Mightypa

You have a 3.9 and you're waxing philosophical about the tug-o-war between familial responsibilities and your studies? Is that what your post was? Here's some study advice, take it or not, study "5" hours, get some real B's and be all up in your kid's faces every time they turn around!

Only you can answer how important your grades are to you. I assume the hours spent studying are estimates. It seems pessimistic to think it would take 1 and a half times as long to improve one letter grade. I would look into maximizing the time you spend studying now. Maybe audiotape classes and listen to them while commuting (I know, how boring). Try different studying techniques. If your kids can sit still for an entire game of Monopoly then maybe you could incorporate them into your study time. Maybe they would enjoy testing you with flashcards. Etc... There's nothing shameful about B's, but I know that when I aim for a B I will often miss. Also, most reputable nursing schools have a harder grading scale once your in the actual program, so what was a B becomes a C. I would also omit this story during a job interview. Employers don't want to hear that you'll sacrifice your professional life for your personal life.

I cannot stress enough knowing all of the rules used in admission to a (the one YOU want to attend) program. I saw many people extremely upset because they were either misled, or didn't fully understand what it took for eligibility. Because the program only starts in the fall, the essentially cost themselves another year of their lives with very little left to do school-wise. Talk to a counselor/ admissions specialist and ask what are their complete guidelines for entrance into their program. Then go see another counselor/ admissions specialist to make sure you're getting the same information and fully understand it. Avoiding any missteps could save you years in getting your degree. This is probably comparing apple to oranges but, to answer your question: With an Associate's Degree and many of the prereqs already done at a local community college, it took 1 year. During that year I had to "build up" credits for my particular University and finish the prereqs to be a candidate. To accrue hours I started and finished a minor in business. My GPA is 3.78, but I had to kill myself for the year to get it, because GPA is a tie-breaker in getting admitted to the program if you have the same number of credit hours.

Have you tried taking a personality tests to see if your personality is compatible with the nursing field. One popular one I took online for Lifespan Psychology during pre-nursing was the Holland test. You can find it online here: http://www.web-research-design.net/cgi-bin/crq/crq.pl It helped confirm that nursing was the field for me. Besides, nursing offers a wide range of job opportunities. Not all require you to be uber-assertive.