Alice3

Practice NCLEX questions from the Kaplan's book to help understanding the nursing question style and rationale. You got this far so you are a smart gal so keep your head up!

Hello. I see that you have received several replies and some good advice- here's my take as I finish my first year at CCSF RN program. Finishing your pre-reqs in 1 year is almost impossible. I went full time including summer and it still took almost 2 years as you need to do the classes in order. I did med-chem and anatomy at the same time with a full class load and it was tough even only working part time. You can't take micro or physiology until you've taken med chem which rquires math and unless you have already been attending City College regularly for a few semesters your registration priority will be too low to get into the pre-reqs right away- it took me two semesters to get into med-chem to even get started! However, as I had an art degree previously I used the time to take the board of nursing requirements such as speech, soc, psych, Spanish and other biology courses. The first year I applied they were taking applications only once per year and with 1000 applicatns+ for 50 spots... well... I did not get in on the first try. I dusted myself off and finished most of my BS requirements as I had now spent several years in school so had my UC transferable "IGETC" requirements mostly out of the way. I got in the second year I applied. So... at the end of May I have one more year of clinical nursing program to finish up and I will have been in school for 5 years straight. I sure wish I had "won the lottery" the first time around but it was a useful year and when I finish the RN program I only have a few credits to finish for my BS in health science so I am on track for a Master's program within a year and change of graduation. Now, in the meantime of course I considered every other program in a commutable distance including "pay to play" schools and here is the only piece of advice that I can give beyond telling you my own experience: careful how much you spend on a nursing degree! Some of these programs are going to cost 100K+ to get your RN and that is a crazy amount to pay off particularly as there are currently hiring freezes and it is likely you will have to go outside the bay area looking for work-- and the jobs in Tracy and Gilroy don't pay like SF jobs. If you can work and take the classes and keep living life then wait for City College but keep a sharp eye on their website as they frequently change the rules- they are currently shuffling around staff and clinical spots and you want to be sure you do not only fulfill their requirements since it can be so hard to get in. when I started I thought I would spend 2 years in school and walk out an RN with a lot of job offers, and it hasn't worked out that way. Its a great program and the price is right so good luck to you and always keep all your options open! Now back to studying for finals so I don't flunk out.