Vent about schools, transferring credits, and dueling academic advisors...

[Keely-FutureRN]

okay, here's a little bit of my history and why I want to be a nurse...

My mom became sick when I was in high school and she had a couple close calls with death. I felt so powerless to help and saw nursing as my true call to help people (my mom). I became a CNA and got a job at a nearby hospital and worked on pre-req's at the university.

After a year of college I became sick with an eating disorder. I spent 6 months in the hospital recovering from anorexia. While there, I bonded with some the the nurses who cared for me. They were so compassionate and caring. They took the time to listen to me and truely cared about my well being. I know that nursing is my calling.

So two months later here I am working on going back to school in the fall and I just got a new CNA job starting June 6. (yay!) I want to pick myself up and recover and when I become a nurse, work with patients with eating disorders so I can provide the kind of care and support I recieved and offer hope for others struggling with eating disorders. :icon_hug:

I went to the nursing orientation at the U last week to find out about the nursing program and some of the classes I took before are no longer pre-req's. :smackingf I have to redo biology (because I took general biology 1100 instead of the new 1210) and probably statistics because I have to be accepted within the five years of taking it and I took it my very first semester of college. I planned out which classes I would take and when I could apply for nusing school (by taking 2 or 3 prereq's per semester and then going to school full time when I get into the nursing program) but now I have to readjust my whole plan and I feel like everyone else is moving ahead without me. I feel like I'm not where I should be because I started college in fall 2002 and I have so many classes to take (I was hoping to apply for nursing school in fall 06 for the fall 07 admission) and I am starting at the bottom.

I went to the community college orientation today. The classes and requirements are different for each college. They don't want to work together so I can attend both. :argue: The community college advisor wants me to get my associates there but I just want to take one or two classes and then transfer back up to the university but I don't know which classes will transfer. She said I didn't need to take those classes if I stayed at the community college and was really pressuring me not to just take one semester and transfer. I also met with an academic advisor at the University and she says not to take any of my nursing prereq's there (just my generals that are non related) so that I'll have a good chance to be accepted into the nursing program (because it's really competitive-1 in 3 gets in)

I missed the deadline to apply for fall semester at the U so I thought I'd take some non-science prereq's and then go back to the U in the spring. I can still sign up for fall at the U, but many of the classes I need are filling up. I was thinking community college would be a cheaper option for now until I transfered back. I can't have FAFSA unless I go to school full time which I can't because I have to work full time because I have alot of debt and bills ya know...

Then today I ran into some girls in the nursing program at the U that I met when I was first in college. I studied with them and it was our plan that we would all be in the nursing program together. Well they're juniors and 1/2 way through nursing school and I've barely even started. I feel like poo....

Well, there is my very long vent about my whole problem. What should I do? Should I go to the University tomorrow and register and get in classes while I can? Should I listen to the community college advisor and get my associates at the community college? I am starting my new job monday and it is with the university so in 6 months my tuition with be 1/2 off so I really want to go to the U. (It's a good school and I really want to get into their nursing program.) Yikes! What do you think?

Keely

[suzanne4, RN]

If your goal is to go to the University, then try and go that route. Especially since you can get help with a sizable amount of your tuition. You can work on getting some of your other classes out of the way..........

Good luck with your schooling...................... :)

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I agree - how frustrating! Like Suzanne said, decide what you want to do and then go in that direction. Good luck.

[Keely-FutureRN]

Thanks for listening and reading my very long post. :) I went to the university and registered for fall. I signed up for an orientation for July and I can register for classes afterwards. I am going to try not to worry about classes filling up. I have so many to take that I can just adjust my plan so I'll take what is available in the fall and just work on generals. Thank you suzanne and tramarus. I do feel alot more organized about everything since I did something about it.

Keely