Tumbler

It's neither good nor bad. People pass and fail with 265, just like they do with 75. I went all 265 and passed, so I can assure you the number isn't a harbinger of doom!

Please don"t read so much into the last question. If it's all about the last question, the first 264 didn't matter and neither do the competency areas (unless that last question covers all of them). I went 265. My last question was computation. I passed. Not saying the wait wasn't excruciating. Not saying I was confident. But I am saying trying to read anything into the type of question, the amount of time I took, etc, was a lot of wasted worry.

"Health problems" like "family emergencies" may or may not be simply excuses. You never know, so it's just better to leave it alone. I had "health problems" in college, fairly significant ones. I never missed a class and graduated #1 in my cohort. Took everything I had. I am a single person with no dependents. Could I have pulled it off in other circumstances? Doubtful. The reason your professors have standards that prevent make-ups or late tests is really about holding us all accountable. If my health problems prevent me from being an adequate nursing student (I'm always late because my meds make me sleepy, I miss a lot of class and therefore class material, I never feel good enough to study), I will probably fail, and maybe that is a good thing because as a nurse, I need to be able to show up on time and know my stuff. But if I can work through my issues, even if I'm barely skimming by sometimes, then I know I've got what it takes. So, if health problems are an excuse for bad grades, so what? (as long as the end of the semester grade is a passing one).

YES! Night shift = depression, at least on your "off" days when you're trying to maintain a night schedule. More than once, I called someone in the middle of the night just sobbing because I couldn't take it. Ironically, for work, I prefer the night shift! I know, it's a conundrum. I have a friend who changed jobs after just a few months. I would think that there's no reason you can't start applying now if you are unhappy. What's the worst that happens? You stay where you are until you hit the magical one year mark.

I believe if you are not happy with what you are studying you are right to change majors. If psychology or sociology is your passion, pursue it. I finished a psychology minor and believe me, what my profs were doing as psychologists was nothing like psych nursing, and for some reason, my school had us do a full year of psych nursing (acute one semester and then chronic the next). Don't stay in the nursing field because there's a possibility that you "might" like some aspect of it further down the program when you know you like what you are doing in your other classes. People here love being nurses or really, really think they will love being nurses. Our first response to everybody is "don't quit!" when maybe she should. You should not be talked into nursing. My parents are educators and taught me that changing directions can be a great thing, and that most students will change directions.

I've got a friend in chiropractic. She makes way more money than I do. If this is all about the money, you might be happier continuing to work as chiropractor than as an RN. That being said, you are half way through medical school! You're nearing the home stretch. If you want to be a doctor, please, please continue on that path. Half my relatives are immigrants, and I have to tell you that cries of "my culture" are really just excuses for not wanting to do something. When in Rome...

Since the OP feels it is unlikely she will get the necessary visa to work in this country, why not go for more school? PhD programs are 4-5 years, plenty of time to get some bedside experience doing PRN work on weekends, over breaks, in the summer...

Or since you already have a bachelor's, have you thought about starting with an ADN from a community college? it'd be a whole lot less than $55k. As it stands, $55K + whatever loans you have now + whatever you have to borrow for living expenses (since it's unlikely even 15 hrs a week of work is going to pay rent, utilities, transportation, and food)=a huge loan payment in the end. Nurses make a decent salary, but I know mine wouldn't feel decent at all if I had to pay $800 or so a month in student loan payments for the next 10 years. I'm not sure that's going to be worth it in the end.

All. The. Time. In fact, I can't remember a single semester where I didn't have at least one test where I thought maybe I should just pack it in.

People pass all the time with 265. I did. I, however, did not have any faith at all I had done so. In fact, even after seeing my name and license number posted, I paid for quick results because I thought maybe it was a mistake! Good luck to you.

78% average on exams.

No, my BSN was my first degree, but when I was looking into taking more undergrad courses, I would have had to file an appeal at the state school, even though I wan't even close to the loan limits, as I had too many credits. FAFSA is just an application. It doesn't tell you much. The school hosting the ABSN program would tell you if you needed to file an appeal.

You can use a federal loan for whatever you want, but the amount you can borrow is limited. The max you'll be able to get, per year, for your second bachelor's is 11,500, assuming you are independent and did not meet your aggregate loan limit earning your first degree. To get a federal loan, you need to file the FAFSA, and since this is a second degree, you may have to file a financial aid appeal because of the number of credits you have.

If you're an introvert (being "out there" with people burns energy rather than generates it like being social does for extroverts), you're putting yourself in a position where you will spend twelve hours a day, several days in a row with several patients and their families who are far from being at their best or on their best behavior. While doing your job, you need to be cheerful and professional and make the person in the bed feel dignified, no matter how you feel or how tired and drained you are. There are also certain kinds of patients you won't get as a student that you will get as a nurse (and even if you did get them as students, there'd be an instructor right there with you). While I did once have a patient take a swing at me during an externship, as part of clinical, I never had homeless-unmedicated-bipolar guy, belligerent and "possibly" suffering from dementia (family's not sure) guy who I had to put in restraints, or anyone who was potentially dangerous. Not saying this is a daily occurrence, but it happens more than you'd think. Talking about it in class wasn't the same. In reality, it saps your emotional reserves. Twelve hour shifts (with little or no time for lunch or even a pee break on some days) mean you are very worn out when you finally get home and you have very little down time before you crash from exhaustion. Then, you get up and do it all again the next day. I like being a nurse, but I feel very fortunate in my belief that there are many things I can do and be happy. I hope you can tough out the program if that's where your heart is, but I do hate to see anyone locked into a single career path. There's a big world out there!

How much would you be adding to that existing 20K? If you can keep your total debt under the federal undergrad limit (about 31K), you can probably manage the loan. More than that? Nope, don't do it. As for the for-profit program? Be careful. You need to check the state BON and see if grads from the program are allowed to sit for the NCLEX. Don't trust the school to provide you with a pass rate. The state BON should publish that data, too. Don't settle on a program with a pass rate under the national average. BTW, why is a for-profit program the only option?