modernmarvel

Hi, I am not a nurse yet, but I am a 30 year old starting an ABSN program next week and come from a business background. I have a bachelor's and master's of accounting, CPA and almost 7 years of experience at a Big 4 so I can definitely relate to being scared to make a career change. I was happy for a long time in my prior career, but realized that I was becoming a more unhappy and unfulfilled person the further up the ladder I moved. It took me almost 2 years to fully commit to making a change. Here were my steps: 1. Researched the different degree programs available and their requirements for admission. I ultimately chose to try for ABSN programs and then have traditional BSN and ADN programs as alternates in case I couldn't get into an ABSN. I was willing to relocate anywhere in the US and looked for schools that met my requirements for NCLEX pass rates, attrition rate, class size and cost. 2. Volunteered at a few healthcare facilities near me over the course of 12+ months (med-surg unit at a large teaching hospital, LTC facility, 60-bed ED). This experience was really invaluable to me, because I was able to spend a significant amount of time in environments that I never experienced in my prior career or even personal life. It also solidified my desire to pursue nursing as a second career in a more low-risk setting compared to quitting my job and becoming a CNA. 3. Enrolled in pre-requisite courses (did this along with working and volunteering). I took all of mine online since I wanted the flexibility, but it does limit the programs that you can apply to since some schools require in-person labs. I found some sections of each class to be challenging and require a lot of dedication to memorize and retain the information, but I really enjoyed the material and was able to get all A's. 4. Started applying to programs. I applied to and was accepted by my first choice school (and the first school to which I applied), but many people apply to 5+ if they are in competitive areas and don't want to move.

I was waitlisted :/. Overall GPA: 3.4ish between undergrad, masters and newly completed prerequisites Prerequisite GPA: 4.0, but A&P 2, Nutrition and Micro are still in progress (getting A's in the coursework so far)

I applied through the school's website. I chose a primary campus (Phoenix) and was able to select that I wanted to be considered for other campuses. From my understanding based on a conversation with Becca, if they like you as an applicant and your preferred location is full, they'll give you the opportunity to attend at another campus.

Hi! Long-time lurker, but created an account just for this :). I also submitted my application for the Phoenix campus. This is the first school I'm applying to, so I'm pretty nervous.