Friday, June 4, 2010

ADN, BSN, cost of living - OH MY!!

I went to the OCNE/PCC nursing major meeting this evening.
I'm exhausted. I'm not discouraged but I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed and realizing what a poor decision is was of me to quit college when I was 19.

The ADN (Associates Degree Nurse) program at PCC is a very difficult program to get into. For the 2010 program, 1,005 applied, the top 160 were asked to the interview, they accepted the top 100 and had 25 alternates out of the 160. All 160 chosen had a GPA of 3.9 or better, had completed all required prerequisites by the time they submitted their application, majority also had bulk of the prerequisites for the BSN (Math 243 = stats, plus 2 foreign language credits) and previous degrees and/or certifications with hospital hours.

The ADN program only cost $11,000 - that's for both years!!??!! I was so happily pleased with this. BUT - there is no part-time students allowed and classes and clinics are Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm. OHSU will then allow graduating ADNs from PCC to take the accelerated BSN for $24,000, but you get your BSN in 1 year, or could go part-time, get it in two years for an additional $4,000-$5,000.

I knew I would be taking out a hefty loan for nursing school, I just wasn't prepared to hear the GPAs that were accepted. My GPA sucks right now (compared to 3.9) so I'm considering spreading out my associates an additional year (regretful sigh). Instead of getting it in 3 years, it may be wiser of me to get it in 4 years while getting my CNA I and CNA II, earning those crucial hospital hours and certifications to beef up my application. All the while going to PCC as a part-time student will allow me to put a lot more focus into my GPA. Truly becoming an A student, not just a B (sometimes C).

For me to accept that I'll be over 30 when I graduate - even the idea gets me teary-eyed. I have some time to let this marinate to weigh my options. It only costs $40 to apply for the nursing program and you can apply as many times as you'd like. So, it wouldn't hurt to stay on course, submit my application in January and see what happens. Who knows, I could really kick some serious ass this term and summer term and get my GPA above 3.5!!

Ok, off to dinner at Audrey's.

1 comment:

Jessica said...

I took out $65k to cover my time at OHSU and that barely covered by living expenses and the all important food.

Not going to lie, it's a tough, tough road and you're going to be up some extremely stiff competition.