candrak

I would apply to all schools that are within your budget and meet your needs. I originally was going to apply to an ADN program at a community college but when it came time to apply I put everything on paper and realized that I only had to do one extra semester of pre-reqs to apply and get my BSN. Since I was on financial aid it only really made sense to just go for it!! The University I applied to also had a multiplier but I got in ... so it can be done ... never say anything is impossible until you try! And because I am going to a state school I will get out of nursing school with less than $16,000 in loans! Good luck ... you might just be surprised at what you can do! P.S. Don't forget to join Phi Theta Kappa (Community College Honor Society) if you are invited so you can get a transfer scholarship and a PTK scholarship!

I agree that A&P is a tough pre-req course. The most difficult class once I entered nursing school was Pathophysiology. That being said ... once you get into nursing school and start your nursing classes ... you will think of your A&P days as "those easy days of pre-reqs"!! Nursing school is tough! I am a Senior (3rd semester of NS) and it is the hardest yet ... my Adult II (Advanced Med/Surg, Critical Care) course is about to kill me ... LOL!! Hang in there ... it all matters and learning A&P is just the first step!

I rarely post on here but your story touched my heart. I too am morbidly obese and desperately wanted to be a nurse. For years my family would encourage me to go back to school and get my degree in nursing. I always had an excuse but to be honest ... I didn't think I could do it at my weight. I always told myself, "when I lose weight THEN I'll go back to school." Twenty years later ... yes, TWENTY years later I was still waiting ... and miserable because I wasn't doing what I dreamed of doing. I was not living up to my potential. I got more and more depressed and heavier and heavier instead of thinner and thinner. One day I decided that enough was enough ... thinner was not going to come right now but I could start taking classes and see how that worked out. I could move forward even at my weight of 275 pounds (5'2). So at age 42 I took two online classes.... and guess what? Even at 275 lbs and age 42, I WAS SMART!! Wow did that make me feel good! I applied for FA and in the Fall I started full-time at the local community college and worked on my prereqs. I applied to nursing school two years later with a 3.89 average (my school admits strictly on grades) and got accepted to one of the top schools in my state! I was on my way ... and boy was I scared!! Could I do this? Could I pull this off? Well ... I am happy to say that I will be starting my Senior year in a few weeks. Has my weight been an issue? Sure! I went home with aching feet and sore knees after every clinical but you know what? I made it through! I just kept pushing! After my second semester I needed to make a decision about what to do over the summer. Many of my classmates got jobs at hospitals. I decided that this summer was going to be the "Summer of Me!" I joined the local YMCA, recruited my sister to join with me and have spent the last 2 1/2 months exercising and changing my eating. I have lost 16 pounds and feel great! I am stronger than ever and feel confident that even at my current weight of 257 lbs (still morbidly obese) that I will be more able to handle the next year. I just keep telling myself (and anyone who will listen) that I feel that this is the path I am supposed to be on and that God has not put me on this path to fail ... I WILL get a job after graduation and it WILL be the job that my body can handle ... overweight or not! I love people and I love helping people and that will outshine any weight issue I have! Good luck on your path!

I am 43 and will finish my prereqs this summer.