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Hi all,
I am a stay at home mom with two bachelor's of science degrees (psych and addictions counseling) and am wanting to start Marian University's (Indianapolis, In) accredited, accelerated, online BSN program this August. The cost is around $750 per credit hour (i know, right?) for nursing classes in the program. Since it is accelerated, they strongly recommended you don't work during school and my federal aid is capped at $6500 or so per semester. Therefore, how in the world could anyone afford this program, especially if you aren't working?? Private student loans?? Any moms out there with a similar experience and if so, how did you finance your education?
I dont understand for the life of me why people obtain a bachelors degrer in one field then quickly or not so quickly want to switch careers to nursing??????? Boggles my mind. Wouldnt it jus have been smarter to obtain the BSN in the first place??
Sure, this would be simpler & cheaper if we knew at the beginning nursing is what we wanted . I was 16 when I graduated from high school and was making college decisions. Sure , some people know at 16 what they want to do for their entire lives , but most of us don't . Nursing is a great career for people with varied backgrounds, and I, with my bachelors in education , see many different paths I can go down with my nursing degree added to the mix.
For some of us it takes awhile. I spent 10 years in IT sales before making the move. Just waiting on acceptance for the program I want (had to retake some old pre-reqs).
As far as this current discussion I would definitely shop around a bit more. I'm applying to the WGU Prelicensure program which sounds similar to yours and tuition is about $4K per term. Classes online, clinicals at nearby hospital. They have a branch in Indiana.
I have recently been diagnosed with some hearing loss, so I luckily qualify for vocational rehab assistance through the state. Maybe something like that is an option? Also check with your state board of nursing to see if they know of any additional resources.
I agree with the others. I am a few classes away from my Bachelors in Psychology. Quit school when I was pregnant with my son because I was put on bedrest. Then we moved out of state, moved a few more times, life happened, got pregnant again and realized while pregnant that time that nursing is what I wanted to do. It never occurred to me back when I first started college.
Ummmmmm im not talking about a JOB change...im talking about a CAREER change. Different principle.
Not at all, people make career changes all the time. I guess i dont see the difference between a job and a career in the point i was trying to make. I can understand your point if someone wants to change from fast food service to retail, thats changing jobs. but to have a degree in one thing and find that you want to change careers either because the job market is not strong for your degree or because you in general dislike what you are doing with your life/degree, one has the power to change it by deciding to pursue other educational opportunities rather then sit in a career you hate for another 30 years.
I'm doing that now. I was active duty military going to school for social psychology while working as a mechanic because i loved the reading and research, but when i got out of the military, i found that the job market doesnt offer much for my degree. I have been fortunate to find a good paying career as a scheduler for a military school house, but I loathe my job. Should I just stay in this career for another 30 miserable years or pursue something else? I volunteered in a combat clinic while deployed and that sparked a desire to pursue nursing. i couldnt pursue it at that point, but now i have the opportunity. and i'm taking that sucker! :-) I'm sure there are people that become nurses only to go pursue a different career after a few years (or sooner) for a multitude of reasons.
I am not trying to disprove your point, only let you know one of many reasons why people pursue a BSN after already achieving a degree since it was "boggling" you (I love this word BTW people dont use it enough). a lot of the students in my pre reqs hold B.A.s and B.S.s and are changing careers for very similar reasons. I do wish that I would have had the opportunity to go to nursing school first, but life doesnt always go the way we hope. :)
Not at all, people make career changes all the time. I guess i dont see the difference between a job and a career in the point i was trying to make. I can understand your point if someone wants to change from fast food service to retail, thats changing jobs. but to have a degree in one thing and find that you want to change careers either because the job market is not strong for your degree or because you in general dislike what you are doing with your life/degree, one has the power to change it by deciding to pursue other educational opportunities rather then sit in a career you hate for another 30 years.
I'm doing that now. I was active duty military going to school for social psychology while working as a mechanic because i loved the reading and research, but when i got out of the military, i found that the job market doesnt offer much for my degree. I have been fortunate to find a good paying career as a scheduler for a military school house, but I loathe my job. Should I just stay in this career for another 30 miserable years or pursue something else? I volunteered in a combat clinic while deployed and that sparked a desire to pursue nursing. i couldnt pursue it at that point, but now i have the opportunity. and i'm taking that sucker! :-) I'm sure there are people that become nurses only to go pursue a different career after a few years (or sooner) for a multitude of reasons.
I am not trying to disprove your point, only let you know one of many reasons why people pursue a BSN after already achieving a degree since it was "boggling" you (I love this word BTW people dont use it enough). a lot of the students in my pre reqs hold B.A.s and B.S.s and are changing careers for very similar reasons. I do wish that I would have had the opportunity to go to nursing school first, but life doesnt always go the way we hope. :)
While I aporeciate your feedback...I wasnt trying to make a point. I was jus simply trying to understand why people dont pursue nursing FIRST. And I get it.....but then again I dont. To each, its own.
Is it really difficult to understand why people go back for ABSN? That would be like saying every human who attends college out of HS always knows what they want to do for work for the rest of their life. I graduated college at 22 with a business degree. I tried it out, served in the military, did some different things. Then became interested in something else (nursing). I have no idea what is hard to understand about that. Take away your own views as always "right" and embrace the fact that humans do different things based on what is best for them.
Is it really difficult to understand why people go back for ABSN? That would be like saying every human who attends college out of HS always knows what they want to do for work for the rest of their life. I graduated college at 22 with a business degree. I tried it out served in the military, did some different things. Then became interested in something else (nursing). I have no idea what is hard to understand about that. Take away your own views as always "right" and embrace the fact that humans do different things based on what is best for them.[/quote']Just makes no sense to rack up more debt......and im done with this subject. I was smart enough to KNOW what I wanted to do wen I finished high school. Smart enough to know that I didnt want to be in debt over and over again. I did what I wanted to do. Hope all works well with everyone else.
Good day.
Indecisive? I have life experiences (veteran US Coast Guard crew chief) and two bachelors degrees. Does this make me less of a person than someone who got their BSN and never did anything else? I don't care what ANYONE else does. I don't feel better than anyone else from the janitorial staff on up to the highest level. We are all human and do the best we can. If you are happy then great! If not then you can decide if you keep doing that or not. It matters zero to me. I do try to not judge people based on what works for me because that is not the same as everyone else. Hey MSO I am glad you view yourself as smarter than everyone else. Maybe if you stop putting down others and open your mind to other experiences you could be more inclusive? Just a thought.
mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN
3,322 Posts
State universities here charge