JerseyGuy

Hey there.....and 10% is WAY TOO HIGH!! As someone previously said, look into a Federal Stafford Student Loan. Those interest rates WERE as low as 3-4%, until Pres Bush raised them a year ago. They are now just under 7%. You need to fill out a FAFSA form (on-line) for the Stafford or any other student loan. It can be a maze to navigate thru.....so I'd recommend you stop in to your local community college financial aid office, and ask them to explain you the "in's and out's" in person. It'll help tremendously. Also, I don't recommend you work full-time, if you can avoid it. Part time is PLENTY, and you can use some student loan proceeds for living expenses. Nursing school is NOT a "walk in the park". Take it from me....I'm an EXCELLENT STUDENT, even at my age 50 career-changing position right now. Am in a full-time Accelerated Second-Degree BS in Nursing Program, and it's rigorous. Even a community college ADN program is rigorous, so be sure you have enough time to keep up with assignments, or you'll fall pretty fast. All the best!

Yup, I did my RN pre-reqs at Raritan Valley Community College, and know LPNs that were enrolled in the LPN>RN bridge program there. Their feedback was that it was excellent. Beautiful campus, and nursing program there is SOLID!! Check it out....http://www.raritanval.edu is their website. Good luck!!

I like ur analogy to riding a bike....might feel a "little shaky" when you first get back on....but it's unlikely you'll "fall". I'm not married (have partner of 18 yrs), but we have no kids. There are 2-3 married guys with kids in my class (eg: young kids, from few months to 3 yrs old), and they do seem to talk about that....the fact that it's harder for their wives, with them in school full-time.....different from when they worked full-time. With school, your "school day" isn't over when ur out of class/clinical. There's usually time sensitive home-work/stuff to complete, and it takes away from home life. The good thing is, that the time in nursing school is pretty short-lived....and after that's over, we'll have ALOT more options available to us, in terms of schedule flexibility, and overall unlimited duration of employability....which is NOT true in the business working world. And similar to you, I had a nice 6-figure salary before entering nschool full-time, but I've never really looked back. Not THAT easy making it on 1-income in central/western NJ where we live. Property taxes alone (hold onto your hat) are $8k a year for us. Now we live in a real nice (ok, SUPER-nice) $600k townhouse, but that's not outrageous in this State, which is home to about highest salary levels in country, due to this being Pharmacapital of USA. Take care...and chat again soon! PS---my Accel BSN Program will cost me $28k alone in student loans!

Hey bud----go ahead, and make the switch. I'm a male career-changer, now a 2nd semester nursing student in an Accelerated Second Degree BSN program, a tough (well, intense) 15-month program for those already with a Bach degree, who wish to become nurses. Before this student gig, and I'm old, 50!!!....I was a VP/Director of Human Resources at some large hospitals in my State of NJ. And I can tell ya, from years of working with nurses/nursing execs, etc.....as a general rule, males "do well" in nursing-----AS LONG AS YOU'RE GOOD. No one will hand you anything, but let's face it....males are (still) a minority in nursing, but folks like to have us around for lots of reasons: the diversity, sometimes for "heavy lifting"...ha ha, and just because----meaning, no reason at all. But also, we do kinda "break up the estrogen a bit", with our "testosterone". And btw, there are 13 men in my 65 person nursing class....and by far, all the guys are hetero, except 2 that I know of----if that's a concern to you. It's not to me....but the old 'sterotype' of all males in nursing being "gay"----well, it's just not so anymore. Folks are WAY more educated about stereotypes, etc. Contact me via private message, ifyou wish to discuss further....bkz this website is a little confusing to me. Send me a private message. I have 20+ years of healthcare (hospital) HR experience, including career counseling, and I'd be glad to answer any questions I can---about pre-reqs, etc.. Reason I'm saying "outside" email, is that I only look at this website once every 3-4 weeks. I even forget I'm a member sometimes. All the best!!

Very cool......how can I use one of these, at end of my allnurse.com responses? Marty (from NJ.....nursing student)

Hey bud.....I'm a (somewhat new) male nursing student.....a career changer who's spent 20 years as a HR (human resources) exec in NJ hospitals, now in an Accelerated BSN Program at UMDNJ. Just wanted to respond, and say hello!

NCLEX "pass rates" are extremely misleading, at best, unfortunately. There probably isn't a nursing program out there (BSN, AD or Diploma) that doesn't require some type of formalized "exit test", such as the HESI, or ATI, as part of the school's "completion requirements". In other words, unless you score "x" on the HESI or ATI (standardized exit test), you can't even TRY/SIT for the nursing boards. The real question to be asked of nursing school administrators is: "Regardless of which formalized "exit test" used here, (HESI or ATI), what approximate % of those students taking the HESI/ATI complete it with a score sufficient to sit for our State Nursing Boards on the first HESI/ATI go-round?" (Again, these nursing school admins are slippery.....you can't refer to "passing" the HESI/ATI.....or they'll dance around the question. Go ahead and ask away.....and you'll be surprised, I'm sure, at the difference between their answer to this first question, and the % of their grads who pass the State Boards on the first try. Feedback, please?

When I replied before, I was using the term "gay" in an all-inclusive way, eg: gay & lesbian. Sorry if I didn't make that clear....but of course we care! And I note from your profile that you're a former electrician/carpenter turned nursing student. Just think....you can care for the patient AND change the light bulbs in their rooms......LOL ! Have a nice day!

Just saw this, and I'm a somewhat new member of this on-line Forum thing. I'm an age 50 career changer, with a same-sex partner for the past 17 years. Am currently a student nurse, in an Accelerated Second Degree BSN Program----and while initially I didn't "wear my sexual orientation on my sleeve", there are 13 men in our class of 67 students. Besides myself, as far as I know, there is only 1 other gay guy. It's just natural, once fellow students/people start getting to know each other, at more than the "HELLO, GOOD MORNING" level, that personal things DO come out. And it's certainly nothing I'm ashamed of.....so I've NEVER made any attempt at hiding it. From a personal perspective, what I share with fellow students is different than what I'd ever share with a patient in most circumstances. So my "plan" when I begin employment, is to be right up front, when/if it comes up. I can only say it's never caused a problem for me. One never knows, of course, what someone else could be saying "behind my back", but there's a saying that I believe in: "Whatever someone else is saying about me is NONE of my business." Good luck, and as Shakespeare (I think it was him) once said: "To thine own-self, be true."

Does anyone know where to find nclex "pass rates" for nursing schools?....be it nationwide, or specifically, in New Jersey (state I'm interested in) thankx.