Pre-Nursing Student in NJ with a TON of questions.. need help!

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Hi All,

This blog is truly a God-send, as I need to ask for help in regards to what is my best route to a nursing career, among many other obsticles. First a little background; I've recently been laid off from my job, through no fault of my own (I've worked in Pharma Advertising for 5 years now, and this is the THIRD time I've been laid off due to lack of work). I know I am not alone in this world, with lay-offs being so terribly common for all realms of work. Through working in my former field, I got to work on projects that relied on nurses for an advisory board, which was so interesting to me, as well as having a mom who is an RN BSN. I had been wanting to go back to school for about 4 years now for nursing, and figure this is the perfect opportunity. I'm 30 years old, focused with no distractions (no children, not married and thank God no mortgage to worry about) and know that I would be able to handle the course work. The brick walls I've hit so far are as follows: I've heard that you can collect unemployment while attending an approved institution, as long as it's an approved 'in demand' field, which of course, nursing is at the top of the list. I've done the research, and found all the proper terminology to use for my visit to unemployment(ie. ATB, tuition waiver, NJ's hot job list) and went to the One-Stop career center. I printed out all the info, filled out my paperwork and waited to speak to a counselor. When I finally got called in, the counselor was down-right rude and told me that ' You must be crazy thinking that the state would pay for you to go back to school. You have a bachelors degree; you can find another job'. I was crying. I continued by telling him that I have the research for the in-demand careers in NJ, RN is on the list and he looked at the paperwork and acted as if he'd never seen or heard what I was talking about. He proceeded to tell me that the only way I would be able to collect my unemployment benefits and go to a school for nursing would be to enroll in a vo-tech program, and become an LPN. To me, this is 10 steps backwards. If I have a bachelors, my best move (and this is also advised by my mother who is an RN BSN and her professors at Monmouth U) would be to take my pre-reqs at a county college and then apply to a fast-track program. I'm so scared that I'm going to lose my benefits while trying to complete my pre-reqs. Has anyone collected while attending school full-time? Does anyone have a contact person that I could speak to at NJ unemployment? I'm terrified! It doesn't make sense to me to be penialized for trying to better myself in a rewarding career where I will never be out of work ever again. Please let me know any info you have; it would ease my mind tremendously. :heartbeat:cry:

PS - also have a few other questions, but figured this was a long enough question for now!

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I don't mean to sound insensitive but why can't you do what most of us do and work at least part-time while you complete your pre-requisites and then get your R.N. at a community college and take out some small loans to finish the last to years? And by work I mean whatever job you can find right now, waitress, barista, personal assistant etc. I hate to tell you this but your previous degree disqualifies you for most federal student loans. My advice is to 1: get another job that allows for flexibility, waitressing is ideal, This may seem like a stepdown or embaressing to do when you're a little bit older and use to having a "career" but you'll have to get over it, we've all had to and it's worth the nursing degree in the end 2) enroll in pre-requisites at a local community college and see how it goes.

Why are you relying on unemployment benefits? Those are only meant for a short-time in case of emergencies, they are not meant as educational loans or something to get for a year while you look around and figure things out. Get a new job ASAP, then think about going back to school. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but it sounded from your post like you needed a more realistic picture of what you're going to need to do to get on the road to nursing school. Trust me, nothing about going back to school to become a nurse is easy. No one is penalizing you, these are just the facts. It's a long hard road so make sure you really really want to be a nurse. Good luck!

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jpeters84

Thanks for your reply. The only reason why I am questioning if I could rely somewhat on the unemployment benefits is because I've read a post on this blog from someone in NJ who had an MBA and was able to collect while completing the pre-reqs. My best friend had done the same thing, although his company was shut down, and he chose to go back for cosmetology, which is a different story. When I had told the counselor that I spoke to of his situation, he proceeded to tell me that that would have never have happened, which, indeed it did! I have absolutely NO issues with working part-time while completing my pre-reqs. I've pulled my way through undergrad and even after I graduated, not being able to find a job right away, by bartending, waiting tables etc. I've been exploring admin jobs at colleges and hospitals extensively because they are flexible. Which is one of my next questions I'm going to post. Basically, I'm just anxious and scared about the next steps. I have meetings this week with advisors from Brookdale and Middlesex and have already made the cut-off dates for their waitlists for the RN programs. Im also making my phone calls to the heads of the departments of each fast-track school. I know I can do this, I just need advice and support!

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It sounds like you're on the right track. Your friends that were able to collect unemployment while they were going back to school was probably an anomaly. Maybe the unemployment office didn't know that they were going back to school and just kept sending them checks? My understanding is that you can't do this. I'm sorry the unemployment officer was so mean to you though.

You can do this, you can go back to school to become a nurse. It seems like an uphill battle that takes a long time but it actually goes really fast and is do-able. I was in your position. I had to move back to California from the east coast so that I could get in-state tuition, I had 3 part-time jobs and took as many as 7 pre-reqs at a time to just get through it as fast as possible while maintaining a 3.8 gpa. It was tough but I also really enjoyed my pre-reqs and I learned a lot about myself and built a lot of self-confidence out of being able to do more than I thought possible. I was able to transfer my pre-reqs to a BSN program and it's hard but it is going really fast. You can do it, I know you can. Just put one foot in front of the other, take one day at a time, and be really aggresive about applying to those nursing programs. I'm sending you lot's of support, good thoughts, and lots of luck your way. Take care!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Acute Rehab.

NJNancy... I disagree with the above responder to your post. You legitimately got laid off and I feel that you have every right to collect unemployment if you meet the criteria while going to school. I too, have my bachelors degree and will be finished in 2 wks with my ADN. I opted not to go for the 2nd degree BSN program only because I would have still had to take pre-reqs and then hope to get into the nursing program. The school I went to had everything together. I am 59 years old, and really doubt I'll ever be in a managerial position, which is fine with me. I had been a manager in a dental office for the last 24 years and am so over it! I too, was ineligible for certain loans, grants, etc. due to the fact that I had my BA already. Those with no education past high school were able to get some financial assistance that does not have to be paid back. So I took out loans, because this was what I wanted to do. So, if you can get some assistance, I say go for it, you are definitely entitled to this money, in my opinion. Good luck to you.

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Thanks so much for your words of encouragment! I'm going to need a lot of it! The day that I got laid off, there was a looming fear that I would be one of the few. I looked at myself in the mirror and said 'well, if you get laid off, you just go back to school sooner'. And here I am. I'm still going to see if there's something I can do with unemployment; I don't think it was a fluke that others were able to do it, especially with someone having an MBA and with me just having a BA. I specifically know that the MBA guy said it was all legit. I tried to PM him, but I don't have enough posts yet. It's just purely a safety net for me right now. I'm continuing to look for part time or full time flexible jobs to pay my bills and have some sort of medical benefits while I start my pre-reqs.

Did you have an undergrad degree previous to going back for nursing? If so, what was your GPA? You've said that you transfered into a BSN program; is it a fast-track program? Are you going to school in NJ? How far along are you now in your progress? Sorry to inundate you with so many questions... but I'm very interested to learn of other's paths through this journey.

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In response to jcjan I don't think you should be able to collect unemployment while you're going to school. Not being employed just because you're going to school is ridiculous. Unemployment is about needs. If you're legitamely laid off like NJnANCY was and you need an unemployment check to get you through while you find another job by all means get that check. But taking a check and remaining unemployed while you go back to school is not right in my opniion. Most of us work hard to make ends meet while we go back to school because we realize that that's what we signed on for in order to go back to school. I wish I coulld get laid off and then just decide to not work while I'm in school but that's not right in my opinion. Businesses go broke when people take advantage of the system like that. I'm not saying don't get loans. Get loans. I have to. But there are certain loans I wasn't able to get because of my first degree and I didn't know that going in so I wanted to pass on that information to you. The unemployment office isn't going to give it to you directly for nursing school and I don't think that's the way you should be looking at funding your nursing education. My suggestion was to look for flexible part-time work, scholarships, and education loans available for 2nd degrees. I just don't think relying on unemployment during nursing school is a sound plan and after reading NJNancy's second post I think she was is on the right path. This is just my two cents.

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Now I'm getting scared.. will I not be able to qualify for certain loans because of my bachelors degree? what types of loans did any of you take out?

jcjcan - are you in NJ? what school did you attend for an ADN, and what is an ADN? Sorry again for so many questions!

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I had a previous degree and my gpa was not great it was like a 3.14 so I couldn't get into any of the direct entry master's programs. What I ended up doing was going to the local community college and taking my pre-reqs and I worked hard to keep up a good gpa so I had a chance of getting into a program because it's extremely competitive. Then I applied to state schools in California and a couple private schools around the US. I was able to get a 50% scholarship to a private out of state school (in Hawaii) which is not a fast-track program but it's only 5 semester to finish for transfer students. The school definately has it's problems but I'm getting through the program and I'll be done Spring of 2010. I'm not sure what it's like on the East coast but if I could do it all again I would have probably stayed at the community college and finished my RN and then just done a RN to Bsn degree later on and saved myself all of the debt and moving expenses. I want to reiterate to you again take the unemployment now if you need it but I wouldn't rely on it for too long, it's not a good tuition plan, I'd make sure you had plenty of other funds coming in from other places to help pay for nursing school, i.e sscholarships, part-time job, and private loans.

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I couldn't get any of the federal loans like the stafford loans and the pell grant and perkins loans. But it's different for everyone so be sure to file a FAFSA and see what they say. They might let you do it just depending on your circumstances. But I am able to get a private loan and that coupled with my scholarship and my part-time job as a nurse aide is getting me through. There's ways to make it work you just have to do your homework.

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You cannot collect unemployment simply because you lost your job and want to go back to school to change careers.

When you apply for unemployment, it doesn't necessarily kick in right away, even if you've been laid off. When I was laid off, my employer and I had to report my final settlement payment, which was one week's pay for every year on the job. Until that settlement ran out, which, in my case, amounted to many weeks, I could not collect unemployment under federal and state law.

If you did not receive a settlement when you lost your job, you still cannot collect unemployment while going to school. To collect it, you have to prove that you are looking for work every week. You'll be required to submit documentation of jobs for which you have applied, including the names of the prospective employers you contacted, their addresses and phone numbers.

You mention that one of your friends was able to collect unemployment after his "company" was shut down. Typically the federal government makes federal job retraining funds available when an entire industry (e.g., shoe making) is put out of business in an area, forcing people to find an entirely new line of work. Unless everyone in your area and in your particular line of work is out of a job and has no hope of being rehired for similar work, your individual situation is your own. Nothing is stopping you from looking for similar work elsewhere, which makes it highly unlikely the taxpayers will pay for you to go to school while collecting unemployment.

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Jpeters84 - my previous GPA was lower; a 2.67. I've voiced this concern to the fast-track program directors and they take into accountability the facts of work experience, which I will have stellar references from LCSW that I've worked with, and how well I do on the pre-reqs, and being an adult student. That is why I was so concerned about having to worry about funding through the pre-reqs because I CANNOT get lower than a 4.0 on them. I figured the unemployment would ease the stress of trying to find a flexible job while working on the pre-reqs. That's all, not a means of tuition payment. what types of scholorships have you received, if any? If you don't mind me asking, why did you move so many times?

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