Scared and anxious rolled into one!

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Specializes in Telemetry and Psych.

Hi everyone,

I'm a 35 year old female who's extremely scared to go back to school. I started out at a university right out of high school and did well the first year then life happens. Thinking you've met the one, etc etc...get married...end up divorced.

In all honesty I really didn't think about going back to school. I've actually done very well without getting a degree but lately my job hasn't felt like "home" to me as it once did.

There are days when I think I'm going through some mid life things...a life altering moment.....then I think...do i really want to go back to school???

While in college I was a nursing/premed major. I knew I had the brains to deal with it but my emotions got the best of me and I let go. There is no one else to blame but myself for not finishing school.

So here I am today. I've applied to the juinor college in the county I live in and am getting anxious and scared that i'm going to be attending classes with students who are fresh out of high school. Can I compete? Will I do well? Financially can I afford it????

The nursing school does have a wait list but in my gut i know this is where I want to be. With my current job, I go to the hospital when we have emergencies and i see all the nurses and doctors and can't help but not think about..."WHAT IF...."

Wow, i'm ranting......if you happen to read this and have advise for me, please let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read.

Much success to all the students out there who are accomplishing their dream!!

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Hi everyone,

I'm a 35 year old female who's extremely scared to go back to school. I started out at a university right out of high school and did well the first year then life happens. Thinking you've met the one, etc etc...get married...end up divorced.

In all honesty I really didn't think about going back to school. I've actually done very well without getting a degree but lately my job hasn't felt like "home" to me as it once did.

There are days when I think I'm going through some mid life things...a life altering moment.....then I think...do i really want to go back to school???

While in college I was a nursing/premed major. I knew I had the brains to deal with it but my emotions got the best of me and I let go. There is no one else to blame but myself for not finishing school.

So here I am today. I've applied to the juinor college in the county I live in and am getting anxious and scared that i'm going to be attending classes with students who are fresh out of high school. Can I compete? Will I do well? Financially can I afford it????

The nursing school does have a wait list but in my gut i know this is where I want to be. With my current job, I go to the hospital when we have emergencies and i see all the nurses and doctors and can't help but not think about..."WHAT IF...."

Wow, i'm ranting......if you happen to read this and have advise for me, please let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read.

Much success to all the students out there who are accomplishing their dream!!

Hi welcome to the board!

I am 39 and started going back to school at 35, I started just easing into it one class at a time, took a semester off then kicked it up a notch last year. Don't be scared, you can do it your so young and have a whole life ahead of you, finish up your dream! Don't worry about the youngsters coming back you will be very surprised how many people your own age are going into nursing, its a very popular 2nd career choice, nearly all my friends from school are in their 30's and 40's! You didn't mention if you had kids or not, that will make a difference if you are single, but if not then boy I would be diving in head first! You'll have a blast and love the change of pace I bet.

good luck to you!

Catherine

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I say go with your gut, as far as financially there are alot of resourses available for paying for nursing school.

I just started back at age 33, going for my nursing degree also. Also had a couple of years of college right after high school . . . like you said life happens.

I had never even thought about being a nurse until around the age of 30, I think once you are a little older you have a better handle on life and know yourself a little better then in your early 20's. Just my opinion.

Go for it and good luck

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You would be amazed at how many 30+ y/o students are returning to school. There is a higher chance that your nursing classmates will be nontraditional students versus traditional (just out-of-high schoolers). If you are nervous about just starting school, do as suggested and start slowly, taking a class at a time.

Take it one day at a time and then before you know it...you'll be standing on the stage getting your nursing degree...YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Kris

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Specializes in Telemetry and Psych.

Thank you all for replying. You don't know how much of a relief it was to see you all have replied. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I think last night my anxiety level was a little on the high side or perhaps it was PMS?? who knows. I do feel a little bit better today regarding school and going back.

You'll probably find this funny :lol2: but this morning I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror saying...you can do this, it's what you want, you are worth it. I think I repeated that to myself 3 or 4 times....sounded like I was chanting.

I have to agree that I should dive right in and enjoy everything that is going to be so new and not so new. I don't have children so there is a bonus there and i'm sure if I stick with it, i'll be ok financially as well.

Thank you again for the encouraging words that have meant a lot to me.:yelclap::yeah::thankya:

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
hi everyone,

i'm a 35 year old female who's extremely scared to go back to school. i started out at a university right out of high school and did well the first year then life happens. thinking you've met the one, etc etc...get married...end up divorced.

in all honesty i really didn't think about going back to school. i've actually done very well without getting a degree but lately my job hasn't felt like "home" to me as it once did.

there are days when i think i'm going through some mid life things...a life altering moment.....then i think...do i really want to go back to school???

good question. it's definitely a sacrifice but it's also a thrill ride. the other question that needs to follow that one is, "do i want to get to be 50/60/70 and always wonder what might have been?" the answer to that question for me led me back to school in my early 30's and now again in my early 40's.

while in college i was a nursing/premed major. i knew i had the brains to deal with it but my emotions got the best of me and i let go. there is no one else to blame but myself for not finishing school.

so here i am today. i've applied to the juinor college in the county i live in and am getting anxious and scared that i'm going to be attending classes with students who are fresh out of high school.

  • can i compete?

i've never found the high-schools kids to be the competition. it's always the re-entry students that i've found at the tops of my classes.

  • will i do well?

if you did well in your first year of college then you'll do well now. probably much better, in fact. your life experience has helped to tune your judgment and most re-entry students are much more serious students from what i've seen (and been).

  • financially can i afford it????

good question. only you know your situation. community colleges here in california are very, very affordable but cost-of-living is outrageous.

  • are your professional skills something that lend themselves to part-time work that pays well?


  • do you have dependents?


  • do you have a mortgage, credit card debt, and/or a car loan?


  • are you willing to sacrifice some things in order to discharge some of that debt

  • are you willing to have roommates or even share a room?

  • are you willing to give up luxuries for a while?

  • do you have convertible assets that you're willing to liquidate?

the answer to questions like these, along with your determination and desire, will help you answer your question. my answer to you would be "if you really want it, yes you can"

the nursing school does have a wait list but in my gut i know this is where i want to be. with my current job, i go to the hospital when we have emergencies and i see all the nurses and doctors and can't help but not think about..."what if...."

if i were you (and i've asked that question myself), i'd start down the path. it's never going to get easier and the sooner you do it, the more time that you'll have to recoup your investment.

wow, i'm ranting......if you happen to read this and have advise for me, please let me know. thank you for taking the time to read.

much success to all the students out there who are accomplishing their dream!!

.....

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
You'll probably find this funny :lol2: but this morning I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror saying...you can do this, it's what you want, you are worth it. I think I repeated that to myself 3 or 4 times....sounded like I was chanting.

Positive self-affirmation is a great tool. KEEP IT UP.

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Specializes in Telemetry and Psych.

I do believe the chanting and talking to myself has helped so far. Earlier this month I had to take the reading placement test for the community college i'm attending this spring. I am happy to report that i'm exempt from taking the class that's a prereq for the nursing program for this section.

THANK GOD!!

I hate taking those placement exams. I am now ready to enroll in classes but due to being a new student I have to wait until November 5th to sign up for classes and have to do it in person instead of online. grrr......oh well.

I'm planning on taking A&P 1 and Psy 101 online as my first semester back to college.

Also...received financial aid to assist with paying for school, books, etc. Which will ease my mind regarding finances. Thank you to all for replying to my plea and reading my story.

Allieinaz

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Specializes in Maternity, quality.

Congrats! It sounds like you are well on your way to becoming a nurse. Now take some time before the craziness starts to do something fun for yourself!

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Allieinaz,

I did not take college courses when I graduated hight school in 1991. Life took me in and out and around as it will. It is now 16 years later and I am in a nursing program. I LOVE IT. ALL of my instructors say their best students BY FAR are the non-traditional student. They are more responsible, know what they are doing in life, have lived enough life to know school isn't where you go to recover from last nights hangover. The nursing class just ahead of me, we have 4 in our school, there is a 48 yo male, a 56 yo female and of the other 22 in the class ONLY 4 are under 28. I don't think this is abnormal. I in fact think this to be the norm in most college situations. Good luck, and your passion, you will find, is going to make you an excellent nurse.

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Hi everyone,

So here I am today. I've applied to the juinor college in the county I live in and am getting anxious and scared that i'm going to be attending classes with students who are fresh out of high school. Can I compete? Will I do well?

I just started back at my community college, doing my pre-reqs. At the ripe old age of 49, I am the Old Coot of my classes. But there are at least 7 other people in both of my classes that are in my range of Cootiness. :lol2: Plus a whole range of late 20s to 30-somethings. And you know what? They are the most motivated, most serious students. Sure, some of the recent High School grads have had science lately, but boy, are they un-wise. They tend to slack, not be serious, skip class, yack and text while the professor is lecturing, etc. So find fellow "nontraditional" students, hook up with them as lab and study partners, and you will do just fine. Before a test, my phone rings off the hook with fellow Coots asking great questions about the material. We help each other. Plus, we're staving off Alzheimer's! (At least I hope so!)

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Specializes in None.

Allieinaz,

First of all, congrats on your decision to "finish what you started". I was in the same boat as you. At 31, I have decided to go back to school and fulfill the dream I had as a kid to be a nurse. It will be worth it. I just recently got accepted at a hospital school here in PA. I know what you are saying. Other posters have gotten it correct. It's not the high schoolers you have to worry about, it's the nontraditional students like you and me. I think what happens and I know from my own experience...when you are young and in school, you don't take it as seriously as you should(party, hanging out, not studying). Now that I'm older, I kick myself and think about what could have been if I had only stayed in school. I now take school a LOT more seriously and I have a 3.875 GPA to show for it. It's part of the maturing process. I look at others my age who have a college degree and a bigger paycheck and wonder why I dropped out to be with "the one" who didn't turn out to be the one. My wife now has been so supportive and she is ready for the sacrifices that will start in January but she knows in the end we will have a better life. I wish you luck on this adventure and enjoy the ride!!!

Take care,

B

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