Starting from the beginning

[jordiemom06]

:welcome: everyone!!

i'm a new student enrolled at a community college, i'm just starting out. i'm a mother of 2 and i work full time. i know it's going to be hard for me but nursing is something i've wanted to do since i was a little girl. so far i'm taking 4 classes at night, i don't plan on being in school for ever but i wanted to know how long it would it take me if i attended full time instead of part time?. i'm really at the point of working part time a focusing on school fulltime? i'm just frustrated because i made it hard for myself to do what i would love to do...this is the 3rd time i've enrolled into school, but this time i have to stay there.

any suggestions?

thanks!

[Anne36, LPN]

Hi, I'm in a similar situation. I am just starting with a basic math class believe it or not. Next week I'm going to be going to class for the first time in 17 years. I cant even sleep at night I'm so nervous. I have 4 kids and stay home fulltime but will have to get loans for school since I dont qualify for aid.

How are you paying for school? How will you manage 3 classes and work and kids? I'm worried about 1 class.

[jordiemom06]

Hello,

I have help through Financial aid. But I'll have to pay for my books. I'm nervous also because this time I have to stay in. 4 classes is a lot but 2 of those classes begin in October so I'll be attending all 4 for about a month an a half. Also the community college that I'm attending has childcare for people who attend evening classes.

Your college doesn't offer aid?

Thanks

[WDWpixieRN, RN]

Taking 4 classes at night while working full-time with 2 little ones sounds like you are setting yourself up for a disaster. I completed a bachelor's in business while my kids were little and I wasn't working. That was tough enough.

When I chose to head to nursing school, I was working full-time with my kids mostly grown. I took my prereqs (mostly all sciences) one at a time at night and that was plenty. It took me 2 semesters to get the ones completed so I could apply to the nursing program at my CC. While I waited for admittance, I took the remainder of my coreqs so that when I started the program all I would have to concentrate on were the core nursing courses. The majority of my class had everything about wrapped up by that time, too. A few had some gen ed or A & P or micro classes to finish up, and their first and second semesters were a little rough, but they made it.

If your kids are young, you most likely are too. Take the time to set yourself up for a successful road to nursing school and beyond. If this means backing off and take fewer classes at night while you are working full-time, then so be it. If you can switch to part-time in order to speed things up, that's icing on the cake.

As for the time it will take you, this is something you should meet with a counselor at your college about. They can help you determine ALL the classes you need for NS and set up a proposed schedule that works with your life. In addition, they can help project when you might possibly be admitted so you can determine what you can accomplish prior to NS and what might still remain. This will give you the big picture of where you are now and where you are going.

For some programs, if your admittance is partly based on GPA, you won't want to try to take on so much that your grades will suffer while trying to fast-track this education.

I wish you the best!!

[southernbelle08]

Everyone before me as answered your questions, but I wanted to wish you the best of luck!! :)

[Mrs Wms-future RN]

I would suggest that you get a support system in place, whether it's your husband, mother, sister, girlfriend. Working full time and going to school with a family is hard, but doable. Once you have a support system in place, discipline yourself to have set study hours and time to spend with the kids (do something every other weekend) you can manage. I wish you the best.