Ms. Juju

Took the NCLEX today and my experience was that the questions were, for the most part, harder than most of my practice questions. But honestly, that was just my experience and no two tests are alike. Too scared to do the "pearsonvue trick", so I must suffer for another 36 hours! Pray for me!

Hello All, Just took the NCLEX this morning and I feel absolutely SICK to my stomach to the point where I don't how I'm going to survive until I get the results (in 2 days). Seriously, I felt like I bombed it completely. Seriously, there were meds I'd never heard of and several "select all that apply". Oh god I feel sick. Please help me get through the next couple of days. I am so worried that I've failed. I am so afraid.

I applied last year: had my interview in November and before Christmas break I received my acceptance letter. Shouldn't be too much longer now!! I'm currently in the 2nd term of the BSN Express. It's VERY CHALLENGING and I have NO TIME to myself. But Winter Break means we'll be HALF WAY DONE!! Good luck to you and keep in touch.

This is exactly the attitude I had when I decided to go back to school! I'd been in my job for 6 years and realized that I could just as easily be there another 6 years and nothing in my life would have changed, or I could start down the path of my pre-reqs and see where they'd take me. It was as if a light bulb went off in my head and I became very focused! 2011 isn't that far away! And who knows, maybe you will find an option elsewhere that begins sooner? I'm all about creating options. I'm excited for you as you begin your journey! I absolutely LOVED my beginning algebra classes. For the first couple of terms I felt like a math genius (until I got to intermediate algebra)! I found algebra at times sort of meditative and satisfying. Good luck!!

Wow! Sounds like you have a lot of the pre-reqs in the bag already! That's a big help for sure. I know not all schools are the same, but in Oregon most schools will allow you to apply and will consider your application so long as you will complete your pre-reqs before nursing school begins. Other's require you also have a cna certification (which they will also allow you to get before you begin the nursing program). Now, depending on if you're looking at an associates or a bachelors, the pre-reqs are going to vary slightly. I found several of the bsn programs in Oregon want an entire year of either biology or chemistry; this is on top of your Anatomy & Physiology. Bachelors programs also want to see Statistics, so if you need to take your math classes leading up to Stats at least you can get started on them while you're doing A & P. Plus, if you are going to go for the bachelors, it sounds like you probably already have your philosophy/religion/ethics requirement met. Applying to schools sounds more scary than it actually is. Pick out several that appeal to you and plug away at the applications. Don't overthink it. Do well on your pre-reqs and your transcripts will speak for themselves. If you need to write an essay, it is most likely going to be about why you want to go into nursing. Be yourself and share your story! For myself, I found that I needed to concentrate on accelerated programs. I have a previous degree and in Portland there are only two universities that have accelerated programs and they are both extremely competitive (less than 70 slots per program with hundreds of students applying to each every year!). I ended up deciding on an out-of-state school. Just remind yourself that you are still very young and even if you don't get into a school until next year you'll still be in your very early 20's! Best of luck to you!!

I definitely think it's possible to take both classes successfully, and take them in a condensed period of time. But WOW, working 30 hours per week on top of those two classes is really intense!! Personally, I think if you are really driven and really focused you can do it. If you've received high grades previously while working, then that says you have it in you. Micro ended up being my favorite pre-req and the last part of A & P, while not easy, I found I did very well, perhaps because I'd taken so many other classes previously that I found my study rhythm and just knocked it out. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide!!

Just got my acceptance letter today!! Applied for the BSNExpress and it looks like its starting on May 19th 2008! I think I'm in shock right now. I've been so wrapped up in pre-requisites and finals that it didn't really occur to me how I'd feel. Has anyone else heard back? I'd love to connect with any prospective students. I am looking at the day time option.

Hey All ~ This isn't a link, but an optional book for my Math 60 class this Winter. It's called "Take the Fear out of Basic Algebra" by Kimberly Neuberger. It looks like she has a series of books around math anxiety. I love that her number one step to cope with math anxiety is: "training yourself to believe you CAN do math". She also recommends mind tricks like writing "I will get an A" on the top of quizzes and tests. I love it!

LOL!! I have a feeling with your enthusiasm and hard work, you will have your choice of nursing schools. I'm literally counting down the days until school starts. This is unbelievable to me. I, too, never thought I'd be this excited to learn math. I'm even having algebra-related dreams these days. I'm also going into my return to school with the attitude of tackling a couple classes at a time (as I must work full time for as long as I possibly can before nursing school) and doing the very best I can at them. I'm starting to feel like the Little Engine that Could, what with my constant "I think I can I think I can I KNOW I can I KNOW I can" mantra.

Thanks for all the links!! I'm starting with Math 60 in January with some anxiety, but I'm just going to go for it! My goal is to have passed (with flying colors mind you) Math 95 by the end of Fall Term 07. In the back of my head I'm still thinking I'll probably take Math 111c and Statistics in 08 before I get into nursing school. This, from a woman who never completed Algebra II in high school!

Hi All ~ Just joined today (after lurking heavily yesterday) and thought I'd jump right in. I've got a ways to go with my pre-reqs, but I'm hopeful that if I'm diligent I'll have them out of the way and ready to apply to nursing school by this time next year. So, starting on January 8th, I'm taking Math 60 (I told you I have a ways to go!) and Biology 112 (which I have to take in order to get into A & P). So if all goes as planned, I'll be in A & P I in Spring and Math 65. It's funny. I was doing a search yesterday on-line for "37 year old returning to school" and found this site. It is exactly what I needed to find! It's so encouraging reading about everyone's paths to N.S. and I am especially encouraged to hear the experiences of the "older" students. Guess that's going to be me in a few weeks! I'm going into it with the attitude that I can do it, even though I graduated from college 14 years ago and haven't taken a math class since the 80's!! Thanks for listening. :Ball: