amberlayne

I understand that I am expected to act like an adult and be in charge of my own learning. I love to learn and enjoy the learning process. What I do not enjoy is taking an organic chemistry class, raising my hand and asking a question to clarify a point, and having my professor snap at me and say "Go see a tutor if you don't understand," when I was asking something very simple. I pay attention, bust my butt on the homework, use Khan academy, reddit homework help, my school's tutoring services, and a private tutor as necessary. So clearly, I don't have a problem with the workload or understanding the material. I was asking if, as a nurse, the stress to get the good grades and be an excellent student was worth it to you now that you are a nurse? I appreciate your reply.

I feel your apprehension! I am currently going back at 25, and it is a little unnerving to be in class with 17, 18, and 19 year olds. It makes study groups difficult because of the age gap. The conversations and concerns of the younger students seem silly to me, being 25 and married. That being said, the beautiful thing about college is that it is always there. No matter where you are in your life, you can go back and start a brand new career all over. I used my unhappiness at my full-time job with benefits as a serious motivator. Like, if I fail at school, I'll be right back in this seriously unfulfilling career, and I don't want that. Going back later is so much more scary than attending straight after high school. But I'm so much happier now that I'm in school. I imagine that you would be, too! Best of luck to you!

I have never really wanted to do anything else, and last semester was wonderful with fabulous instructors and great lectures. This semester though, I have instructors who don't care, refuse to have office hours, make you teach things to yourself, and it is honestly making me question whether or not this is a field I want to get into if these are the attitudes of the people teaching me. I have worked as a scribe for an ophthalmic surgeon for 6 years, so I know that nursing is what I want to do. I have entertained the thought of other degrees, but nothing pulls at me as much as nursing. However, I am thrown off by the stiff competition. I currently have a 3.8, but with space so limited at my school (20 spots) people with 4.0s aren't getting in. My school doesn't do interviews or essays, GPA and HESI only. I am a non-traditional student (I'm 25 and just started pre-reqs last semester), newly married, and wanting a career with stability, benefits, and challenges. Plus, my husband will not start a family until I have a degree, so I can't wait to get into a program for any number of years, as I'm already 25. However I am feeling very stressed by the need to be absolutely perfect in every area in order to just get into the program. I guess my questions are this: If you are already a nurse, was the stress of school worth it? How did you cope with the need for a 4.0? Or, was you less-than 4.0 enough to get into a program? And if you are currently a student, did you need to move to a place with more spaces in their program to get in?