I can't stop breaking into tears. Depression is obviously sinking in. This is insane. Like it wasn't hard enough competing with 1500 applicants for a few dozen spots and now all the state schools are not accepting any Spring applicants if you don't already go to the school. That means next fall there will be 2x as many applicants.
It is getting to the point that if you don't have a 4.0 you are not going to be a nurse in CA. And even some of the 4.0 students are turned away (I know 2). I could shell out 50,000 to 75,000 for a private school BSN or try year after year after year to do an ADN at a community college but again it is the lottery and you could be applying for the next decade.
So what are people doing? I just calculated my "points" (points for GPA, for TEAS, for speaking a foreign language, having a CNA, etc) for a couple different schools and I din't come close to what the advisor said was competitive enough.
I am really at a road block. I have spent too much time working towards this but I really feel like I have hit a wall.
That link was very helpful and I’ll have to investigate more later.
The problem with the community colleges in CA is they are almost all lottery and some people I know gave up and switched directions after applying for 5 or more semesters and not hitting the lottery. The ones that are merit put me in the same place as the 4-year programs. I swear CA is all around a lose, lose unless you have a 4.0 or a lot of money.
Also I am not a spring chicken and I want to get this out of the way. I don’t want to do a BSN after an AND but a MSN after the BSN. I don’t want to add to many unnecessary years especially since I have a BA already. I will be applying to a few community college programs but not too many.
Yes, I know what you mean :) but you'll be VERY hard-pressed to find a BSN program out of state that isn't pretty expensive for nonresidents, whereas community colleges (I am talking in other states, not California) still have reasonable tuition for those who are not residents of the state.
I guess I must have misunderstood your intentions, though...are you looking to do a traditional BSN or an Accelerated BSN, i.e. one for those who already have a bachelor's degree? If you aren't looking to do an ABSN, then getting your ASN and doing an ASN-BSN bridge (a plethora of those exist) isn't really any slower than getting a BSN...most RN-BSN bridges are a year long, and nursing school is about 3 years from prereqs to NCLEX, so in the end you have a 4 year degree either day.
Yes, I know what you mean but you'll be VERY hard-pressed to find a BSN program out of state that isn't pretty expensive for nonresidents, whereas community colleges (I am talking in other states, not California) still have reasonable tuition for those who are not residents of the state
They must exist even if I have to move to some random place. I don't care if it is a short while and I'll be engrossed in school. Cannot justify moving out of state for a community college.
I guess I must have misunderstood your intentions, though...are you looking to do a traditional BSN or an accelerated BSN, i.e. one for those who already have a bachelor's degree? If you aren't looking to do an ABSN, then getting your ASN and doing an ASN-BSN bridge (a plethora of those exist) isn't really any slower than getting a BSN...most RN-BSN bridges are a year long, and nursing school is about 3 years from prereqs to NCLEX, so in the end you have a 4 year degree either day.
I would prefer an ABSN or MSN but a BSN is OK as well. It really is not the same amount of time. My pre-reqs are done besides Micro this fall. So an ABSN would be about 12 to 18 months. Then a MSN would be about another 18 months to 2 years. A direct entry MSN is about 3 years some are 2 but the better ones are 3, which is the same as an ABSN plus a MSN. A regular BSN is 2 years plus another 2 years for a MSN. The ADN route would be 2 years, plus 1 year for the ADN to BSN, then another 2 years for the MSN, which makes 5 years.
I hope that was not too confusing.
So starting with:
ADN and getting to a MSN = 5 years
Traditional BSN and going through to MSN = 4 years
ABSN and going through to MSN = 3 to 3.5 years
Direct entry MSN = 2 to 3 years
There is a big difference from 2 years to 5 years especially when I already have a few other degrees, post graduate certifications, and licenses. I'll be pushing 40 when I enter a program and I have been in school all my life except 5 years. I want to be done with school.
There must be some cheap ABSN programs out there that I don't know about.
I think you're stressing yourself out by planning WAY too far in advance.....focus on getting into an ABSN or BSN program, then work your way up.....there are many MSN students well into their 40's....my BSN program has a 54 year old in it.....One of my clinical instructors was 60 when she started her MSN program.....baby steps girlie....gotta walk before u can run......
CSU-San Marcos has a ABSN program that's supposedly easier to get into than their generic BSN program. I wouldn't know exactly because I'm in the generic BSN program....I believe it's 18-20 months long, and costs around $32k when it's all said n done.....You did well on the TEAS so that'll help.....Look into their program....
I think you're stressing yourself out by planning WAY too far in advance.....focus on getting into an ABSN or BSN program, then work your way up.....there are many MSN students well into their 40's....my BSN program has a 54 year old in it.....One of my clinical instructors was 60 when she started her MSN program.....baby steps girlie....gotta walk before u can run......
CSU-San Marcos has a ABSN program that's supposedly easier to get into than their generic BSN program. I wouldn't know exactly because I'm in the generic BSN program....I believe it's 18-20 months long, and costs around $32k when it's all said n done.....You did well on the TEAS so that'll help.....Look into their program....
I am not planning for in advance. I'll apply this fall for the following fall entry. I am applying for a combination of direct entry MSN, ABSN, BSN, and ADN programs. Since I have a BA already I qualify for all 4 of those types of programs. I was just pointing out that if I did start with an ADN I am adding three years to the process until MSN in comparison to a direct entry MSN. I am only applying to MSN programs that do not require the GRE and preferably I would like an ABSN.
I know there are all ages and that I don't care about. I don't care how old other people are. I care that I need to get on with my life and get out of school.
if you feel like you've hit a wall, and private school is a way out, it might be worth it to take the private school route rather than waiting for a public school.....You're right in that it's getting more competitive for public schools, so if you can't make yourself more competitive in that nature, it really limits your options....
Are there classes you can take over to boost your GPA? Is there anything extra like volunteering that you can do to make yourself more attractive as a candidate?
With a private school, you might pay more for tuition, but it might be better than waiting, reapplying, and possibly not getting in....The sooner you're out in the workforce, the sooner you're earning.....
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.....
And by the way, the lowest overall GPA someone from my cohort got admitted with was a 2.9.....so there's always hope
I just finished taking the TEAS and I ranked in the 99th percentile with 92.4%. One more thing to cross off the list. I don't think I'll retake it with 92.4% as there is a possibility of doing a little worse and some schools take the last test and not the best.
Would you mind at all sharing what your study tools were to achieve such and excellent score? That's great!
There are options for you if you seek them out. First off instead of waiting to be accepted to a school why not jump into a LVN\LPN program and get going with being a nurse, and not worry about learning stuff that is not nursing.
Alot of changes are comming to health care. A good friend told me the wages in nursing are already starting to come down and some nursing schools are laying off instructors.
Look to other states. I know someone who went to wyoming and the Tribal Nation paid for His RN he only had to give them 8 months after he got his license to repay them for a great favor. (free RN).
Alaska, Florida, Orange county California, Texas all have LVN programs open, then you can be making money and working and learning nursing instead of how to pass the TEAS test. Mexicali Mexico has a nursing program and they are grudating and sending nurses to work in California while students in Califronia are looking to get in School. Get creative and get creative now, things are going to change quickly alot of hospitals are broke and are going to start to fill job openings with Patient Care Techs, and EMT(s) in order to stay afloat. Good luck hope to see you on the floor soon.
I had to add another reply after reading a few more posts. You are allowing these schools to control you.
May I ask you how many nurisng textbooks have you read?
Retaking a class that you already took and spending 3 months of your time to do it is LAME.
If you are really wanting to be a nurse, start to study on your own, take and EMT class, go to Paramedic school.
Find a fair priced LVN school somewhere and start to learn medicine. The doors will open as you will start to meet people who can point you in the right direction.
California is importing nurses!!!!!!!! Google this..........Goal2Diversity. It states the agenda for California nursing. Like I said find a state that you can start to study nursing, and not have to take history over agian to become a nurse. These people in these schools are wasting your time, most of them could not handle a simple ACLS algorithm or treat a major truama pt. Sorry if I have been to blunt but I would look elswhere and you will make it. Go Get it.
Would you mind at all sharing what your study tools were to achieve such and excellent score? That's great!
I used both the Kaplan book and ATI's study guide. I think ATI's study guide prepared me a lot more than the Kaplan guide because ATI's guide is exactly like the test. It is their test so the guide teaches to the test.
I also paid for an online practice exam and it was identical to the real thing. I took it the night before the real thing and definitely learned some tricks that came in handy on the real test. I only got 82% on the practice where I got 92.4% on the real thing. I did rush through the practice a bit.
I highly recommend the ATI guide and the practice exams.
And by the way, the lowest overall GPA someone from my cohort got admitted with was a 2.9.....so there's always hope
Snwbdr what school do you go to?
I know there are options out there I just have to find them.
I know there are options out there I just have to find them.
I go to Cal State San Marcos. I'm in the Generic BSN program. It's 3 years long, and designed for those without a BA/BS. You can apply for it if you have one though, one of my classmates has a BS already and opted to go this route instead of the ABSN, which the school also has. I've heard it was easier to get into the ABSN program, but dunno for sure.
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springing
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Yes, I know what you mean :) but you'll be VERY hard-pressed to find a BSN program out of state that isn't pretty expensive for nonresidents, whereas community colleges (I am talking in other states, not California) still have reasonable tuition for those who are not residents of the state.
I guess I must have misunderstood your intentions, though...are you looking to do a traditional BSN or an Accelerated BSN, i.e. one for those who already have a bachelor's degree? If you aren't looking to do an ABSN, then getting your ASN and doing an ASN-BSN bridge (a plethora of those exist) isn't really any slower than getting a BSN...most RN-BSN bridges are a year long, and nursing school is about 3 years from prereqs to NCLEX, so in the end you have a 4 year degree either day.