Which community college in AZ should I look at?

There is no school that specifically will allow for 36 hours of work. How much you can work will depend on how you learn and how you do in nursing school. Some colleges have daytime classes, some have evening, and others have weekend options. SO it just depends on your work schedule. All the programs will be grueling and take a lot of studying and hard work, so the 36 hours of work is unknown. But there are TONS of schools in AZ, I would need to know what area you are in to advise. I know about Phoenix metro and the surrounding cities.

Im an in betweener student. I start the nursing program in Jan 2014. So not quite prenursing anymore, and not quite nursing student yet. So if your looking to work during the program, is it daytime or night, and weekdays or weekends or both? If its daytime work, then Gateway CC has a nights and weekends program. And I believe one other school has a nights and weekends or hybrid option.

The Maricopa Community College District has 10 colleges and 9 with nursing programs. The waitlist after completing the pre reqs is 3+ years. Or if you take a few additional classes you can apply to their CEP program, which will have you take your ADN and BSN courses concurrently. There is a competitive application process (GPA and HESI entrance score) and if you get accepted you would start the semester after applying. It would cut the waitlist time in half for you.

Another option is Central Arizona College. They are in Coolidge so it would be a bit of a drive. But they admit on a points system. You take your pre reqs and co reqs to get points, then the students with the highest points get in. No waitlist. Then there are the private schools like PIMA and Chamberlain and Carrington. They are much more expensive but also offer no waitlist and a less competitive entry. ALmost everyone who passes the entrance exam gets in. Lastly are the Unis. GCU, ASU, and NAU all offer programs in phoenix area. They are BSN programs with competitive entry based on GPA and entrance exam (HESI/TEAS). Also no waitlist because you either get in or you don't and have to reapply.

These are just the options I researched when looking at which education path I was going to take. You may find other options. GL and get working on the pre req (listed on all the campus websites for each program) until you decide which program is best for you.

I am finishing up my pre-reqs at Yavapai College. They are located in prescott and have a beautiful campus. Their program (from what I've heard) is very good and turns out good quality nurses. It is also extremely competitive to get into, but there isn't a wait list. I checked this past summer at the maricopa colleges and was told that there was currently a 5 year waiting list there. Ugh. So I'm going to stick with Yavapai. Most of the teachers I've had so far have been fantastic!

I'm attending Central Arizona College and I'm working full time 3 12 hour shifts as a PCA (patient care assistant). It is doable but you have to be able to process information quickly. If it takes you awhile to grasp disease process or it takes you longer to understand concepts it may not leave you with enough time to study. But I will say that if you don't work while in school it is difficult to attain a job in acute care after you graduate. Gaining your first RN position after graduation is based on networking and location of where you live. If you do not know someone within the hospital it is very, very difficult to get a job right after school. It may take as long as a year to gain a job within the acute care setting. So I would either get a PRN or part time job just so that you have a way to network if working full time would not work. Also, working as a PCA will give you tons of experience at the bedside that will give you a HUGE advantage over those who have not worked in a acute care setting. Hope this helps and good luck!

I've attended several of the Maricopa Community Colleges: South Mountain CC, Mesa CC, and Chandler-Gilber CC. If you go through the Maricopa County College system all of the class credits seamlessly transfer between institutions and are also easy to transfer to ASU. You can view all the classes at every community college through the same registration portal (once you're accepted to one of those schools). You will need to be admitted to each school individually, but it's really easy to do.

Mesa CC has the nicest lab facilities. They have a pretty decent reputation for being good for nursing students. I took chemistry lab at South-Mountain. It was good, but the labs weren't as nice/new as MCC's. I can't speak for labs at Chandler-Gilbert; I only took HCR230 and HCR240 there, and it was just in a classroom.

Oh and the reason why I attended all these different schools was because of my schedule -- so I understand where you're coming from. I guess what I want to say is that it really doesn't matter where you go and just pick the campus and times that work best for you.

If your almost done with your pre-reqs but two classes i would get those done at one of the Maricopa Community Colleges. After that I would get on the wait list from what I hear it is less than 2 years now. In the mean time I would work on your co-reqs if you want to get your BSN. There are a few schools and they all require different co-req classes. You should make an appt. or walk in and talk with an adviser at one of the Maricopa Colleges they are very helpful. Nursing school has a lot of workload. Could you work less while going to school. One thing is you have a lot of options with schools in Arizona depending on where you live. Good luck with your decision.