pre-nursing student soon to be military spouse

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 12, 2018

How long is your husband-to-be going to be in California? If he's just transferred there and looks to be there for another three or four years, it might be to your benefit to move to California to be with him and start taking classes at a Community College there. As far as I know, there is no guarantee that the classes you take next semester will transfer, so maybe it isn't worthwhile staying another semester. As far as what school to attend in California, you'll want to choose one with a doable commute, affordable tuition and a good reputation in the nursing community. Maybe some California nurses can help you if you post on the California forum.

If he's been there awhile and may transfer soon, you may want to wait and see where he's going.

If he's going to be deployed, stay where you are and get as much school done as you can while he's overseas.

Just my opinion as a former military spouse, although that was a long time ago. Things may be different now.

bremvr · Dec 12, 2018

He was just stationed at Camp Pendleton this summer. I was thinking of starting at the community college out there when the summer comes. I will also go check out the California nurses! Thank you!

Mergirlc, MSN, APRN, NP · Dec 12, 2018

It's always best to complete all prereqs and anything else at a Community college due to cost. With that said, you would be charged out of state tuition since you will be a new resident. I believe it takes 2 years to be an "official resident" of California -- but don't quote me on the length. Just for comparison, a resident of California pays $46/unit while non-resident tuition comes out to $275/unit. Big difference. Most classes are going to be between 3-5 units each.

Hopefully the military might have some agreement or deal w/ the local community colleges so you don't get stuck w/ the non-resident fee. Check into it!

Luchador, CNA, EMT-B · Dec 12, 2018

It's always best to complete all prereqs and anything else at a Community college due to cost. With that said, you would be charged out of state tuition since you will be a new resident. I believe it takes 2 years to be an "official resident" of California -- but don't quote me on the length. Just for comparison, a resident of California pays $46/unit while non-resident tuition comes out to $275/unit. Big difference. Most classes are going to be between 3-5 units each.
Hopefully the military might have some agreement or deal w/ the local community colleges so you don't get stuck w/ the non-resident fee. Check into it!

As a military spouse myself I can tell you we get charged in-state tuition, even when freshly planted in a state. It's a life-saver. We're also eligible for unemployment when we quit our job to follow our spouse.

But Bremvr- you may have a long road ahead of you becoming an RN. There is a good chance the PCS sequence (permanent change of station) of your spouse will disrupt your school and you may even find yourself having to go to a long distance marriage for a year. The pre-requisites, transfer credits and everything vary so much from state to state that trying to cobble an RN out of several transfers is daunting.

I know the wife of an officer that graduated from my school. He got a PCS right before her final year of RN school. Rather than drop out of school, she rented a tiny studio apartment, put her head down and finished. But she was lucky because her husband was very supportive.

My wife was toying with applying for a battalion command in the middle of no where, out of state, and she would have gotten it had she applied. Which would have put me in a studio apartment to finish RN school. But she didn't, so we dodged that bullet.

I don't know if your husband is planning to go career, but if he does, you have to realize you will be accepting a profound, unfair compromise, of being forced to leave your job (and friends) every time he gets a PCS.

I was a teacher- which is a great military spouse career-- just like being an RN is a great military spouse career. But careers have a hard time flourishing when you are forced to move every three years. If you don't accept that your spouse's career comes first, resentment will be massive. And even if you do, resentment could be massive.

On the other hand, my wife makes way more money than me, we don't pay a nickel for medical care or prescriptions (and never will), we travel and there are a ton of other benefits. Plus, I'm crazy about her and willing to pay the price.

Trauma Columnist · Dec 13, 2018

As a military spouse myself I can tell you we get charged in-state tuition, even when freshly planted in a state. It's a life-saver. We're also eligible for unemployment when we quit our job to follow our spouse.
But Bremvr- you may have a long road ahead of you becoming an RN. There is a good chance the PCS sequence (permanent change of station) of your spouse will disrupt your school and you may even find yourself having to go to a long distance marriage for a year. The pre-requisites, transfer credits and everything vary so much from state to state that trying to cobble an RN out of several transfers is daunting.
I know the wife of an officer that graduated from my school. He got a PCS right before her final year of RN school. Rather than drop out of school, she rented a tiny studio apartment, put her head down and finished. But she was lucky because her husband was very supportive.
My wife was toying with applying for a battalion command in the middle of no where, out of state, and she would have gotten it had she applied. Which would have put me in a studio apartment to finish RN school. But she didn't, so we dodged that bullet.
I don't know if your husband is planning to go career, but if he does, you have to realize you will be accepting a profound, unfair compromise, of being forced to leave your job (and friends) every time he gets a PCS.
I was a teacher- which is a great military spouse career-- just like being an RN is a great military spouse career. But careers have a hard time flourishing when you are forced to move every three years. If you don't accept that your spouse's career comes first, resentment will be massive. And even if you do, resentment could be massive.
On the other hand, my wife makes way more money than me, we don't pay a nickel for medical care or prescriptions (and never will), we travel and there are a ton of other benefits. Plus, I'm crazy about her and willing to pay the price.

Just want to add to this - being a military spouse can be difficult. I was in nursing school in Las Vegas (Nellis) when hubs came down on orders for deployment (first gulf war). I worked nights, went to school days and had two kiddos to care for. Not much fun but doable.

When he came back, six months later came down on PCS orders - changed schools and chose to pay for private school to finish ADN as there was no wait list there. Paid lots of $$ for it but needed to get earning a salary too.

Lots of different decisions to make when you are a military spouse.

@Luchador - as a retired military spouse now please understand that your care will NOT be free. Tricare cont to change over and over again. Rx is NOT free either - there are co-pays. However, that said with my commercial insurance from my job and Tricare as secondary MOST healthcare is paid for. Getting care at military installations for spouses/family members (hate the word DEPENDENT), is on a space-A availabiility.