Will I be in over my head? Advice please!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello Everybody! I have been using this site as a tool for years now, but didn't make my own account until today. I'm 21 years old and living in NYC. I recently applied to SUNY Stony Brook and I'm trying to decide on my future career path. I have a different story than most. I'm just looking for a little insight from people more experienced than myself.

Let me start by telling you a brief story of how I ended up where I am.

I come from a somewhat crazy family. My father was an "evangelist "on Sundays and beat my brothers during the weekdays. My mother was also a religious fanatic with crazy views on the world. After my older brother grew up and left, I was left with my parents. My mother, being the religious person she was decided school was "evil" and pulled me out and moved to Vermont around the age of 10, the only problem was--she didn't teach me. She would tell everyone I was home-schooled but neglect my homework. By the time I was in high school, I was too embarrassed to go to school because I knew I was so far behind. I use to be threatened by the fact that "if people found out I was behind, the state would take me away from my family". I remember telling myself I wouldn't turn out like people predicted. I became straight edge, (No drinking and no drugs) and made a promise I would end up in college to be a nurse no matter what it took. Around the time I should have been a junior in high school, I met a girl who I shared all my problems and secretes with. She started teaching me math and science after school and was thankfully very patient and kind. Without exaggeration, I would start practicing math from 10am to 7pm every day hoping to catch up to my friends in high school. After about 6 months of this my girlfriend started bringing home her math homework to see if I could figure it out, and to my surprise I could with some help. I went to an adult education place in my local town, and started taking classes while taking college level courses at my local community college. Long story short, I ended up with my high school diploma, and I also have about 38 credits from a community college. I moved out of my house as quickly as possible, and I now live in NYC with that same girl from high school. My problem is I never took chemistry or physics in highschool. I am terrified of taking it at college. I have taken statistics and college algebra, and have gotten an A in both classes but feel as though my girlfriend has to spend extra time everyday helping me with my homework in order to understand it. I feel as though I have to work twice as hard to understand math than other people in my classes.

I applied to Stony Brook University recently, I have a 3.9 gpa and I applied undecided because I still have to take a lot of the prereqs for the nursing program. My question is, will I be in over my head? I feel like everyone there has taken 4 years of science and math already, and I was just some kid who was taught by my girlfriend. She says she will teach me chemistry, but I want to be able to fully understand it and be confident in school. I am good with conceptual things. I have taken medical terminology and was at the top of my class. I just feel so nervous and I can't shake it. Should I pick a different major? I see all these kids with years of preparation failing nursing school. I can't help but feel as though I will have an even harder time than them. I want to be a ER nurse, it's something I am very passionate about. I just want to hear from people if I should go to a school known to be very difficult in sciences. Will Stony Brook be that much harder than the classes I took at community college?

I'm sorry for rambling; any kind of response will help...I just feel as though I will be in over my head. I will be living on campus so I will have lots of time to study. I'm proud of how far I've gotten despite my situation--I am just unsure on how to approach all of this.

Again, I am sorry for the unorganized ramble and rabbit trails! Any kind of response will be helpful! I am just looking for honest opinions.

I also forgot to mention I already applied at UVM ( University of Vermont) and got accepted. There program doesn't seem as flexible, however. Those are the two colleges I've narrowed it down to. Any suggestions?

Specializes in 4.

In my opinion, any nursing program would be lucky to have you. I think it will boil down to your personal choice of where you want to go, as it should be. Keep your options open & go where your heart leads you. So far it hasn't led you astray & it has brought you thru adversity.

Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
Thanks so much everyone! Your words are so encouraging! I'm going to go for it and devote most of time to studying.

I think I'll make it out alive!

Of course you will! Good luck and please keep us posted. :)

WOW, I admire you!!!!! You are very smart and will make an awesome nurse!

Thank you for sharing your story... GO FOR IT!!!! Your story, reminds me of a book I just read called, "breaking night" about a homeless gal that went onto Harvard! She had no education background, and smart as a whip like you!!!! ~Blessings to You~

no. you will not. If you can do what you did to get your HS diploma and get to where you are....literally girl, you can do anything you want to do. You have what it takes to do it. If you aren't understanding the subject matter, you are one of the few who will figure out how to wrap their head around it. You can do this. No question. And you probably will be more successful than those who had mommy and daddy put them through private school and university.

So many people have accomplished seemingly impossible goals by sheer determination. The will to succeed can be a strong determining factor, and for some the most important. It sounds as though everything you have achieved thus far has been because you wanted it badly enough and worked hard. You study and ask for help when you need it, and that's half the battle. I don't believe you'll fail because you wont let yourself fail. You are truly inspiring, and I wish you the best of luck.

Specializes in Pediatric Home Care, Dr Office/Clinic.

Your story is very inspiring and tells me something very important about you...you have drive and passion & that will take you a long way in anything you decide to pursue in life. I think you have nothing to worry about. You've worked hard to get where you are and you CAN do this. Just believe that you can and remember to not be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Also, what someone suggested about getting some books in advance and starting to familiarize yourself with the material BEFORE you take the sciences that you are unsure of will help you. That's actually what I plan on doing because science and math are not my strongest subjects but I have leaned that I can do well in them if I give myself extra time to learn the material and read, practice, read and practice until the material is etched in my brain.

Also what helps me ALOT is audio recording my lectures in classes I am struggling with, so as I am going over my notes later when I am studying, I can also reflect back to the audio recording of the lecture.You might try that as well to help you along. :)

Good luck to you! You CAN do this!

Thank you to everybody for the inspiring words and advice! Sorry I haven't got a chance to get on here in a while.

So, my girlfriend ( the girl from the story) went to Maryland to see her family for a few weeks, and I now have no math tutor. I took online classes this semester, so it's pretty much me teaching meself. I spent literally 4 hours on three simple math problems,but it felt awesome after I figured it all out with out any feedback from anyone. I don't believe it was even hard math, just took me longer than most to grasp some concepts. I've been watching Youtube Videos and that's been helping. A few of my close friends love chemistry and they have been writing me up notes and such. I'm not half as worried as I was at first!

I should get my letter from SB any day now and I can't wait to start getting my hands dirty!

Woot !!

A little update for anyone interested! Just got my acceptance letter from Stony Brook. I sent in my housing deposit just barely, and I'm just waiting on my financial-aid package! Getting a little stresses but excited!

Specializes in CMSRN, hospice.

You sound so resilient and strong, and that counts for quite a bit in nursing and in life! I really admire you for the way you've overcome these challenges so far, and your experiences seem to say that you'll be OK no matter what comes up next.

Take a science class or two and see what happens. You probably have to start with Bio 101 anyway, which should be a fairly basic class to see how you'll do with it. Remember, everyone around you is struggling, but you can be confident because you've already proven that you can learn some hard material in less than ideal circumstances. That will take your farther than you think. If classes are difficult, there is never any shame in asking a professor for extra help; that's what they are there for! Also, at most schools, there should be a learning assistance center or some other office that will set you up with a tutor. I needed that to get through my math classes alive, and I know it's the saving grace for a lot of other students taking the sciences.

Go for it, and good luck to you!

Thank you, guys! So,I just got off the phone with an adviser... Apparently before you take chemistry at stony brook you have to complete calculus? Yikes! I've never even taken pre-cal. I had an idea, however. During the summer I plan on taking classes. I'm eligible to take chemistry at a local community college. I am thinking I can make sure that chemistry reaches Stony Brook's requirements and I can skip calculus and chemistry at Stony brook. I was panning on taking chemistry over the summer alone anyway. Any thoughts?

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