EmDash

Time management and managing your expectations are definitely major portions of preventing burnout I think. You have to make sure you are giving yourself enough time to review modules and information, study, and do the assignments while also scheduling some time to yourself. If you are someone who is very Type A, you also have to let go a bit. You aren't necessarily going to make all A's. It's possible to, and I think it's possible to do it without burning out as well, but it can depend on your professor, you, and the class. It's a good thing to strive for A's, but I think it also needs to be okay if you don't make A's. I have about an hour commute, and it's been fine so far. Not fun certainly, but manageable. I try to listen to videos on the way there, which I think is probably the best way to use that time, but I honestly more often listen to music, especially in the morning. I'm not someone who likes to wake up early, and living so far out means I get to wake up even earlier than other people, esp when we meet at 6:30 for clinical. For resources, Youtube is my best friend at this point. I tend to watch videos from RegisteredNurseRN, Osmosis, Armando Hasudungan, and some random channels made by doctors. An NCLEX Review book is also invaluable. It's a good way to read shortened info and have some practice questions. I also like the Davis' Success book for that reason. The more practice questions, the better I think. Otherwise, a good program to take notes is helpful, if you are someone who takes electronic notes. I personally use Microsoft OneNote after hearing about it from someone else, and I really like having all my notes in one place and embedding videos in them that I can rewatch. Quizlet is great for online flashcards. SkillStat is good for learning to identify EKGs quickly. Some of my fellow students really love Epocrates (phone app) for drug info, but I personally barely use it myself.

I'm in a 15-month program, and we have quite a few who work part time. Though we've also had a couple people who came in working part time and quit the first semester. If you are good at time management and the job is flexible, then it's definitely do-able in a 15-month program. Now all this condensed into 12-months? Idk if you could work and learn what you need to learn unless you are really good at getting info down fast.

Personally, the main things I think would have helped me going into the program were reviewing A&P again and learning some medical prefixes, suffixes, and root words (which is helpful in figuring out medical terms that you may run into for the first time on, say, a test). Maybe making up quick little study sheets for each system, going over the basic functions and such, so I had something to constantly refer back to. If you really want to be even more prepared, you could also always try to find something that discusses strategies for answering NCLEX-style questions. Otherwise, I wouldn't sit there and try to learn too much beforehand, especially actual nursing topics since it can change or your program could teach it differently than what you read.

The only real difference is that the summer semester is going to be shorter, so unless that program accounts for it (mine doesn't), you'll be pushing a 15/16 week semester into like 10-12 weeks, or however long it is at that school. Other things to account for is that a summer off could be a good time to try to volunteer or get an externship or a job. But it can also mean you start losing some of the information and skills you developed. You can also look at resources offers, clinical opportunities, how much cost the extra driving will be, and reviews from past students.

So you asked for a letter of recommendation from several professors, and they said no? If you have any other ones you haven't tried yet, I'd email them if you have 2-3 weeks still until the deadline. It doesn't have to be someone you know particularly well. You just write a bit about yourself, what class you took with them, what grade you got, and offer to send your resume. I've seen professors agree to write letters for students they didn't really know several times. It's certainly worth the effort to ask every semi-relevant professor you have the time to. But, also figure out if you have all the other things you need to even apply. If you are behind on the prereqs and are not eligible to even be considered for admission, then there's no use in worrying about getting everything together for the fall application. As for ADNs and hospitals, it depends a lot on your specific area. In cities where the market is oversaturated, hospitals can be much more picky with who they chose to hire, so it can be more difficult for someone with an ADN to be hired at a hospital when compared to someone with a BSN--especially if the hospital has magnet status. However, it's certainly not impossible. Even in my area that is way saturated with nursing schools, one hospital definitely hires some ADNs while I know some people who have gotten into a hospital that supposedly only hires BSN nurses (though typically through knowing someone). If you live in an area that is not saturated, then I don't think it would be much of an issue. You can \try to do some research about your city and ask some of the nurses that work in the area. I personally wouldn't go the 50k route regardless. Student debt is no joke, and even having to wait an extra semester or two to get into a cheaper program would be better than spending 50k.

I'd say entrance tests are fairly common, but not every program has them. One that I applied to didn't have one, but they did require several essays and a personality test. The program I'm in required the TEAS, which they weighted more than the prereq GPA. I'd also second what 203Bravo said. A lot of programs will require you to take standardized tests throughout the program to ensure you are learning the information you need to. Your score on those can be part of your class grade.

Focus on trying to understand the underlying concepts. What exactly are you doing with the formula? What is the answer telling you specifically? What does this term actually mean? I've taken it twice now (as my first one was taken a while ago and was outside the time limit for one of the programs I applied to), and it was easier to understand the second time around by trying to understand the concepts. My professor uploaded these video lectures for us, which I used for the most part for this, but I remember using some videos off Youtube. There should be no shortages of videos there that can help. Though at the same time, if all else fails and you are in a bind, you can also memorize which formulas go with which types of questions. I might also suggest that you try to create something that summarizes each concept and type of question for you to use later on in your BSN program. I took the course less than a year ago, and I couldn't tell you how to do half of it anymore. Since I don't have something that gives me a good overview of what I took away from it, I'm just going to be looking up the info and hoping that it'll all come back to me or I can relearn whatever is going to be relevant.

Unfortunately, it depends entirely on the program. Some programs will only take the score on the first TEAS attempt within the last so many years, some give you 2 or 3 attempts and use the best attempt, and others let you attempt as many times as you want. How much the TEAS factor into your admission also depends on how the program is evaluating its applications. Where I applied to, the TEAS was more important than your prereq GPA, but I'm sure other programs differ in how weighted the TEAS score is. I'd probably consult with someone in the nursing program to ask if they release their evaluation criteria and the weight of each component. You could also ask if they have stats on the range of TEAS scores of those typically admitted and what their policy is on TEAS attempts. Depending on that and how soon the application deadline is, you could possible retake the TEAS before the deadline. And it seems like programs that accept multiple attempts would either look favorably on improving your TEAS score the next application round or not care period (since the panel evaluating for admission may only receive/look at the relevant score only).

I honestly don't think there's actually much of a difference in the way of quality and result. You get the same degree in the end and you get the same education. Well, other than ADNs (and I'm assuming Rn to BSN programs) usually being cheaper. I'd assume that, for some, it may be that their local ADN program has a massive waiting list while the BSN doesn't. I've heard of some people having to wait a year or two to actually get off the waiting list and start the ADN program because so many people are applying. ADN programs can also be more competitive as a result of the number of applicants. Otherwise, it might be more about people, specifically young adults, wanting the "college experience" or wanting to start off getting to explore more of their options before deciding on a certain path. If you go straight for an ADN, you have to decide sooner that you want to definitely go into nursing. That and there is now some freshmen admit BSN programs, so I imagine it's more comforting to know you're admitted before even paying and taking the prereqs.

Well, first off, have you researched your university's program? Talked to current and previous nursing students? Unless your first A&P professor is part of the nursing program and has control over the atmosphere, their class isn't necessarily indicative of what the nursing program is like. In the colleges I've went to, there have been good professors and bad ones, often in the exact same area of study. A good program still had several professors you wanted to avoid. I mean, it could still be a terrible program, but if you haven't, definitely do your research before deciding. Either way, whether you get an ADN or a BSN, you take the exact same NCLEX to get your RN license since both programs have the core nursing science courses/info. The RN to BSN programs generally just consist of the "fluffy" courses like ethics or leadership and courses like nursing research, and they can be done online while you are working as an RN. It's certainly a viable option. However, if another university wouldn't transfer your credits, I'm unsure why a community college would? Or is there some type of agreement that allows you to transfer credits to a specific college? And I can't really help you on when you'd graduate. It'd depend on your acceptance, when the program takes in new students, how long the specific program is, etc.

Are they having you rent the ebooks instead of buying them outright? Because if you are buying them, you should have access to them for at least several years. I'd honestly double check because it seems weird that the program would try to determine if you could rent or buy the texts. But obviously it's not out of the realm of possibility. So far, I've only really looked back on past textbooks once or twice with the exception of using them as sources for papers. If I'm reviewing stuff from the previous semester, I tend to use my notes, Youtube, or an NCLEX review book more than anything else. I do know some people who have kept their Med-Surg text to look back on even after they graduate, but I figure the Internet is just as good for reviewing specific topics. One option you could consider is buying the edition (or two) before the current one for the physical copies. Textbooks don't tend to change too much between editions. There's usually a lot of restructuring, so you shouldn't miss much in the way of info. But you'll have a decreased cost. Then you always have the current edition as an ebook.

What exactly do you meant that you feel like the material you studied and the exam questions did not correlate? Were there questions on topics that weren't at all mentioned in the chapters/lectures? Or were they just more application-based questions that took the concepts you learned further, but maybe just wasn't specifically discussed? If the latter, then I recommend finding additional sources to review each topic. Watch Youtube videos on the whatever concepts you go over. Buy the relevant book for the class from Made Simple or Demystified series. Definitely invest in some NCLEX Review books (I personally like my Sanders one). You can also find books in the Davis' Success series that had a mass of questions per class and topic. Do as many questions from these sources as you can. Try to take notes and highlight but then condense the information into flashcards or concept maps. I found those to be good tools to make yourself summarize the information, which requires you to understand the underlying rationale and pathology of everything. I think the advice to understand the concepts, not just memorize, is great because if you can at least understand the concept and how things affect each other, you can reason out interventions and symptoms. You can also find some books that discuss test strategies specifically for nursing questions. You are going to run into questions in which two or more options are technically correct, but only one is the "most" correct. For those, I personally try to determine what is the question actually asking me (what is it trying to determine if I know or not) and then ask myself if I could only do one intervention out of all the correct options, which one would help the patient the most? Whenever you find yourself struggling, consult with your professor right away. They are in a better position to give you feedback on what you can improve on. And yeah, if you have ADHD, then I'd consult your doctor about their recommendation since that can certainly affect your concentration.

Depends a bit on the options you have, I'd think, and if you are wanting to start with an ADN or BSN. Ultimately, the degree is the same BSN as the traditional programs, so it's not going to help with employers, etc, and you don't really learn anymore than anyone else. You'll just get your degree at an accelerated pace, which obviously will save you some time if you are wanting to start off getting a BSN rather than ADN. (They are also faster than some ADN programs, but I imagine not all.) One thing that may put a kink in that benefit is if the only second-degree programs around you are the overly expensive kind, which there is quite a few. However, there are some good, affordable programs, especially the ones at state universities. I think it can certainly be a benefit in getting you to a BSN faster than you would otherwise, which would get you into a career sooner. However, an ADN might also be faster, and a BSN may or may not be needed to get started in your area (depending on how saturated the job market is). So it's a little situation-dependent.

Assuming you're in the U.S., a second-degree program is certainly an option. A lot of places that have both types will let you apply to the second-degree program if you qualify and if you'd like to go at an accelerated pace, but all the places I applied to at least let you also apply for the traditional-paced route. So it's an option, but is not necessarily a requirement.

Yeah, pretty much all "acceptance" into nursing programs are conditional acceptances. They are made on the assumption that you will be completing the requirements before the start of the program, including prereqs. I also haven't heard of a program making an exception for this type of thing, but the only way you can know 100% is if you ask them directly. I imagine it's way better for you if you bring this up to them yourself than it will be if they find out via your transcripts. They will view you better, I think, and if you talk with them, you're going to have more of a chance to find some type of solution. They may let you defer until next semester. Or they may have a solution for the lab that you haven't thought of.