pre student???

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I thought I saw something about a "pre student" forum here. Yes, i'm interested in nursing. I'm part of the older crowd looking in. Forty four and I have a bit of an uphill battle here. Nothing about high school is going to matter. I'm a very different person now. I believe I read something about needing laboratory biology and laboratory chemistry at high school or college equivalent level. Honestly, if i'm wanting to do this with NOTHING.... how do I start? I'm thinking prerequisites are a bit off right now but I really want to get the ball rolling!

Can someone please show me the way?

Note: looking at Middlesex County College in Edison, NJ for associates first, obviously.

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Each school will have their own school entrance requirements. I would look online or call the school.

I could be wrong but I don't think your high school classes will matter. Science classes expire in 5 years.

If your not ready to start prerequisites I'd suggest brushing up on math so you dont have to take remedial math classes.

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Google is an amazing thing. It can give you a direction to get to the absolute specific info you seek.

Nursing Program

Try it out next time.

Good luck.

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Well you won't get into the nursing program right away. You'll start taking your general ed and prereq classes.

I don't know if you're able to be a FT student time-wise, but your first classes will probably be English, biology, psychology, and math/college algebra.

You just start by looking up open house registration dates for your school. Your school will probably have that around April or May for summer sessions. In the summer, you can start with a class or 2 if you wanted. That will help get the gen eds out of the way. Summer classes are more intense but they're over so quick and usually don't give as much work as a regular semester would.

Good luck!

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.
Google is an amazing thing. It can give you a direction to get to the absolute specific info you seek.

Nursing Program

Try it out next time.

Good luck.

The sooner you get competent with computer skills the better. (Says an old fart who knows the IT helpline number by heart)

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You'll take a college entrance. If they deem you failed, you'll go into remedial classes that serve no credit. You must pass them. Math is what's holding me back currently but I'm going to try again. I've been out of school for over 20 yrs so I am practicing math like crazy until it becomes 2nd nature to me.

Then you do your Pre-Reqs and we starting from scratch, may have more to do than just Bio, A&P etc. those will depend on the school and your goal needs to be As & Bs to give you a better chance to be accepted into a Nursing program.

Pre Reqs can take anywhere from 2-3yrs and that's before you've even gotten to Nursing school. I've done a lot of research. I'm 38 & well, although I wish I was younger as long as you're breathing it's never to late to follow your dreams.

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I totally love your last sentence. So true!

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I'm currently doing a LOT of research! Great YouTube videos on biology basics. That and I was always very good at math. I sent an inquiry email off to admissions which was for career counseling. I'm going to follow that up with a call of sorts to see about going in to talk to someone on specifics. I know there are free workshops for the placement test. I don't think the dates for the next one are set yet. With two to three years of prep work, it seems a bit daunting! Still, time does fly. I have a five year old son and a youthful Basset Hound! Everything will have to scaled down to a point of simplicity and sacrifice. I can only imagine. Trust me! I've been looking for quiet study places and been consulting with current nursing students. I appreciate any and all assistance!

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I'm currently doing a LOT of research! Great YouTube videos on biology basics. That and I was always very good at math. I sent an inquiry email off to admissions which was for career counseling. I'm going to follow that up with a call of sorts to see about going in to talk to someone on specifics. I know there are free workshops for the placement test. I don't think the dates for the next one are set yet. With two to three years of prep work, it seems a bit daunting! Still, time does fly. I have a five year old son and a youthful Basset Hound! Everything will have to scaled down to a point of simplicity and sacrifice. I can only imagine. Trust me! I've been looking for quiet study places and been consulting with current nursing students. I appreciate any and all assistance!

Good luck. This website can be a great resource for information. Every time I researched something it was answered here so I finally joined.

2-3 years sounds rough but when you start taking classes the months and semesters/quarters fly by. Keep us posted :)

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There is a test called the TEAS that measures basic skills for succeeding in today's college environment. A lot of programs require you to pass this before you can enter.

Reading, math, and basic science knowledge are necessary. You can go to the website and look through the prep manual and see if you need to add on to your skills.

You posted on an internet forum, so I am assuming you have computer skills. That's good, all nursing is about lately is charting in the electronic medical record.

The first steps I would recommend would be to figure out where you want to work and work backwards from there. It doesn't matter if your plan changes during nursing school, you can always revise. You need to make sure you are going to be qualified for a job when you graduate, otherwise, what's the point?

If you want to do hospital nursing, look at the job boards of local hospitals and see what qualifications they want and make sure you meet those. If you want to work in a nursing home, go and ask the DON what they are looking for in a candidate. Some NH's have websites with job boards, but usually only if they are affiliated with a larger system.

If you want to work with schools, look up the school nursing requirements for your state and school system.

If you have no idea what you want to do, you can contact the respective facilities and ask about job shadowing.

You get the drift. Once you find out what you need to get the job you want, assess the local programs to see what will get you the best bang for your buck. You need to look at things like NCLEX pass rates and the drop-out or fail-out ratios.

I always recommend going straight for your BSN if you can afford it. It will save you time and open a lot more doors for you.

Once you figure out what programs you will be applying to, you will need to contact them or look on their websites to find out what prerequisites you need. If you are going for your BSN, you will do most of your prereqs while in your four year program. If you go into an associate's or diploma program, you may have to go to a community college to get your credits. I would recommend going to a CC anyway and then transferring to a university for your BSN. Just make sure you choose a CC whose credits count at the university you want to go to.

So, to sum up - research and get your basic skills up to date.

I'm excited for you. It's always fun, even though it's scary, to start something new!

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Specializes in NICU Level 3.

Have you taken any previous college classes? Im in Texas and am 41 and currently in my 2nd semester of nursing school. In Texas they require students to take an assessment test to determine your current level of reading, writing, and mathematic skills. I was not required to since I have taken previous college classes and got an exemption.

From there- I signed up for a biology fundamentals class to brush up on that subject. My school required an exam before I was allowed to take Anatomy and another before taking Physiology. It took me 2.5 yrs to get all of my pre-reqs completed (I am married and have 2 kids and was working part time at a day care) and to do all of the other necessary requirements to get into school. I also got a job at one of the area hospitals to gain experience in the hospital setting to make sure that I was going to like the environment.

Basically, you need to see what requirements there are for admission to your school and then what the requirements are for the nursing program? Go and meet with an admission counselor and talk to them to see what is needed. Talk to other people you know who are in the program to find out what is needed. If you dont know anybody, see if there are any message boards or FB groups for that school.

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I have taken "some college" classes but it was back in 1993-1995. My GPA was between 3.6-3.8 at the time. This was in Canada. The programs were completely non related to nursing. I took Sign Language Communications and then a Culinary course. Circumstances did NOT allow me to complete. In my SLC program I was given an award by my peers for "most conscientious". I don't see why I can't be exactly the same. I know there are MANY YouTube channels that are helpful. I just got my TEAS-V study guide. I'm going to some info sessions on the CPT testing as well as an intro class for adults reentering the college system. I really want to get my 12 credits started! This being a requirement if high school is long past. Knowing a 3.6 is a 90 and a 3.8 is a 93, i'm not worried. I know I can get it. So many study guides out there!!

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