Senior in high school, dreaming to be a nurse!

[dolphincatch]

Hello everyone! Right now, I am a senior in high school and after I graduate, I want to do nursing. My family is too "rich" for financial assistance but too poor to pay for a university. The college of southern nevada has a CNA course and my mother is willing to pay for my course since it's not too expensive. I dream of being a pediatric nurse:D but I'm going to have to settle for now until I can afford to pay the tuition. I also thought being a CNA would give me good experience and insight on how the medical field works. Does this sound like a good idea or not? All replies are appreciated.:)

[mamayogibear]

Hello,

Becoming a CNA is always a good idea! I wish I had become a CNA before doing all the academic pre reqs I've completed over the past two years. Prehaps you could apply to community colleges and try to get a scholarship to help with the much lower tuition. Or even work as a CNA while doing nursing pre requisite courses part time if you have to pay by yourself. Or you could try to become an 'independent student' which might be tough.

Also since you are still in high school you should see if your school offers 'running start' type of classes which is taking college courses while in high school. You're so young there is an endless number of options out there for you. Best wishes!

[Queen Tiye, CNA]

hi vegaschick,

becoming a cna sounds like a great step towards a future in caring for others. working and going to college is also another possibility, lots of youngsters do it all over america. i did it and had a blast. it's empowering, lots of fun, and it's great for self-esteem . . . if it becomes overwhelming, part-time work is always another option.

think of what you want first and figure out how to do it later . . . the sky's the limit for you.

best wishes.

[Loveangel1316]

I definitely think you should do the cna program. You can work as a Cna to pay for school. Also if you work amd make enough to file taxes, they will give you financial aid according to your income and not your parents. Also, if you can get in a hospital, that would be a door open for when you graduate school. Its almost like a guaranteed job and also alot of hospitals have scholarship programs that can help pay for school

[on eagles wings, ASN, RN]

All this advice is great. Do the CNA program and work and save up! I suggest you take your pre-reqs at the community college after getting a CNA job. Classes are cheap and you can pay for them yourself!! In the mean time do research on nursing programs near you and plan ahead. I wish I had done this. If you want to be really strict and save a lot of money, you could always bike to school, lol. :)

By the time you start nursing school you will have a nice amount of experience that will put you ahead of everyone else, especially in clinicals. Start as soon as you graduate. Look for scholarships NOW on fastweb.com, cappex.com, and elsewhere. I didn't look for anything during HS and I regret it! There are so many scholarships for HS students... ask your school counselor.

Anyway, good luck!

[Dorali, BSN, LPN, RN]

When I was in high school, some of my classmates went to a nearby vo-tech in the afternoon and did their regular classes in the morning. One of my friends took her CNA course there. Maybe you can talk to a counselor and see if there are any options available to you now.

[RosieC]

I say go for it! I'm a senior in high school too and I'm going to CNA school next month. Its a really good way to get your feet wet before you commit to doing something for the rest of your life. Not to mention you can start networking with people in the medical field before you graduate and you'll have a little something extra to put on your resume.

[Dorali, BSN, LPN, RN]

I agree with RosieC 100%!