Relocating to Texas and need help with schools

rkitty198, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2017

you might want to consider the school closest to where you are living. If I recommend a school, what if it isn't close by to where you will be living?

Either way you need to move, find the school that you can go to by location to where you are living then decide to either retake a science to boost your gpa or the nursing program might require more sciences that you have not taken and that can help your overall gpa.

I would plan on paying out of state tuition as well. You need to live in Texas for a year before the out of state fee falls off. If you haven't taken the SAT/ACT or TAAS test you need to take the TASP test. It's a test designed to see where you are with your reading, writing, math skills. I had never taken the SAT and had to take this.

I had to retake a math and a writing class before I could enter into the general college coursework for the state. This irritated me because I had finished that already in Oregon six months prior. Maybe the test was harder or I was stressed from moving, idk.

Eventually, I got my bachelors of nursing in Texas after waiting a year to not pay the out of state tuition as we moved for my husbands job and didn't have the money for it. Took me 6 years as I did the pay as you go plan with my pre reqs.

Good luck.

mjimenez5735 · Dec 7, 2017

Where did you relocate to if you dont mind me asking

rkitty198, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2017

Originally it was San Antonio, but then the job changed and we ended up further west. Which is why I said to focus less on the school and more on the state requirements. Texas is much harder in terms of qualifications for nursing. If you can get through the ropes of Texas you can get through anywhere because the boards and the requirements are harder to get through. The board exams are the same as the nation. I have lived in 3 different states and all 3 had less requirements for getting into the nursing programs for community and state colleges.

Focus on the requirements for state entry testing, see if you are TASP exempt. Go that route. Get copies of your transcripts, official copies so you don't have to battle that down the road.

I think your focus on the school, the location of your move and where I moved is not the focus you need to take right now if you want to get into a program. I thought I had it all figured out location wise and then our plans changed and I wished I had someone give me the advice I am giving you.

Do you have a favorite teacher still? If so see if they would write you a letter of recommendation for the program. Programs need letters of recommendations now these days to get in as well as community hours. It would be great to have one of these recommendation letters to come from someone who knows you from where you live now.

Are you planning on using financial aid? If so look into what the state requires for filing. I had to attend a half day class/lecture before being able to start using financial aid.

There are a lot of things to look into. The community colleges are San Antonio community colleg based with different locations, give them a call or go online and see what you need to become a student- I highly recommend getting the prerequisites done there and then transferring if you intend to do so that way the out of state tuition is t so bad.

rkitty198, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2017

One more thing- I could be wrong, but general ed in California does not transfer over in Texas terms. Again if you are not exempt from the tasp test and you have to take it, and need remediation you have to take remediation, reading, writing, math. I had taken all of my general ed in Oregon, didn't matter, won't transfer because the education system is different. I had to retake one of each classes before I was considered college level again, which made me so mad and set me back another year. Afterwards it was a great experience because it boosted my gpa up too! Also my gpa did not transfer, not sure if they changed that but I got a fresh start!

mjimenez5735 · Dec 7, 2017

Awesome thanks for all the advice. What is the TASP exempt. Thats what Im afraid of that Im gonna have to do everything all over again but then I think well maybe it will be good to do

rkitty198, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2017

You will have to look it up online. It's detailed and I have no idea is you are exempt from taking it, there are criteria you have to meet before you you can be exempt from taking the test and if you are exempt you better get your proof together to show admissions because they want you $$

rkitty198, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2017

I think it's time for you to put in the footwork.

203bravo, MSN, APRN · Dec 7, 2017

Awesome thanks for all the advice. What is the TASP exempt. Thats what Im afraid of that Im gonna have to do everything all over again but then I think well maybe it will be good to do

TASP Exemptions:

Students with the following test scores are exempt from the TASP requirement unless they are seeking teacher certification:

(a) SAT total of 1070 and verbal 500 and math 500 -- SAT test dates April 1995 and later (NOTE: There is a 5-year limit on SAT scores)

(b) ACT composite of 23 and English 19 and math 19 (NOTE: There is a 5-year limit on ACT scores.)

(d) High school core curriculum GPA of 3.5 or better (on a 4.0 scale) on the recommended or advanced high school core curriculum. (NOTE: This exemption must be claimed within 2 years of high school graduation. A final high school transcript is required.))

"B" Rule:

"A student who transfers to a Texas public institution from a private or out-of-state institution may use transferred courses to satisfy TASP requirements. A student must have earned a "B" or higher in one of the courses below in each of the three skill areas. If not, the student must be tested for the remaining skill area(s)."

(a) TASP WRITING: ENGL 1303, ENGL 1304

(b) TASP MATH: MATH 1310 (or a more advanced MATH course for which MATH 1310 is prerequisite)