Need advice. Going back to get my BSN at 31!

JanelleGarrett · Jul 2, 2018

I agree with going to community college. You can even get your ASN if you want, get a job, and then get your BSN while you are working. Although, I'm not sure if guidelines are different in California than Florida, where I am. Props on going back to nursing school... you got this :-)

BoogieScience · Jul 2, 2018

I'm 31 as well and I'm in a very similar situation as you in choosing nursing as a new career. I started searching for all the different types of nursing schools in SoCal. I used the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to find these schools: American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) > Students > Find a Nursing Program. The types of programs I'm looking into are either an ABSN (accelerated bachelor's of science in nursing) or EL-MSN(entry level master's in science of nursing) since I already have by BS in Biology. I suggest you make a spread sheet of all the schools you're interested in and then list the prereqs you need to take for each school. Just as other people have stated, be aware of which science classes you'll need to retake since some schools require that some science classes must be taken within the last 7 years, other schools do not have a limit so it's best to check. Best of luck, hopefully we'll be applying to the same programs with the next few years.

AngelKissed857, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2018

Identifying what schools are of interest to you before speaking to a counselor is critical. in California all Community Colleges go by the rules approved by the community College Chancellor's Offive. That website has excellent information. The link is Chancellor's Office Portal Home

But every school can have different requirements. My CC where I did my ADN and most prerequisites, had a high score required for the TEAS, but doesn't require recency on classes. A 20-year old class is considered the same as one taken last semester.

My CSU where I got my .BSN, gives you 20 units for passing the NCLEx, but another CSU only gives 8 units. Also, CC offer a graduation track, fastest to graduate, but doesn't fulfill transfer requirements, a UC track which gets you everything you need for a UC or a CSU track. So even before entering a CC for prerequisites, you need to have a good idea of where you want to transfer to for your BSN.

I have a close friend who did UC track, but then transferred to a CSU, and as a result ended up taking many more classes to get BSN. It's a little crazy making. And every semester, recheck your classes for transferability on assist.org. I took an online class to study a graduation requirement for my ADN degree, which I had to then petition to have be accepted. It also didn't fulfill CSU criteria. and I assumed is have to retake for CSU requirements. But it did fulfill CSU, if I hadn't checked assist.org, is have taken an extra class. After meeting with counselors, always verify what you were told by email. Best of luck!

.

marykated · Jul 8, 2018

I am 34 years old and about to start Cal State Fullerton's ABSN program :) Once you figure out what nursing schools you want to apply to and what prereq classes you need to take (or retake) for them, definitely complete the prereqs at a community college in order to save money. Also, look into whether or not CNA and/or volunteer experience will help your nursing school applications, what month you will need to submit each application, and whether or not prereqs can be in progress when you do. Let me know if you have any specific questions that I can try to address. Good luck!