SuperHelper

I would cut the clinical experiences since you had healthcare jobs while in school. That probably trumps the clinicals. I would keep the publications, especially if they are science or healthcare related.

I graduate with my ADN in May and while still unemployed, I plan on working for at least a year before I further my education. Based on what I've encountered, experience seems to matter more than education, especially for new grads. I'm also really burned out from my ADN and I think the time off will help me get my bearings back when I start my RN to MSN program.

Started my ADN at 25 and finished at 27. Hope to start a RN to MSN some time in 2015 when I'm 29.

I agree with dawniepoo. You will spend more time with fluid and electrolytes than you think and knowing chemistry helps a lot in that regard.

I graduated on Wednesday and will probably take a whole year off. I'm trying to study for boards, move, and start a job. Plus I'm not sure I have all the pre-reqs (and haven't even bothered to look). I know I'd probably flunk out if I tried to do my BSN right now. I'll be looking to start in Spring or Summer 2014.

I'm similar to you in grades and I got a high level 2 on the OB test. I always recommend just reading the ATI books to supplement what you learned in class. Most of the time it's the same, but they may have slight differences of what they're looking for in the ATI. I just pick what ATI says on an ATI test.

We're on spring break now and I actually have NCLEX 3500 question open in another tab. I'm regularly sleeping in, but still trying to get 2-3 hours of studying in.

That's really good to know. The predictor said I had a 92% first time pass probability which is good considering I still haven't had Med-Surg 2. It's going to be interesting at my school though since my graduating class is the first class that use ATI the whole 2 years (I'm doing an ADN program). And because our teachers are more familiar with HESI, even they don't know what's in some of the ATI books. I really don't have a problem with the books (besides them being kind of heavy some times), but the practice quizzes/tests on the site. Some of the rationales are so vague and ridiculous. Not to mention they don't always coincide with what we learn in theory.

Congratulations. We just took our ATI Comprehensive Predictor and it was heavy on med-surg so if you passed at a high Level 3, you will be fine. I really dislike ATI tests though.

I think all new grad should know what is going on in the job market, for whatever career they are going into. I'm graduating from an ADN program in about 8 weeks and I already started looking for a job. It is a little disheartening to see posting for BSN only or so many years experience, but I'm still going to apply because you never know. Nursing is my second career, so I don't harbor any illusion about the current job market. I would love to work in a hospital, but I'm not above starting out in a community center or dialysis center.

If this is in response to my comment, this is what I would tell MYSELF at 19. I was still very much unfocused and didn't have a career plan or goal, even though I was a very good student (still am unfortunately). If at 19 I knew without a doubt I wanted to be a nurse, then of course I would have tried to get a BSN, or majored in some sort of biological science for my bachelors. Because there are a lot of young 20-somethings with much better job prospects than me for no other reason than they got a bachelors in anything versus my associates degree and work experience.

I took A & P 1 during a summer session while I worked and it totally kicked my butt. But Gen. Biology is easier so I think you can do it.

Your guess is as good as mine. Plenty of people have complained about it, but some of the teachers still do it. It never works in my favor though.

I actually didn't even know where the campus was for the school I attend now. So I technically didn't decide on my school when I made the decision to become a nurse. After a broken engagement and seeing that there was a real good chance I was going to lose my job (I eventually did due to downsizing), I figured I'd better do something with myself. I knew I didn't want to try to go back to finish my psychology degree at my same university, but I remembered how much I loved my science classes and I knew I wanted to help people, so I decided to become a nurse. I didn't know know there was a difference between ADN or BSN, I just that wanted to get a RN. My aunt spoke highly of the RN program where she got her LPN, so I just went there. It was really close to my house and since it was a community college, it was really cheap. I started taking my pre-reqs but the first day of my last class for the final pre-req, I found out the school had lost their nursing program. I was crushed. The community college I go to though, is a part of "network" so I just decided to the next closest school. However, there was a mix up with my application and it said I didn't even apply to the particular school. I went all the way to the head of the program and that's how I ended up at my current school. And I couldn't be happier. I have friends who I took my pre-reqs with and they are at that school and they say there is so much drama. I do think my program is a bit unorganized at times, but we seem to be the most fully functioning program of all the community colleges. Our teachers constantly pound into us about the schools reputation and how they have had a 93% or better NCLEX pass rate for the past 5 years. None of this was important to me when I first started, but now I'm so glad to be a part of the legacy of the schools program. All that being said, If I could go back in time and talk to 19 year old me, I would definitely say to go to a university that you can afford (so yeah, a state school) and get a bachelors in something, anything. And after a while, if you want to make a change to be a nurse, just try to get into a ABSN or something.

This happens at my school, but not a lot, and not with all instructors. Our school actually has a policy that if more than 30% of the class misses a question, especially if the question is missed with the same answer, it's automatically thrown out. But if you get the answer right, you don't get penalized. So there have been a few instances were people got more than 100% as their final test grade.

Your grades or your personal feelings by midterm first semester will definitely let you know. In my cohort, there were 2 people who quit after first semester. 1 due to failing and another guy who got an A, but just decided being a nurse isn't for him.

Didn't vote in the poll but I agree with the consensus that as long as the name is not super weird or offensive, it should be okay. My given name is very long and hard to pronounce, so I usually just give the patients a nickname some of my family members gave me when I was a kid. I'm still a student, but I of course plan on having all official documentation with my given name and just have the patients and coworkers call me by my nickname.

If I could go back in time, I would have started doing nursing at a university fresh out of high school. Considering the time it has taken me to do pre-reqs and get my ADN to bridge to a BSN completion program, I could be half way through a masters already. Since you say cost is a factor (and it always is for everyone), maybe consider taking some of the pre-reqs at a community college and transfer them when you apply for the BSN program.

There were a few ADN programs in my city that lost their accreditation and nursing programs due to rampant cheating by the students. I do agree that there can sometime be a lot of grey areas around quizzes/tests with online classes. But my rule of thumb is that if I wouldn't do it in a group setting in a physical class, it's cheating if I do it outside of it. I'm on the fence about how I feel about upperclassmen giving a heads up counting as cheating. My teachers usually make their tests from a test bank of questions. But some of the former students have told a few people which particular books they may be using to get their questions from. However, at least 2 of the teachers themselves have told us they do indeed like particular books, so I don't think its of any consequence that the older students told us first since the teachers later on confirmed it.

I'm in Chicago. Debating if I want to get my license in Illinois or Indiana though since I might move there.

Thanks so much for this post. I'm about 3 weeks away from my exit exam, 11 weeks away from graduation, and about 16-18 weeks from taking NCLEX. I feel so nervous, but also kind of not because I feel that I know my strengths and weakness and plan on studying accordingly. LaCharirty was recommended by my school in my first year, but I didn't get it because I couldn't afford it at the time. But I've heard from various people who passed NCLEX the first time in under 100 questions that this was their savior so I'm definitely going to get it now. I'm pretty good at infection control now, but I will brush up on that also. Congrats on the job interview and again, thanks for this post.

My school uses ATI and nobody particularly likes it, mostly because it doesn't always directly correlate with our books curriculum. The best advice I can give about passing an ATI test it to first study from you textbooks, then study the same subject in the ATI book at the same time. Waiting until right before the test won't do you any favors (don't ask me how I know). I would say I devote a little less than half the time for ATI as I do for normal studying (1 hour of ATI versus 2.5-3 regular book). Getting level 2 is not the easiest thing, but it's not super hard either.

Still a couple weeks away from finishing, but I really disliked psych and a good portion of fundamentals. I liked my OB class but hated the clinical. My favorite class is med-surg and pharmacology.