My Journey To Nursing School:
Stage: Application process
This is my very first posting, and wanted to share what I have experienced as someone who is a returning adult student, going back to college after 20+ years to change her career. Although I love my current job as an LMP, I wanted to have a career that would provide the stability I need, especially as my son grows older.
Though I've made it through my prerequisites, it's not without battlescars. It's true what they say about "weed out" classes like A and P and Microbiology--if you get through it, you are amazed at your ability, but you are scarred from the experience. I guess it's their way of "preparing you for battle" so to speak, because nursing school is no joke.
I thought this quarter would be a lot calmer, given that I have completed my prereqs, but it's anything but between the testing and applications. It wouldn't be all that difficult if all the nursing programs had the same requirements, but each one requires something different, whether it be a few more classes, CNA license, certain volunteer hours, you name it. And in the end, I've decided to apply to four different programs, so 4 different application processes, each with their own hoops to jump through. And that's no joke either. It is so highly competitive to get into a program, even in one particular community college, that unless you're scoring in the 98th percentile, you can forget it. The national score on the entrance exam is a 65! And yet, you have to score in the high 80's to 90's to even be considered. And it's just getting more and more competitive every year--with more and more people applying, you need to be on your "A" game. It is no joke. Part of this I think has to do with where I live, and the fact that we have so many colleges with so many nursing programs, yet only so many spaces to fit everyone into clinical settings, and the fact that many people here also tend to be highly educated.
If you are willing to jump through all the various hoops(making it feel like a three ring circus) maybe, just maybe, someone from an admissions department will think you might be a good fit. But with a 6-10% odds of getting in, you better be willing to jump through those hoops. Which brings me to my next point. How badly do you want to be a nurse? Will you jump through the endless hoops in hopes to get in? Do you have the endurance and the strength to take what seems an inordinate amount of time to go through the application process, hoping with every waking breath, that maybe, you can join the ranks of nurses too?
I realize I'm ranting here, but it's just so frustrating when you're competing with a bunch of twenty somethings that maybe want it, but have many years to change careers. I'm in the stage of life where I've done that already, so getting this opportunity probably means more to me than to many of them. It's now or never for me, and I am taking the chance now.
So now I'm retaking a test that I did reasonably well in, well above the requirement for the admissions to this college, but, only scoring in the 94th percentile. I get one more shot, and the best of the two scores will be considered. So, fingers crossed, because I think that this program is truly the best fit for me.
Kat
