** Starting 1st Semester in ADN Program... ADVICE PLEASE :) **

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I got accepted into the nursing program in a 2 year college that's about 45 mins from me. The program starts January 12th, and I've pretty much gotten most of my things ready to start. You know, like CPR, immunizations, uniforms, and other things on the checklist. I'm SOOOO excited to start, I really am. i've been doing In-Home Daycare for about 2 years now, and I got really burned out on caring for infants and toddlers everyday without ever leaving my home or going anywhere with it. I loved the kids and the pay was great ($680/wk), but I have always wanted to be a nurse. I was a CNA for about a year ( a couple years ago ), and I renewed my CNA cert just in case I need to work. I told all my daycare families I'm quitting daycare Jan 8th.

What I'm scared about is 1) Our Income and 2) Getting Through School! I did get the maximum Federal Stafford loan, but I won't get the disbursement until mid-February. And it only averages out to $700-$800 a month. And I was bringing in close to $700 a WEEK doing daycare. I've minimized some of our bills, and set up a budget... but I still end up being $200-$300 in the hole :( I just hope we can figure out how to make it with the loan and hubby's income. I'm going to babysit when I can since that's easy income, and it would be at night and give me time to study. But it's not reliable. Any suggestions on income and how to make it work without making our lives miserable?

About Getting through school... I'm so nervous about this. I heard it is SOOO intense, and that it's very hard. Any idea of what the 1st semester is like for those who have gone through the 1st semester already? I would love any info you can share (and I know all schools are different). I will be taking just Fundamentals and Pharmacology, so at least there won't be any other classes I have to worry about :) Please share what you can with me about the 1st semster, I would greatly appreciate it!!! Thanks so much! :)

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Hi,

I just finished my first semester and I have to say it was harder than I expected both mentally and financially. I left a full time job as a paralegal making really good money to start nursing school full time at a community college. First off it was more difficult for me because I found out I was pregnant a few weeks into the semester and to top it off I had hyperemesis so I was throwing up constantly! What saved my life as far as lectures go is my little recorder, you can buy them at the bookstore for like $20-$30 and its a good investment! I cant tell you how many people ended up getting one half way throught the semester realizing how useful they are, if your driving about 45 min to and from school you can play it in your car, during workouts at night before bed and you will be surprised at how much you miss during note taking in lectures that you find while listening to your recorder. Financially if your used to having extra money that will end, I realized how much I missed having enough money for my morning starbucks and little shopping trips, my husband took on all the bills and I did get loans but there is no money to spare for extras. I found pharmacology to be the hardest class, at our program you were not allowed to get any grades lower than a 90 on pharm quizzes and if you did you were given another chance to pass it but if you didnt you failed the course and had to wait a year to retake it before you could continue in the nursing program. I hate math so I had to retake both times it was a difficult class for me, all I can say for that one is make flash cards for all the conversions like decimal to fahrenheit and kg to grams etc. because there are so many of them to remember. We dont take fundamentals till next semester unless maybe your fundamentals is like our health assessment course. Put aside plently of time to study because when they say nursing courses are not like other classes its so true! I tried to take some extra classes I would need for my BSN for later and figured I wasnt working so it would be no problem, I ended up having to drop my two extra courses because it was too much at once! So thats my advice I found it to be a difficult semester we started with 4 nursing classes plus being sick and pregnant I ended up getting two C's which bothered me but at least I passed and that is all you can expect of yourself because you start not knowing what to expect! Congrats on getting in and best of luck to you! Hope this helps!

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Oh and by retaking I meant I had to retake the quizzes to get above a 90 not the entire course!:)

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Hi,

I just finished my first semester and I have to say it was harder than I expected both mentally and financially. I left a full time job as a paralegal making really good money to start nursing school full time at a community college. First off it was more difficult for me because I found out I was pregnant a few weeks into the semester and to top it off I had hyperemesis so I was throwing up constantly! What saved my life as far as lectures go is my little recorder, you can buy them at the bookstore for like $20-$30 and its a good investment! I cant tell you how many people ended up getting one half way throught the semester realizing how useful they are, if your driving about 45 min to and from school you can play it in your car, during workouts at night before bed and you will be surprised at how much you miss during note taking in lectures that you find while listening to your recorder. Financially if your used to having extra money that will end, I realized how much I missed having enough money for my morning starbucks and little shopping trips, my husband took on all the bills and I did get loans but there is no money to spare for extras. I found pharmacology to be the hardest class, at our program you were not allowed to get any grades lower than a 90 on pharm quizzes and if you did you were given another chance to pass it but if you didnt you failed the course and had to wait a year to retake it before you could continue in the nursing program. I hate math so I had to retake both times it was a difficult class for me, all I can say for that one is make flash cards for all the conversions like decimal to fahrenheit and kg to grams etc. because there are so many of them to remember. We dont take fundamentals till next semester unless maybe your fundamentals is like our health assessment course. Put aside plently of time to study because when they say nursing courses are not like other classes its so true! I tried to take some extra classes I would need for my BSN for later and figured I wasnt working so it would be no problem, I ended up having to drop my two extra courses because it was too much at once! So thats my advice I found it to be a difficult semester we started with 4 nursing classes plus being sick and pregnant I ended up getting two C's which bothered me but at least I passed and that is all you can expect of yourself because you start not knowing what to expect! Congrats on getting in and best of luck to you! Hope this helps!

Thanks so much for your honest advice and information :) This does help me out! Oh, and congrats on the pregnancy, but sorry you were throwing up so much!!! Do you think you will need to take a semester off for when your baby is born? I just recently went on birth control pills, because I was worried about getting pregnant. I got off them in January, and we started trying in May (before I decided I wanted to apply to nursing school)... so for about 6 months I didn't get pregnant so I went back on the pills to be on the safe side since I knew I got accepted. I guess the baby will have to wait for us :( Anyway, sorry to get off topic! What kind of loans did you get if you don't mind me asking? I got the maximum for the Federal Stafford loan, which was $4250 every semester... which is not enough! I'm trying to look at Private loans... but those scare me. I am going to babysit where I can, because I'm afraid to get a regular job that requires a lot from me. I'm not the best with time management, so I think i regular job would really mess me up with school. I really want to pass and get through this. I'm glad you got through your 1st semester!!

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I just finished my first semester of my nursing program and this next semester is the beginning clinicals. I will start by saying that is was very difficult for anyone but with determination and a good support system at home you can make it. Record lectures, make flashcards, form study groups and once in a while take some time to de-stress and relax so your brain can have a rest. Just remember that you will make it through this because you want to be a nurse and you know what it will take to become one. I would also recommend that at the end of each semester you should go out with some friends (or your fellow students) for a celebratory cocktail for all of your hard work (and then after that buckle down and get ready for your next semester.) Good luck!

!Chris :specs:

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Hi there I just finished my 1st sem of an ADN program and can understand how stressful it is along with money! I am a CNA and was working full time but switched to part time and am just hanging on by a thread as far as money goes! As far as school, I took fundamentals/clinicals, pharm, and drug calc. In our program 1st and 4th sem are the hardest. I got 2 B's and an A and honestly it wasnt as hard as evryone made it out to be. Don't get me wrong every test I stressed out like crazy but if you stay motivated and study a little everyday you can do it! Only one person failed our little group and it was b/c she didn't study. Just keep up with the material and you will do fine! Goodluck! :yeah:

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I got stafford loans also and that amount is about what I got and your right its not enough! My nursing program is a night program so all of our classes are in the evening and clinicals start in January and they are on weekends so I am not planning on taking time off I will have all day with the baby when its born and the two nights I have class my husband will be home with the baby so hopefully all works out as planned! I started looking for a part time job at the hospitals around here but with the economy in FL where I am its not good I have not got any calls. I hope to get a prn or part time job maybe as a CNA or secretary to make a little extra. Also if money is tight try to buy your books on Amazon or Craigs List so you can get them cheaper that is a huge way to save they are way over priced at the bookstore. Yeah def. wait to have a baby! I am hoping all goes smoothly so I dont have to take off a semester I have excellent professors who are letting me do extra clinicals the month prior to my due date so I can take a week or two off clinicals if needed I am so lucky to have such great professors otherwise I dont know what I would do!

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.

My advice on a recorder is to get one that will allow you to upload it to your computer instead of straight digital. That way you can burn CD's to play in your car during commutes....wish I had done that.

I would also go back over your finances, everything. Even if it's just $5...cut it if you can.

Another thing that will help is for each of you to keep a small notebook and write down everything that you spend...even 75 cents for a can of soda out of the machine...this will allow you to see hidden money that slips away. Groceries...I go online to the grocery store websites and I plan my meals out by the week on Sundays. Yes, this seems OCD, but we were able to cut our grocery expense IN HALF by planning our meals by buying only what was on sale, buying according to how much we would need per week, and it cut our waste to almost nothing.

We eat a TON of whole chickens. I can get them on sale for as little $3.00 and they last us two days. I learned to put them in a roaster at 350 for about 2 hours in the oven and use a variety of seasonings so we don't buy those expensive rotissaries. We use pasta to stretch it.

On studying, my advice is to not treat the class the same as you do others...critical thinking questions are very different and they take some getting used to. Buy a 4th edition of Saunders so you can get used to how the questions are asked...that way when you take that first exam, it won't a shock.

I meticulously kept everything in a rolling backpack (you can get these way cheaper at places like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc) that way I always had what I needed with me right down to a stapler, scissors, white out, clips, highlighers, extra paper, note cards, you name it, I kept it. I put small sodas and crackers each morning in the fidge, that way I didn't have to spend money on vending machines.

Just be creative...

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Specializes in CVICU, CPCU, Cath Lab/IR.

I also just finished my first semester, which was fundamentals with pharm incorporated into it and we also had clinical 8 weeks into class. We had to pass a dosage calculation test with a 90 or better with three tries, if it was not passed then you failed the course, but they thought a great formula for figuring these out.

I will agree with everyone else, money will be tight, but by losing some old habits it works out, besides I didn't have time to shop anyways.

I always read on here how hard first semester was and to be honest, I didn't think it was that hard, you just have to get used to the way they test you. everything is based on NCLEX style testing, so once you get used to that you should be alright. Always remember to go with your gut.

As far as money, I always apply for any grants or scholarships offered to the school and I usually get them. Did you qualify for any financial aid such as pell grant? You can also join the National Student Nursing Association and apply for there scholarships.

Just remember no matter what, take some time out for your selves. We have a groups of eight of us and once a week after class we all go to lunch. It is a nice way to get away. Usually we do this after test day, because we are all so stressed out after the test.

Stay focused and you will do fine, I came out with a 93, B+ on our grading scale. This is your dream and you are the only one who can determine what happens with it.

GOOD LUCK!

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