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Discussion

So, I got in to a program, but I wonder if this is the right time?

Hi everybody. I recently got into my local community college, and I'm feeling everything you can think of. Excited, nervous, shocked to get in. We start classes soon. Although I am excited, I have my reservations:

So, I've basically exhausted federal aid at my current school. If I were to go on to another, I'd receive federal aid once again. I still will be receiving state aid for a full year, and that will help me cover the tuition, which I'm truly thankful for. However, after that, I'm on my own in terms of tuition payments for the second year. I have a few things that I'm worried about, and I'm just wondering if I'm overthinking or if my concerns are valid:

1) I'm worried about my hireability as a new grad ADN. I live in NY, the hudson river valley area. I'm willing to relocate, and I've also been trying to find out whether or not my local hospitals hire new grad ADNs, but its like pulling teeth :/ I'll keep trying tho.

2) Ideally, I'd love to be able to save up for driving lessons (as I dont have anyone to teach me) and a car. I'd also love to be able to move out when I graduate at 23 and start my own life, which requires me saving up for rent/security deposit/etc

3) I have a few old medical bills that I must tend to before they get sent to collections...I'm working on that currently!

4) I'll have no help financially, which is something that a lot of people must go through. My mother is willing to help, but isn't in a position to do so and I do not want to put any unnecessary stress on her. Now, I'd simply work like a madwoman during the summers and winters and save up alllll of my money if it wasn't for one thing:

5) I have a (mild, imo) health condition. Mild enough for me to go to school full time and work part time hours, but I dont think I'd be able to handle working full time and going to school full time at the same time unfortunately. In general, I have to be sure to not overwork myself and rest whenever I get the chance. I'm not too comfortable naming what it is, but I deal with pain (although I luckily dont need medicine to push through the pain--fingers crossed!) and low energy (again, I can still function luckily. Was able to keep up in my prereqs, I probably require more sleep than the average person tho haha. Things definitely get difficult when I flare up.)

Again, if I didn't have my health condition I think I'd just work my butt off and forego sleep for these next two years, but unfortunately, I cannot as I do not know how my body will react to it.

So, I feel like I essentially have two options:

1) Just go for it and stick it out! I'm probably waiting for the stars to align, which will never happen. Just start, and hope to make enough money to cover second years tuition (I'm also looking into scholarships, I've applied for a bunch over the course of this summer), and things to move out such as a car, rent money, and any other expenses. A good thing about this is that I'd be graduating debt free :)

2) Wait a year, and save up some money. In the mean time, volunteer as to not be idle, and apply to BSN programs for Fall 2019. This is risky, as there is no guarantee that I will get in a second time. I feel lucky to have gotten in at my school, it's super competitive. If I do get in, having a BSN will allow me to not have to worry about my hireability as a new grad. Also, I'd love to be able to go away to school, see new things and live around people my age. It sounds like tons of fun. At my current school, people tend to go home straight after class, and campus is pretty dead after 4 oclock or so. Of course, I'd look into the more affordable state schools first. What is a price range that I should stay in?

Now, I'm not worried about the first option being hard, as difficulty can build character. I'm worried about it being realistic for me. I really wish I had a crystal ball to gaze into the future or something lol

So what do you guys think? Am I missing something? Over thinking?

Lastly, thank you to all who read and take the time to give advice. It is all greatly appreciated. :)

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    Your health jumps out as a huge potential concern. The types of jobs available to new graduates are typically hard on the body, so you'll want to make sure you jump in with your eyes open.

    Loans may be worth it.

    Having a BSN will make you more competitive, but it may still be very difficult to find work as a new graduate. Some nurses in saturated areas have to travel out of state to find their first job.

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    • Author
    Your health jumps out as a huge potential concern. The types of jobs available to new graduates are typically hard on the body, so you'll want to make sure you jump in with your eyes open.

    Loans may be worth it.

    Having a BSN will make you more competitive, but it may still be very difficult to find work as a new graduate. Some nurses in saturated areas have to travel out of state to find their first job.

    If I go through with my ADN program, I definitely want to get a job as a patient care technician to get a gauge as to how I might handle super long shifts, so that way I'll have an idea of what I'm getting in to with my first nursing job. It wont be 100% the same, but hopefully it should help...

    I've been looking into private loans, but a lot of them require a cosigner which is another thing I must think about. I've recently began to build my credit, so I'm hoping within a year it'll be good enough for me to take out a loan without a cosigner.

    And yeah, I'm more than willing to travel out of state for that first job! Just worried about the funds to do it...but that still is such a ways off, and so I wonder if I'm simply over thinking.

    Thanks for taking the time to reply!

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    Good luck to you! The CNA thing sounds like an excellent way to test the waters. We do everything they do plus a bunch of other stuff. It will give you a good idea of the physical labor involved.

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    1. There are a ton of nursing jobs that are not at hospitals. If you're limiting yourself to absolutely having to have a hospital job on a med/surg unit, it's going to be very hard to get a job, and it's going to come down more to who you know. If you're willing to work at any of the hundreds of other places in your area that hires nurses so that you can get some experience before applying for your dream job, you'll find a job.

    2. Saving money and going to college isn't an easy combination. It's definitely possible, but your time to be able to work is more limited.

    3. If you need private loans, make sure you do whatever it takes to keep them out of collections. Make any kind of payment arrangements that you can.

    4&5. You need to figure out if this is the right time. We don't know what your condition is, so we can't give input. Healthcare is far from being a glamorous job. It's not just being on your feet. If you're good at what you do, there's a ton of lifting, pulling, and things like that. You're going to be rolling 500lb people, and then supporting their weight to help another nurse. You're going to be repositioning people. You'll probably have an aide, but they're typically staffed at a minimum (ironic for the lowest paid worker), so a lot of times, you just have to do it. I'd reach out to someone that has your condition and is a nurse, and get some input from them. I'd at least plan on going to school, get started, but try to shadow in a hospital or talk to nurses ASAP. Like, right now, get on the phone and start working on making that happen. It's OK to withdraw your spot from a program, but you don't want to be a month in and then decide to back out, it won't look good. You're usually elligible for a refund up to a certain point. But definitely get some exposure to healthcare work.

    And a BSN doesn't magically make you more hireable as a new grad. Every new grad is seen as an inexperienced new nurse who has to be completely retrained on the real-world ways of doing everything. That's life. That's what every graduate of every single college major goes through. That BSN degree is primarily for specific jobs, on specific types of units. And it's a way to bargain more money when you're an experienced RN. It doesn't matter which degree you have, in 10 years, you still have the same amount of experience. You're going to get the same exact job at first with an ADN as you are with a BSN. You're going to be hired as a new graduate nurse on a nursing unit somewhere that hires new graduates. They don't care what your degree is, they only care that you're willing to shut up, accept that you barely know what you're doing, and let them train you. After that, after you give them maybe a year, then they'll talk to you about a pay raise for your degree, or those other units will be willing to talk to you, and then have you actually invest some time in them and work. They want a nurse, not a degree. The time it's going to take that BSN graduate to actually get into a job that actually requires it, you can be working on your BSN while you're working and get into that same job after the same amount of time.

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