When first applying to schools...any advice?

[CrittleLee]

Hello Everyone!

This may turn out rather long, but I have a few questions to ask.

About..a year and a half ago, I had to "drop out" of school for a few personal reasons, I basically transfered to online classes, or home schooling. Well, things fell through, and I did not finish all of my classes.

I've come to the conclusion it might just be easier to get my GED now, and start applying to some schools. The problem with the online school is for me to finish I need to pay a lot of money for the other classes needed. Some might say itd be smarter to just stick with it, but for right now I see no problem with the way it could go, then again I might be wrong so thats why I'm here.

I'll have no problem passing the GED test, and I've been rewarded scholarships for my MCAS scores. (standardized testing in MA).

My plan, so far, as I've thought it out haha would be to start taking my pre req classes at Massasoit. and then either applying to their nursing program, or, taking my transcripts and applying to Salem state's nursing program.

I'm not so worried about getting into Massasoit, becuase it is a community college, I'm pretty sure I can get in with my GED but I'm really worried about Salem.

I'd love to call someone at admissions and ask my questions related to the college's but, I'm not sure how I'd even go about it. Who to ask for, what to say, if they'd take the time to have a long talk with me.

I dont really have a time crunch on all of this, but I would like to get started / finished as soon as possible, becuase I love the idea or helping and caring for people.

So if its possible, do you think I could take all my pre reqs in one semester?

I think by now its probably too late for me to apply for the fall semester but the spring I might be able to get into?

Also, IF that were possible, my plan would be to start the 2 year assosicates program at Salem in the fall of 09, but one of their requirements is you apply at least a year before, so they stop taking applications this october, so october of 08. I'm afriad to apply now just with my GED, but at the same time if I wait for my transcripts from the prereq classes, I'd have to put everything on hold a year, and that probably wouldnt be good to keep all I've learned in my head.

I know thats a lot but if anyone has any comments or advice I'd greatly appreciate it. Math and Science are my strong points, so I'm really not worried about how I would do in the classes, its more, how to get there right now thats the problem. Thank you =)

[determined 2succeed]

CrittleLee,

Hopefully I fully understand your sistuation but I'm really not familiar with schools other than the ones in my area, but here is what I would do.

Don't worry about calling the school and asking questions. Even call back and talk to a different person if the first person doesn't fully answer your questions. Keep this in mind... the school is funded by tuition --> tuition keeps those people employed --> if you don't call to get your questions answered, you may not attend = one less student for their school. Trust me, there has to be an advisor at their school that wants to talk to you. And, you are not the first person to feel this way. Schools are very intimidating especially if you are apprehensive about calling. I always feel like I sound like an idiot when I call and ask questions. Then I remind myself that the person on the other end of the phone is human just like me. If you do talk to someone and they make you feel dumb for asking, don't let it bother you.... I'm sure that since they deal in that relm every day they must feel as though it should be second nature to everyone. (I've gotten the "Um, Duh" type of responses before)

For your second question, I have a question for you... What classes does your community college require for applying to the nursing program? They should have a list of courses available either in their nursing dept or online somewhere. If they have an accelerated or "fast track" program there might be additional pre-req's you'll need prior to applying.

Every program is different. If you are considered a "freshman" (no prior college credits) it may be rather difficult to cram in all of your pre-req's in one semester. There are a lot of classes to take.

For instance, Click HERE to see the pre-req's my school requires to transfer into their upper division nursing program.

If you plan on attending a community college prior to transferring to a larger university, talk to that university directly about which classes transfer and which don't... I learned the hard way!

I really hope this helps a bit.

GO FOR IT!!!!

[Aurora77]

I can't answer most of your questions since I haven't even applied to NS yet. I'm working on some pre-reqs now. I can recommend that you just call the admissions office at the schools you're interested in and make an appointment. That's what I did. The CC I'm attending now was pretty helpful. The NS I really want to attend was fabulous. I sat down with the woman, explained my situation, what I want to do, etc. We covered all sorts of things, from pre-reqs to basic financial aid, to application.

It was a great experience. The best thing is that I got personal contacts at both schools so that if I have questions, I know who to call. I can't recommend enough just calling up and telling them you want to come in and talk to someone. For me it would be a huge red flag if they didn't want to take that time.