Marmite75

Thank you so much for writing this, it has certainly helped me in preparing myself for my first job as a graduate nurse. I know that I won't be the only new nurse on my floor, and will make sure we can offer support for each other (support from peers was a major contributor to my successfully getting through nursing school). So, thank you for this wonderful post, and all the best in your nursing career!

I am nervous about doing well in the nursing program - I too heard that you need to get 78%, and above, to be considered a 'pass'. I was able to do well on my pre-reqs but know that critical thinking, required for the nursing classes, is a whole different type of cognitive process from just memorizing and understanding facts. Hopefully we can all offer each other some support through study groups etc. its going to be an exciting and demanding 2 years. By the way, even though I refer to myself as 'old' it is hard for me to perceive myself as such. Seriously, I think my maturity stalled at around 25 ... I love being 25! Anyway, cheers to diversity and life experiences!

Hi everyone, I am Marian, and I have truly enjoyed getting to know you over the last few months. I am a 37 year old mother of two - both kids (5 and 9) will be in school this coming fall, so I am hoping to have more time to devote to my studies. I currently hold a BA in Graphic Design, but have always been interested in human biology and health. I am so excited to finally have an opportunity to study nursing. I have been attending NVCC for 2 years now, completing the pre-reqs and some co-reqs for the Traditional track (I am currently taking HLT 250, PSY 201 and PHI 227). I will have to still take PSY 202, CST elective. I would love to get my BSN and maybe a MSN in Public Health so I can work for the CDC, but that is a way off. Right now, my focus is on getting my ADN and passing the NCLEX. So, I guess I will be the other 'old lady' in the group. I am glad to hear there are some other moms, and folks with some life experience under their belt. I cannot wait to meet you all in person at the orientation!

Hey Caligirl, thanks for clearing that up - I should check the details! Meliflor, thanks so much for setting up the new thread!

So, I saw yesterday that there is a NVCC Nursing class 2014 on FB already ... anyone have info on it? I am not savvy enough to know how to send a message to the admin person for the group. My assumption is that it covers all nursing students for NVCC (traditional, LPN-RN etc)? Anyone have info?

Congrats, Copacetic! Its been a long few months since your initial post in January, but the wait is over! Now, to get down to all that paperwork etc. and complete it in time. Happy celebrating

Woohoo! I just got my email! This is what it must feel like to win an Oscar, or a Grammy. I feel as if I need to deliver an acceptance speech ... but I won't. CONGRATULATIONS to all of you who got accepted, a big cheers all around!

Thanks guys. I am glad it was resolved!

Oh, the drama! To those of you who have been following my angst ridden application journey, thank you for your support and encouragement. It was due to your urging that I called Mrs. Vito and discovered that the Student Service had lost my application - they have no record of it, anywhere. Thank the sweet lord above for delivery confirmation and tracking because I had proof that it got to student services, and it went missing under their care. Thank you too, for Mrs. Vito! What a sweetheart: She apologized profusely, and tried her best to discover what happened and then allowed me to resubmit my application, which I dropped off this AM. That lady deserves a round of applause for her care and patience. OK, enough about me. This is what they're doing today: Drumroll please.... Today they're going through all the competitive applications, and are going to choose from that pile who the prospective nursing students will be. We will all find out Friday ... I am sure I am going to develop a stomach ulcer by Friday! Seriously, best of Luck to everyone: We have worked so hard to get to this point, let us hope for the best!

Copacetic, I will let you know - I think the ones who sent in their applications early are all at the bottom of the pile!

CaligirlinVA, No - I received no such email or letter. TrulyBlessed1, I will call on Monday and speak to Mrs ****. Thank you everyone for your encouraging words and advice. Wow! What a nutty week I have had, on top of worrying about the nursing application! Time to resolve this ... Onward ho!

Thank you LPN-RN2012 for the encouraging words. TrulyBlessed, I haven't called but I did email Mrs **** in April enquiring about the confirmation email, she replied then that she was going through early Feb submissions. I suppose a call may be in order to the Nursing division, just for peace of mind. I hesitate to call during such a hectic time, knowing that there may be little chance someone would answer the phone, but I could at least leave a message. Oh well....

I am a little nervous now: I sent in my application for the traditional RN in Feb, and still have not received an email! I have a 4.0 and got 96 overall in the TEAS, so I feel I am competitive but reading everyone's posts about receiving emails has me doubting my submission. Anyone else waiting for email confirmation? Is it just LPN-RN's getting emails? Maybe my application is at the bottom of the pile? Sigh. I hate this waiting.

The practice tests will prepare you well for the actual TEAS test, they are similar. There is a timer, at the top of the page, to help you keep track of time. You sound as if you have prepared yourself well for the TEAS, I wish you luck!

Thanks ncy28, need to find some comic relief! I am sure this thread will get more attention around the end of this month and early June.

I wish they had something like the Domino's online pizza tracker: You can check the progress on your pizza, from when the order is placed to when it is ready for delivery. Wouldn't that be great? I think my application would be at either "Bake" or the "quality check" stage, one more step until its "out for delivery"!

An update for those entering the program: If you didn't already know this: Your letter that states an 'acknowledgement of receipt' will come in the form of an email. I have not received mine yet, but will hopefully get it within the next few weeks. This is the email the Nursing Division will send out once they've received your application from Student Services. Good Luck!

I have 2 kids (4 and 8), and have been completing my pre-reqs for the past two years. I have been taking community college courses and have really enjoyed learning again! If you're concerned about childcare I would choose the online classes. I have taken in-class (both day and evening classes) and online courses and I prefer the online courses for the flexibility they offer. I have to work at being organized and making sure I meet deadlines, but this is not hard to do. I take about 2 to 3 classes a semester and this workload has not been too bad. Start with 1 or 2 classes, and see how it works out for you. I wish you good luck!

Thank you for posting this thread. I was wondering about balancing studies and family - I will be starting classes this Fall. I have tried to complete as many co-requisites as I can but will still have a couple to do along with my core nursing classes. I understand this will make my life a little busy, but I know I will still need to find time for my children and husband. At least I won't be working, and both kids will be in school during the day - but I am nervous about how this may affect my family. I am encouraged by those who have posted about making it all work. So, thank you!

I will be 39 when I graduate from the ADN program, 40/41 when I (hopefully) get my BSN. Initially, I was self-conscious about my age but as I progressed through my pre-reqs I realized my age and life experience were an advantage to me: I am far better at time management than I was before I had kids (4, and 8 years), I am far more organized and put together and I can face challenges without freaking out. I think being a mature student is an asset! Cheers!

I think its the 'not knowing' that is nerve wracking! I did some perusing and came across some posts by other nursing students who responded to a question about the GPA level required for nursing school. Many responded that their schools stated that you must have a minimum of 2.5, as does NVCC, but that some students barely squeaked in to their programs with a 3.5. I am guessing that this is what NVCC will do: Take a look at your TEAS percentile, rank you with that, then take your GPA in to consideration. At least you handed in your papers early, so you'll be on top of the pileAt this point, I am crossing my fingers and toes and hoping that my scores were good enough! Please, please, please, let me be accepted! I am going to try hard to occupy my mind with something else for a while - I don't want to be too obsessive! But it is nice chatting with someone else going through the same thing

I am sorry you're frustrated, but I have to agree with ckh23: In the end, you're responsible for the work to be learned. I have had some wonderful instructors, and others who I found to be useless and I ended up learning the subject on my own. I do not have a lot of free time, so I sympathize with your frustration on how much extra time this takes. Stick with it: I learned to record the lectures, then I would listen to them while I went for a run, or while I was going over my notes. I would read in the evenings, going over the chapters and making my own notes. Yes, it was time consuming, but I stuck with it and was rewarded with great results. On another note: Do not be afraid to bring the instructor back to topic, you're paying for the class, and you're having to learn the material. I have had to do this before, just remember to be respectful about it :-) And, good luck!

How competitive is your program? How do they use the TEAS score? The one I am applying for is very competitive and requires us to achieve a 78 on all sections and your percentile is how they rank you for acceptance. We don't have to take the science portion, though. I didn't do too well on my first attempt, even though I had used the study guide.I studied harder for my second try, taking practice tests on all my weak areas and I did really well, scoring in the 96 percentile! So, if you'd like to do better, and make yourself more competitive, go for it! Don't just rely on the ATI study guide, use http://www.testprepreview.com/teas_practice.htm for practice, and purplemath.com, owl purdue website for grammar. If you decide to retake, good luck, you will do better the second time around.

Thanks, copacetic. I had delivery confirmation for my paperwork, but I agree, it would be great if you got something from them to say the packet was received, and being processed etc. I guess we'll just have to go crazy with anticipation!

I handed in my application end of Feb. I am trying to finish as many co-reqs as possible, but will probably still have to take a couple along with my core nursing classes. I am finding that I am doubting my submission as well, it's so silly as I worked so hard to do well GPA-wise and on the TEAS. It is so hard to wait for the acceptance letter! Copacetic: Did you get any notification that the nursing dep. received your application? And if so, how long did it take for them to receive your paperwork? Good Luck!