40 year old starting NS and taking the ACT

Jules A, MSN · Nov 23, 2008

Hi and welcome!

I started NS when I was almost 40 also. :) Definitely get a study guide, do a google search if your school doesn't offer information. The thing with these type tests imo is either you know it or you don't. I was fortunate to have always tested well so it wasn't a problem for me to score high on these type standardized tests. Don't be too worried I'm betting you remember more than you think!

Let us know how you make out and good luck.

powers2004 · Nov 23, 2008

Thanks so much, I am not good at math so that will be my problem, maybe I will get lucky!!!

nebrgirl · Nov 23, 2008

Congrats, I am in school at 50. I didn't have to take the ACT to get in (they took my old one) but I did have to do a Compass test which I'm sure is much easier, but I would agree that studing the math is the "hard part" I did use my English and logic skill through out life, but Math was use it or lose it, and I lost it. Ended up haveing to take a college algebra class to get back up to speed.

MagsMom · Nov 23, 2008

Buy a kaplan or princeton ACT review book. Do lots of practice exams - it is more about learning "how" they are going to ask questions - you will do great! Good luck!

powers2004 · Nov 23, 2008

Thanks Ya'll , Has anyone taking a few classes on line? I will by the ACT book, I have already signed up to take the test Dec.13 ,I can always retake it until I get into NS

MagsMom · Nov 24, 2008

Are you talking about taking classes online or an ACT prep online? I have taken several classes online and I have to tell you that they require alot of motivation. I have only forgotten one assignment totally, but some of the other assignments have gotten submitted online just minutes before they were due. I also find going to class much more helpful because I am an auditory learner - the more I hear something the more it sticks -

If you were interested in online ACT prep the only thing I would recommend would be the Kaplan question bank. If you are signed up for the ACT on the 13th you need to go to the bookstore NOW and make sure you focus on the math section, read through the vocab and do the test over and over again. Just focus for the next 2 weeks and you should do great.

MagsMom · Nov 24, 2008

Also, about online classes. At my university there is option to take a nutrition class on line or in person. The online class is about 3 times more work than the lecture based class.

RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN · Nov 24, 2008

I started school at 42, I'm 47 now and I'm an RN. I think it's easier at our age. We have more self discipline than some of the younger ones, not all, but some.

Have you already taken your science courses? I would suggest that you take one per semester.

powers2004 · Nov 24, 2008

I have not taken a science course yet but plan to next year ,one at a time. I was looking at the act test online ,it looks really hard!! I don't know if I can make it past that!!! I am proud of u I know it wasn't easy

Flightline, BSN, RN · Nov 24, 2008

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so damn cynical these days, but if you can't get a 19 on the ACT, then you really aren't meant to be an RN. Nursing school is very hard. Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 are very hard classes. Pharmacology is hard. I use the formula (which I do manually) almost every day to calculate mcg/kg/min into ml/hour. The math is doable but when was the last time you did algebra while a patient was going bad, when overdosing someone could result from a math error? And it's all on you! Nursing is a profession. RNs are officers in the military.

I'm not trying to disuade you personally; I'm trying to make a point generally. Just because everyone and their brother is now going to nursing school doesn't mean everyone and their brother is going to make it as an RN. And it has nothing to do with being 40. My mother was 50 when she started, she's 74 now and still works as an RN. But my mother was a very smart person.

It sounds to me by the classes you are mentioning, that you haven't been in college before. Thus, I assume you are a high school grad who waited now until 40 to go to college. And from that foundation, you feel you can be a registered nurse. Well, why not? Everyone and their brother is now rushing off to nursing school, cuz the factories and the auto malls, they are a-closin. So, why not you?

Look, I don't know: maybe you'd be a great RN. Maybe you're a very intelligent person and have kept up your academic studies informally in the 22 years since high school. Maybe so. But if that's not the case, then I really am not going to encourage you to be an RN.

I just don't think everyone should be an RN.

RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN · Nov 24, 2008

Look, I don't know: maybe you'd be a great RN. Maybe you're a very intelligent person and have kept up your academic studies informally in the 22 years since high school. Maybe so. But if that's not the case, then I really am not going to encourage you to be an RN.
I just don't think everyone should be an RN.

I had to raise children and didn't really have the option to go to school. I didn't keep up my academic studies "informally" in 22 yrs, I made it through nursing school with a 3.8 gpa and became a great RN, in my opinion. Although, I still have a lot of work to do and a lot of things to learn.

I disagree with this statement you made to the OP. Usually when someone chooses to go to nursing school at age 40, as I did, it's usually to pursue their dream of becoming a nurse.

The OP can do anything she sets her mind to do and doesn't need your encouragement, nor mine. However, I'm not going to discourage her just because she haven't been formally academically trained.

She does however need to study very hard for that test. Don't just blindly go in and test on something you haven't studied for. My sister applied to LVN school years ago but didn't pass the entrance exam because she didn't study a lick.

Good luck