<p>I have been a stay at home mom for 18 years. I already have a BBA but want to study nursing. I figured it is time to rediscover my true potential. I will still have a HS 10th grader at home who will be driving within the year and two in college. I have a boat load of pre-requisites to complete before I can even get into a Nursing program. I’m nervous ;)</p>
<p>Are there any other parents out there that have been on “vacation” as long as I have?</p>
<p>That is great!! Congratulations and best of luck. I went back to school after a ten year hiatus, to get my MBA, and was a much better student the second time around, lol.</p>
<p>Congrats!!! I take a class here and there, but have not made the full committment as of yet. Hats off to you!!!</p>
<p>I have been on “vacation” for 19 years (although I have been sub teaching more & more each year for the past several years)! I am interviewing next week for a full time position. It took me more than a year sending out resumes to get this single interview! I have to admit that I’m a bit nervous about all of this. After having the flexibility I have had for so many years, I worry about being committed to a full time job. However, D is finishing up her freshman year in college & S is almost a junior in high school (and might someday drive enough to get his license!). It’s time. </p>
<p>But I am going to miss the old life …</p>
<p>I started back to school last fall at a community college in Horticulture. I don’t have a degree, although I have taken college transfer classes since high school. ( but had to stop when I was pg with D#2)
It was very overwhelming at first, I enrolled for full time, figuring well since they were vocational… But they actually were more rigourous ( more memorizing- which I have a problem with) than previous classes, so now I am attending part time, but even 6 credits is still 7 or 8 hours of class a week, plus study time ( and for me commuting)</p>
<p>I would recommend to start out slow & to hook up with study groups on campus. You may even find that the prerecs- are easier to take at a community college, because classes like O chem and such that are required for a boatload of programs are sometimes weeder classes at a larger university- or even if they are not, they may have a much larger class size than at a CC.</p>
<p>Congratulations I bet your kids are very proud of you!</p>
<p>momof3boyz - I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am for you, or for any adult who has the opportunity to return to college. I was also a stay-at-home mom, who began to take classes slowly toward my M.A. as my kids got older. I was also able to schedule an occasional class in the evenings when I knew H would be home (even when they were older - my school was 48 miles from home… one way, through Chicago). My experience is that most returning adults are quickly labeled curve breakers. We have a vested interest in our studies as it’s something we’ve usually thought long and hard about, and waited for patiently. But it will be hard work.</p>
<p>One thing I liked about returning to school when I did is I felt no sense of urgency to cram it all in, to savor it as it unfolded. A couple of semesters I took a leave of absence when I knew family obligations would be too overwhelming, but it was OK because I knew my motivation was as strong as ever, but I just needed a break. </p>
<p>As for taking time… I took about five years to complete a two-year M.A. program that should take two years if done full-time. I don’t regret for a moment having done it the way I did.</p>
<p>momof3boyz–</p>
<p>My friend’s wife did exactly what you are doing a few short years ago. She had the same time frame (distance from college), undergrad degree, children in HS and career aspirations.</p>
<p>In such a short time she’d completed her prerequisites, done her nursing rotation and now has a ‘dream’ job at one of the top hospitals in the country in a specialty which is perfect for her. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Congrats!!! What a wonderful nurse you will be, with all the care experience you have under your belt!! My mother in law went to nursing school after DH and I were married (after college) --her father had been a surgeon, and she’d always loved medicine. My next door neighbor went to nursing school when her oldest was a freshman in HS–and finished last summer. She loves being a nurse! Finally, one of my dear friends has a daughter in nursing at Georgetown. She had an internship at our local med school two summers ago, and every day my friend would wait “like an addict for the latest installment of a soap opera.” Friend’s daughter, at end of summer, said "Mom, you should really do this, and my friend got her LPN immediately. She’s in her 2nd year and LOVES it!</p>
<p>momof3boyz:</p>
<p>Just make sure you stay away from those frat parties!</p>
<p>Party? Where is it and what time does it start? </p>
<p>I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of the college parties today! I would be able to see how care free and clueless some students are about the dangers that lurk about. Sure the dangers were there when I was in college, but I have a different perspective than our children do. </p>
<p>I also have to pass a drug test when I apply to Nursing school. Oh, those were the days… ; ) </p>
<p>I will start at CC for my pre requisits.</p>
<p>Congratulations! I’m thinking about expanding my career options, too, and I’ve checked out some evening programs. I sat on one class terrified that I would not be able to understand anything, but, to my surprise, I was able to grasp everything even without having done any homework. And I was not even the oldest person among the students! So my systems are “go”. The hardest part is the $^&@ test, LOL. I wish I were taking an MCAT or PCAT instead! I’ve just helped someone with a bit of chemistry for MCAT, and it looked sooo easy! But I have neither prerequsites nor desires to go the medicine route.</p>
<p>Has anyone talked to you about the dangers of binge drinking? If not, PM me.</p>
<p>Congratulations!!! Best of luck to you! Let me know how it goes, ok? Really. The astronomy classes at my CC are trying to seduce me.</p>
<p>Can we help you pick your college??</p>
<p>Post your stats so we can chance you. Don’t forget to let us rip apart your ECs.</p>
<p>I’m willing to bet her EC’s are stellar! Let’s see … hours & hours of cooking, cleaning, taxi service, counselor, nurse, tutor, cheerleader, etc. :)</p>
<p>My 56 year old sister got her BFA in 1974 and started taking the prerequisites for nursing school last fall. Her oldest is a college graduate and the baby will be a college senior this fall. She says it’s hard and time-consuming, but she’s enjoying it. Best wishes to you.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! You all are wonderful and encouraging. I’ll keep you posted as things progress.</p>
<p>I took 14 years “off” from formal education between getting my B.S. in Elementary Education (I did teach) and beginning law school as a full time student. My kids were 9, 11 and 14. I think it was one of the best decisions I ever made. None of my kids want to become lawyers because they have vivid memories of all the nights and weekends they saw me study but I wouldn’t give up those 3 years and my chosen second profession for anything. Good luck in your nursing studies. It is so worth it!</p>
<p>Good luck to you momof3boyz. </p>
<p>zoosermom - LOL.</p>
<p>Factor in that your brain won’t work as quickly as it did when you were younger. I used to be able to memorize all sorts of things without effort when I was in college the first time. Now I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast.</p>