FutureRN1908

I'm 28, married and I have a 2 year old. I just finished my first semester of prerequisites with a 3.6 GPA. My husband has been kinda weird since I decided to do this. He has a nice career and makes a good salary ,but it seems like every time he gets nervous or concerned about how much money we're saving or the amount of student loan debt he has he gets all negative about my decision to change careers to nursing. He says I need to go back to work, and he tells me that since I've been out of college for 6 years I should be making at least 50k and it would be nice if I could help with the bills. Don't get me wrong, he's a good husband and father he's paying for the classes while our child is in daycare part-time. He would ask me about how my exams went and sometimes seems interested in helping me reach this goal. But sometimes his negativity really gets me down and makes me doubt that I should be doing this. He always finds a way to mention that this is taking away money from our child's future education and putting a strain on us financially. I guess I should cut down my course load and get a job? This is so frustrating.

I'm just starting my prerequisites this semester too. I have an 18 month old daughter so I can relate to the mommy/student balancing act. Feel free to contact me.. I'm taking Biology and Chemistry. April

You have plenty of time to decide on a career. I've been out of college for 5 years and I decided to change careers and go back to school for Nursing. If you want to be a nursing major in college you will need to make sure you have taken math and science all four years while you're in high school. Some schools allow seniors to graduate with only 2 or 3 years of math or science. In order to be competitive for nursing programs it's probably best to take math and science each year. Most nursing programs don't actually require volunteer work, but it doesn't hurt if you want to volunteer in a hospital or something to get the feel for the environment. And colleges look favorably on students that do extracurricular activities and volunteer work. Good luck with your decisions!

My first day of Bio is next Tuesday, but I had my first chem class today. As long as you stay on top of the reading and ask questions if something doesn't click you should be fine. You should shoot for an A!

Yeah, I think you can have your mind set on something....but then complete clinical rotations and decide on something completely different. My sister didn't even want to work in a hospital setting originally, but then after she did her rotations she ended up becoming a critical care nurse....go figure! Right now, I'm interested in L&D, ER, OR, and maybe even peds.....so we'll see.

I totally feel you with this dilemma. It's just part of being a mom. You have to prioritize and reorganize so you can find time to pursue your goals. Try again summer session and use this semester to try to work with your husband to figure out a way to have some time to yourself. I was in a similar situation. My DH works all day and doesn't get home until 7pm at the earliest and we have no family here...so I waited a semester and worked things out so that my daughter can go to daycare all day on the days I have classes. I plan on studying during the day in the library at school and then at night after she's asleep. It seems to be a common theme with a lot of the moms I've talked to. If daycare or family help isn't an option then you will most likely do your studying after the kids are in bed and on the weekends when your husband can help. Good luck to you. Don't give up on your dreams! April

If you live in Maryland it's probably better to have a car. Especially with kids. The Metro is easy to get to, but sometimes they're not within walking distance. And think of the winter months when you won't want to be on foot. Living in DC would be different since it's a "walking city" and there are cabs and metro everywhere.

I'm taking General Chemistry starting on the January 24th. I haven't taken any chemistry since 1997. Yikes!

Ok, for all of you who have been nurses for a while I'm about to start my prerequisites for Nursing, but I'm sitting here thinking that it might not be for me. Ive always been interested in the health care field and I've worked for a major health insurance carrier until I decided to be a SAHM when my daughter was born. I always thought nursing was a good career choice because of the different specialties, job availability and pretty good money. But I'm not sure if I'm cut out for the blood, puke, and the fact that it's such demanding work. I'm married with a small child and my husband makes a nice living for us. I want a more satisfying career, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up all of the weekends and holidays and have a super stressful career. A friend of mine suggested I look into a Diagnostic Medical Sonography program or another allied health profession. What do you think? My sister is a nurse, now in a management position and she says if your heart isn't in it you can become miserable and burnt out. Sorry this is so long, but I just want to hear from some of you. April

I'm looking to start with A&P I in the spring even though registration isn't for another month or so. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to take it alone or with another class. I am so scared. This will be my first class toward my prerequisites and it feels like I have such a long way to go! AP

I am in a similar situation, except I'm married and have a little one. I'm 28 with a liberal arts degree. I've been working in health insurance since I graduated in 2001. I plan to start my prereqs in the spring. I don't have a lot of student loan debt, but hubby does from law school so I can't stomach a price tag like JHU or G-town. So from what I've researched University of MD Baltimore has the best deal in terms of cost. Unless you want to do an ADN program instead of BSN. I really would rather have the BSN. You could also look into an accelerated BSN program. You would start working sooner and some people think it's worth the higher cost. I would be interested in what anyone else has to say about schools in this area too.

Thanks for all of the advice. I think I might start out with just 1 lab science and human development for the first semester and see how things work for me. My family is about an hour and a half from us so I won't get a lot of outside help. I plan on taking day classes and putting my 15 month old in day care part time. Most of my studying will have to take place at night after she's asleep. I'm trying to get the best possible grades and do this in 3 semesters. Spring, Summer, Fall.

Congrats! Do you mind sharing your study techniques?

I'm planning on starting my prerequisites in the spring and I decided to go full time in order to apply to BSN programs as soon as possible. The classes I need to take are A&P 1 and 2, Micro, Chem., Human Development, and maybe stats. How many of these classes would I be able to take at a time and still have ample study time for each? I'm also married and have a toddler. And in what particular order is best to take these classes?

Hey I just wanted to hear from some of you that work while taking prerequisites. How do you balance family, house work and studying? How many classes could you take each semester:uhoh3: while working full time?