housecat717

I'm glad your found them useful. I am 44 and starting at Hopkins in two weeks. All of my prereqs were done at community colleges, so they definitely don't hold that against you. When I began to look at nursing schools, I felt the same way that you did, that two year colleges were my only option because I didn't want to be in school for another 4 years. I used the http://www.discovernursing.com site to look for schools and discovered many with a two year "transfer" programs, although not all in Maryland. Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has a similar program. I would encourage you to visit all of the web sites for schools in the area you are interested in living and see what they have to offer. Also, these days it is almost easier to get into a "traditional" college because of the huge waiting lists and numbers of applicants to community colleges. Also be aware that community colleges may have strict resident requirements in that they give preference to state and even county residents over out-of-towners. Good luck with your search!

LadyKLibra There are several "four year colleges" in Maryland in which you can complete your BSN in 2 years if you have the pre-reqs. You transfer in as a junior. UMAB is one of these colleges. Being older is not a deficency, but rather an asset. I would recommend that you visit UMAB's web site and see how many of their prereqs you have. It's worth a look. Johns Hopkins also has a similar program. Here are the links: http://www.son.jhmi.edu/academics/academic_programs/undergrad/traditional/ugwobs.asp http://nursing.umaryland.edu/admis/bachelor/index.htm

Citibank has a citiassist loan for education. The payments are deferred until after graduation. You have to make at least 15,000.00 a year to qualify. Your husband can co-sign. Other banks have alternative loans as well, like sallie mae, but I am not familiar with those. Maybe you should look into that? You won't have an extra monthly payment until you are working as a nurse!

My step-father, who is an RN, carries meat tenderizer with him for insect bites. My daughter got into some fire ants. She had bites all over her ankles, at least 10 to 15. The meat tenderizer worked immediately. Has anyone else ever heard of this?

You probably did, I did all of my prereqs at SWOCC between Spring of 2003 and Spring of 2004. I did the CNA course in the Spring of 2003 and I took all the Chems in the summer of 2003 and Micro and A&P that Fall, then finished up A&P through 2004. How did you like the program? Are you working at BAH? PS, My user name changed as I forgot my password for housecat1216 and had to re-register.