mamacdon

I forgot one thing in my post. Regarding financial aid, I had no trouble getting financial aid. There are scholarships specifically for older/2nd career nursing students and everyone is eligible for needs- and merit- based scholarships, in addition to a plethora of loans - private, state, federal. Once you become a Master's student, there are also grants/scholarships for specific specialties, as well. You can start to research these, and once you are accepted to a school, their financial aid office should be able to provide additional assistance.

Hello. You are never too old to pursue your dream! I had a successful business career for 20 years, NO nursing experience, and was accepted for the Accelerated BSN program at Johns Hopkins, the Master's Entry at UCLA and at USD. I started the JHU ABSN in 2013, at the age of 52 and graduated in December 2014. I immediately started the MSN NP program at JHU and will finish in December 2016. We had an ABSN student in her 60s. Many nursing schools value diversity and recognize that older students have a great deal to offer - maturity, other skills that can be applied to nursing, patience, etc. However, there are definitely some instructors that do not like older students, but who cares about a few bad apples? My advice: focus on what you can bring to the profession. Life experience counts for a lot and your psychology background is a great asset. I would apply to either 2nd degree BSN programs (2 years or less to complete) or to Master's Entry programs. My current faculty advisor told me not to worry about my age and shared she had just finished her PhD at age 65! My decision to switch careers inspired a former colleague, then in his mid-30s, to do the same - he applied to med school and is now in his 3rd year. As for a job, trust me, many employers will happily hire you as a new nurse grad to work in psych. If that is not what interests you, your interest in people and knowledge of psych will still be a big plus in your initial nursing job search. Finally, a key reason I chose NP over MD is that nursing offers so many career options. There is a huge demand for nursing faculty, even for students that have just graduated. Nurses also work in management, administration, technology implementation, quality improvement, research, policy, the government, etc. To close, I was incredibly inspired by a nurse midwife I met. She runs her own birthing center and women's health clinic and won the MacArthur Genius Award. She is tall, ramrod straight posture, looks fantastic, and jet sets all over the world to speak, give/receive awards, etc. She is 87! Go for it! And good luck!