities. The fact that the OP found a proper place to get information shows that they have the foresight AND maturity to get information and advice (which is usually lacking in 16 year olds). It's nice to try and warn the OP but don't sell the OP short.

I know you definitely need to be at least 18 to be licensed (in any state), but I think you may be right, in which case, this whole thing is a moot point.

And it is certainly true that grades dont always indicate ability. If someone has no motivation, or maybe is very bright [but not challenged], then yes, its perfectly possible to have mediocre grades despite a high level of ability. For example, there were a few years in high school where I earned B's and C's, even though I was always within a few points of the high score (assuming I didn't actually set the curve) on almost any test I took. The reason for this was that I refused to do mindless busy work that had little to do with what I was actually supposed to be learning. This is very different, however, from someone who is honestly trying to succeed in school (as the OP claimes she is), but is still failing. This DOES indicate a lack of basic skills and abilities. This is not to say that she can't learn these things, but nursing pre-req classes and the nursing program itself are not the kinds of places that will provide this sort of remedial education. Thus, going directly to these sorts of upper level classes while lacking basic skills likely has a 99% chance of failure. It just seems to me that taking the GED route (in this one person's case) is only setting herself up for more failure and disappointment. Why not finish high school, have a solid base for your education, and enjoy having the skills neccessary to take on college? It just seems like a much more practical/realistic path to me....

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It just seems like a much more practical/realistic path to me....

One thing that bugs me is this. How many people actually knew what they wanted to be at 16??? That may have been my issue but the things I thought I liked turned out to be bleh and nursing was NEVER on my radar...

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One thing that bugs me is this. How many people actually knew what they wanted to be at 16??? That may have been my issue but the things I thought I liked turned out to be bleh... .

That actually is an arguement for my position. Few people really know what they want to do at that age. They may think, 'oh I want to be a nurse! I just know its my calling in life!', but like you said, how often to people this age realize that their "true calling" in life isn't really for them? At 16 you dont even know who you are, let alone what you want to do for the rest of your life. This is really a strong arguement for staying in high school and getting a general education that can be used toward any field of study you want to pursue later in life. Dropping out of school (without actually gaining the skills you were supposed to learn) and struggling through nursing pre-reqs directly afterward (and likely failing at that as well) only limits your future options and for that reason alone is a bad idea

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Dropping out of school (without actually gaining the skills you were supposed to learn) and struggling through nursing pre-reqs directly afterward (and likely failing at that as well) only limits your future options and for that reason alone is a bad idea

I'm not really sure what skills I learned in HS. I'm pretty sure I didn't learn any. LOL

The only way I found out what I liked was doing it.

Thought I'd like the Army because my parents did. Nope, it sucked.

Thought I'd like the IT field because I spend 8+ hours a day on my computer. Nope, totally boring.

Thought I'd like a nice government job auditing network security because I've spent enough hours breaking security. ;) Nope, bleh.

I just happened to become a CNA because I was bored. Turns out I love nursing. Who knew?

That is the main point of college. It's also the reason most majors share the same prereqs. So you can take the prereqs while taking classes geared towards different things and see if you like it.

Admittedly, I think the OP would be better served by getting their GED and joining the military (teaches you way more than any other course of action). 4+ years of military service will give her the maturity and the money to go to college, let her know what she likes AND the ability to succeed at it.

Plus, she'd be 21 when she gets out. Maybe a couple years behind the other college students but light years ahead of them in every way that matters.

But.

Enough stumping for the military. :chuckle

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I totally understand what you are saying. I had problems in highschool also, and dropped out. I then went through a community college and recieved my GED. It is not that difficult. I have went through EMT & CNA, have a 4.0, and working on my AS degree in nursing. Its all in what you put your mind to. If you want it bad enough you can have it.

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