tmarie

I'm hoping to get accepted for Fall 2011 as well. Applications don't come out until February 1st. I will need to take the TEAS sometime between Feb 1st and March 1st (when the applications are due). Unfortunately my community college's nursing department said that they will not know which version of the TEAS they are going to be using for the 2011 applicants until sometime in January. I really want to start studying for it now, but I don't want to buy the wrong study guide/practice tests. I've gotten A's in all of my prereqs so far, and am pulling A's in my current 2 classes (A&P I and "Human Growth & Development"). I am taking my last 3 prereqs in the spring: A&P II, Micro, and Comp II. I hope I can keep up the A's!! The college doesn't choose applicants until after grades are in for the spring semester, so I won't find anything out until the summer. There are two "tracks" in the nursing program - Track I (Fall, Spring, Fall, Spring) and Track II (Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer). You can say which track you would prefer on the application, but there's no guarantee you'll get that one (that is, IF you're accepted at all. I think last year there were over 300 applicants and only 70 got in - 40 in Track I and 30 in Track II). I guess I said all that just to say that if I were to get accepted for Track II, there will only be 2 weeks in between findng out I've been accepted and actually STARTING NURSING SCHOOL! ) Even though I would be totally freaking out in that instance, I would be jumping for joy that I got in!!!!!! Here's hoping!!

I am interested to read the replies. The nursing dept at my CC says that it won't know which version of the TEAS it will be using for next year's applicants until "sometime in January". The applications come out in Feb and I think they are due by March 1st, so I won't get a whole lot of studying time in after finding out which version they'll use. Good luck to you!!!

That is similar to how my CC's program works. 4 points are awarded for every A received in science prereqs, 3 points for every A received in non-science prereqs, a perfect score on the TEAS counts as 20 points, for a grand total of 53 possible points. The head of the nursing department said that last year, over 300 people applied for the program, which only has 72 slots. The last applicant to make the cutoff had 46.9 points. Not a lot of breathing room there! She said that every year, the window between the cutoff and the highest possible points gets smaller and smaller. I have a chart on my refrigerator with all my prereqs listed and the maximum points I can earn in each one, along with a blank space for me to enter the points I earned. It's great motivation to have it staring me in the face all the time....and very rewarding to be able to fill in the blanks when grades come in and I received the max points for that class.

I did a search on the subject and found a few threads, but didn't really find the answer I'm looking for.... I have a certain family member who will not get off my back about the risk I will face of contracting diseases as a nurse. I know that there will be risks - there are occupational hazards in every profession - but I think this family member is overreacting. I would like to arm myself with some statistics or links to studies about the occurrence of nurses contracting serious diseases at work, if the numbers are as low as I suspect. I have seen threads that contain people's opions on the subject and comments like, "I figure crossing the street or the drive to work is more risky than the likelihood of catching a serious disease at work." or "There are more germs to worry about while at the grocery store, since you don't know who is sick and you're not wearing gloves or a mask." This is my opinion and my assuption on the matter as well, but I would love it if someone could point me in the direction of a reputable source that will confirm this viewpoint. I just want to have an intelligent rebuttal the next time the subject comes up. Over and over again, this concerned family member brings up the fact that a home health nurse she knows contracted TB and she just knows that I'm going to get TB or some other serious disease when I become a nurse. I know she is just looking out for me, but I want to prove to her that she is worrying a bit too much. TIA!

This is my understanding as well. I think I remember seeing that on the applications of both colleges I applied to when recently returning to college. I am in a similar boat - although my lovely semester of F's (after 3 semesters of all A's and B's :nuke:) is from 10 years ago, I still had to submit those transcripts to my current institution. I only had a few classes that transfer and apply toward the nursing prereqs at my community college, and luckily, they were ones I had A's in. The nursing dept. only counts the nursing prereq grades and they also only count the higher grade if you retake a class. (I believe up to 3 tries) You might want to check to see if the nursing program you want to get into goes on overall GPA or just the grades in nursing prereqs. Submit ALL of your transcripts and then retake the nursing prereqs that you got bad grades in and shoot for A's! Good luck!

I know some programs do use interviews and/or essays as a part of the application process, but I'm glad that the community college I am attending doesn't. I went to a "pre-nursing advisement session" and the director of the nursing school said that they do not consider past experience (medical or other). They don't care about volunteer work or if you're a CNA that's been in the field for ages. They don't use letters of reference. They go solely on a points system based on prerequisite grades and the TEAS score. Even though there were over 300 applicants last year with only 74 openings, I feel a little less intimidated by the competitiveness because I know that all the applicants are on a completely level playing field. If a person gets A's in their prereqs and scores well on the TEAS, then that's all that matters, regardless of age. You might want to look into what your program requirements are - you may be worrying about ageism for no reason if your school is similar to mine. Also, the people who already hold a degree are probably not in direct competition with you because it seems like most 4-year colleges have a fast track program that they would be applying for separately. Also, I will echo what another post said about being thankful for being a young student. You have a very BIG advantage over the non-traditional students when it comes to time to study. I can only get my studying and homework done when my 3-year-old is napping, or when we blow our meager budget on a couple days of childcare just so I can get a paper written. I remember 15 credit hours feeling like a manageable load when I was fresh out of highschool, working part-time and living in the dorm. Now? 10 credit hours feels like a lead ball and chain and I have to struggle to stay afloat. What I wouldn't give to have a few uninterrupted hours of study time each evening! Good luck to you! Just focus on trying to make A's in all your prereqs for now and let everything else come together.

I can really relate. I probably would have dropped one of these Summer classes if I could have. It didn't start feeling super overwhelming to me until just a couple days after the deadline for dropping. I'm at the halfway point and so far I am getting high A's in 2 of my classes, but my Algebra class is the one I struggle with. I am getting an 83% so far, but like you, I cannot afford to get B's....and definitely not C's. I have to bring this grade up in the next 4 weeks! I took 15-16 hrs per semester when I went to college my first time around (over a decade ago) and it didn't feel like a huge load. But then again, I was single with no family and worked part time at JC Penney. Now? I have a husband, a 3 year old, and not much of a support system when it comes to family who is willing to watch my daughter. The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards clicking that "drop" button beside one of my classes on my Fall schedule. I neeeeeeeeeeed all A's and I really want to do well in A&P. Thanks for all the input, everyone! :redbeathe

Just curious... How long did it take you (or is it currently taking you) to finish all of your prereqs? I am so tempted to want to cram all of my prereqs into 3 semesters so I can apply for Fall 2011, but the 10 credit hours I'm taking right now during the 8 week Summer session is kicking my rear!!! I am starting to have second thoughts about taking 10 credits this Fall. :uhoh21: Albeit, the 16 week Fall semester won't be quite as rushed and intense as what I'm doing right now, but I still wonder if 10 hours might be too much. I am just taking College Algebra, English Comp I, and Intro to Computer Info Systems right now and I am up until 2AM every night doing homework. :zzzzz This Fall, I am signed up for A&P I, Human Growth & Development, and English Comp II. I was planning on finishing everything up in the Spring with Micro and A&P II. That's 10 credits this Fall and 7 credits in the Spring to get all my prereqs done in time to apply for my CC's Nursing program Fall 2011. (I have a few credits that transfer from when I was in college 10 yrs ago, so this is what I have left) If I try to spread it out any more, I will miss the deadline and will have to wait for the Spring of 2012 to apply for Fall 2012. Please someone, give me a big fat dose of patience and tell me to take it slow.....or tell me to go for it and chug full steam ahead through these classes.

I think that sounds awesome! And just for the record, I think even what you call your "lazy" writing is much more articulate than some of the posts I've seen around here that were written by much older and more experienced students. Don't listen to the people who are poking fun at your enthusiam. It sounds like you have your head on straight and you will be a success. I agree w/ RNTutor - if more programs did what your school is doing, maybe there would be less of a nurses-eating-their-young trend. I am a pre-nursing student and I am really afraid of coming in contact with seasoned nurses who are supposed to be teaching and mentoring me that are rude and demeaning and don't want me to succeed. It's sad, but I hear about that all the time. At least I am prepared and geared up for that to happen....maybe I'll be pleasantly surprise and actually end up with some great supportive mentors. Best of luck to you!

I agree w/ the others: try youtube and other instructional websites. A good one that really helped me brush up on the basics was http://www.coolmath.com/ . Definitely take a placement test at a community college or wherever you plan on taking your prerequisites. If you are not confident at all in your math abilities, going straight to college algebra or stats without some review classes first could be a recipe for disaster. Don't worry, if you make an honest effort to learn, you will surprise yourself. I would not consider math my strong point and have not done any substantial math in 11 years, but I have been able to re-learn a lot of it on youtube, purplemath, and coolmath. I ended up testing out of the remedial courses and into college algebra because I studied so hard, but I am constantly having to look up how to do the fundamentals ALL THE TIME while doing my homework. I spend hours on my math homework sometimes and I wonder if it would have benefitted me more to just take a remedial course or two instead of busting my rear to teach myself. Whatever path you take, it will be a lot of work, but you can do it!

Good to know! Thanks for this info!

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I recently posted on a related topic, but my thread hasn't gotten any replies yet. https://allnurses.com/nursing-scrubs-uniforms/hospital-laundered-scrubs-482878.html I am just starting my prereqs, so I have a while before I need to worry about scrubs, but I was just thinking about why more hospitals don't launder their employees scrubs so they don't have to wear germy uniforms home. I know it would be a huge expense for the hospital, but it seems like the benefits for employees/families and patients alike would be worth it. I'm not really a germophobe either, but this seems like common sense to me. I hope that whatever facility I end up has a nice locker room with showers so I can change before leaving work :chair:

I saw an article a while back about the increasing number of hospitals and other healthcare facilities that are making the switch from employee-owned and cared for uniforms to uniforms that are supplied and laundered by the hospital. I remember the writer of the article making some very good points about how gross it is, when you think about it, that healthcare workers wear their scrubs and shoes outside of the hospital before work, during break, and after work. He or she made a very good case for all hospitals switching to hospital-laundered scrubs that the healthcare workers would change into once at work and change out of before leaving. I wish I could find the link to the article now. What are your thoughts on this? Do any of you work at hospitals that launder your scrubs? Do you prefer it? Think it's a good idea? I am a pre-nursing student, and this just popped into my head today and was curious about it. I was just wondering how common it is. Actually, what brought it to my mind was a conversation I had with a "concerned" (AKA nosy and bossy ) family member who is convinced that me becoming a nurse would pretty much ensure that my family and I will be sick all the time from all the germs I will carry home from work with me.

Anyone here planning on applying for the ADN program at Northwest Arkansas Community College Spring 2011 for Fall 2011 admittance? Just wondering if there are any fellow NWACC students out there. I have a few credits from my previous days of college (11+ years ago) that transfer to their nursing degree program, but still need to complete most of the prereqs. I'm taking English Comp I, Intro to Computer Info Systems, and College Algebra this Summer. English Comp II, Human Growth & Development, and A&P I this Fall, and Microbiology and A&P II Spring 2011. I've already gotten some Algebra and Comp I homework done, since my profs posted their syllabi a little early. I am a nerd.

I am interested to read the responses you get.... I am in a similar predicament. I can get the prereqs done for my community college's ADN program by the end of Spring 2011, and will have the chance to apply for Fall 2010 entrance. But I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket, so I'd like to complete the prereqs for a local large university's BSN program...but I think that would require 3 or 4 more classes than the cc's prereqs. The acceptance letters for Fall 2011 at the cc won't be mailed until July, so if I register for 2011 Summer Session I classes to try and get more of the BSN's prereqs done, I might be wasting my time and money if I end up getting accepted to the cc's ADN program. {{sigh}}