june82

Thank you so much for your advice! I absolutely agree with you that finding the middleground between relaxation and review is the best approach for me at this point.

Do you study using online resources? Any suggestion on good websites for studying those and practice questions?

Thanks, I appreciate your advice :) I'm trying to work out and relax so I'm at my best when I start school.

All the current nursing students out there! What should I study ahead before I start the program? Was there anything you wished you had studied ahead before starting the nuring program? I have about 3 months left until the first day of class. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

I also applied to only one school and I got in! I wasn't a pre-nursing student until the end of the fall semester of my senior year but my major happened to have many course requirements that overlap with nursing prereqs. But if I were to apply to multiple programs I would have had to take another whole year just to fulfill all the different prereq requirements so I decided to focus on just one nursing school, which was actually the only school that I wanted to get in, and ended up having to take only one more semester before I could apply. My nursing advisor was not so concerned about it but when I had a career advisor run through my resume, she was surprised and gave me a weird look when I told her that I'm applying to only one school. But I didn't care because that school was the only place that I wanted to get in and I knew I was going to try my BEST to get in to this program. My GPA was 3.8 and I didn't have to take any entrance exam and no clinical experience was required to be considered (although I had my CNA certificate). I had diverse work and research experience and I put the most effort in to my personal statement. I think strong GPA and personal statement are what get you to the interview stage. I did great on my interview and tried to communicate as much as possible with the nursing admisson advisor at the school I was applying to (not to bribe her, but to make sure I have the right information and stay up-to-date). So I would say it's not stupid to apply to only one program. Understand your options, choose, and FOCUS. Give all your effort, your BEST effort.

I guess I'm just too used to being in school and having assignments due haha. I'm starting to realize how hard it is to just relax. Thanks for your advice!! I'll try to cherish my free time as much as possible while I have it :)

I'm flying out in two weeks

I'm with you on that! I'm going to move down AT LEAST a month earlier to settle in. I'm moving to a bigger city so I'll definitely need some time to get used to a different atmosphere. Thanks for your advice!

One former Albertan here! I went to high school in Calgary haha! I would say you need at least C in all your prereq science courses, that's the minimum. Nursing programs are competitive and you have to compete with people who have all As so the higher grade the better. If your GPA is not really promising at the moment, you could also consider after-degree nursing? I have a friend who graduated from U of A with Biology and now doing the after-degree nursing program there. Talk to your advisor and find out your options. Good luck!

I'm moving to a different city for my program in a few months so getting hired at a hospital in my current city doesn't really make sense. I guess maybe I should consider moving down even earlier to get settled in and get a part time job at a local hospital before the program starts. I'll try to enjoy a little break from school as much as I can but it just feels so depressing... Thanks for your suggestion though!

But don't you have to go through the same hiring process to be a per diem CNA? My problem is that I'm moving to a different city for my nursing program probably in May so I only have so much time to work after I come back from my trip in February and that's why the hiring manager was not so willing to hire me as a CNA in the first place. But I'll definitely look up some per diem positions in the city I'll be moving to. Thanks for your suggestion!

Yes, that's what I'm trying to do because I know nursing school won't spare some time for me to read!

But don't you have to go through the same hiring process to be a per diem CNA? My problem is that I'm moving to a different city for my nursing program probably in May so I only have so much time to work after I come back from my trip in February and that's why the hiring manager was not so willing to hire me as a CNA in the first place. But I'll definitely look up some per diem positions in the city I'll be moving to. Thanks for your suggestion!

Hey everyone, This is going to be a long story, so please bear with me. So I recently got accepted into a nursing program whic starts in June. I graduated with my first BS in December 2016 so I'm not a student at the moment. I can't wait to start the program and it is great to have some time off before I start the program but I also feel hollow and anxious thinking about what I'll do with these few gap months prior to June before I move down to a different city to begin the program. I have a CNA license so I thought I could maybe work as a CNA until I start the program but the facility I wish to work at was not really interested in hiring me because I would only be working for a good solid 2 months after a long hiring process. I'm also going out of country for 2 weeks in February so I feel like right now is not the right time to be looking for a part time job. I'm not really an outgoing person so I don't go out to hang out with friends (I don't have friends in town in the first place because they all went back to their hometowns and went to graduate school somewhere else). So since my graduation, working out and reading books have been all I do in a day. I feel like a loser not being socially active and engaged and this feeling is eating at me and causing me to dig a hole and feel bad about myself. I know I need to be thankful for what I have and making into the program but having to wait another few months without doing anything meaningful is really torturous to me. I guess I'm just not sure what I should be doing right now and for the next few months. It just feels so awkward, meaningless, and guilty to be doing nothing after all those years of studying and just having something to do everyday. Are there any part time jobs that will hire me just for 2-3 months? Should I do some pre-study before I start the program? I just need something meaningful that I can commit myself into. Any suggestion or advice would be much appreciated... Thanks in advance!!