SO frustrated!

[dab_20]

This is just a rant thread

So, I have been going 15 credit hours every semester, working thirty hours a week, never took the summer off, all so I could apply to the nursing school at the University of Utah in January. They require you finish 6 of the 10 prerequisites before you apply. Then, you have to finish the other four and your generals before you enter the program. ( I would have applied January 2012, kept going through Summer semester, and started nursing school in Fall 2012)

Anyways, when I got the chance to register for classes, my BioOrganic Chemistry class was full. They were only teaching THREE classes in the whole school. Theres 60,000 students at my college! That's ridiculous. Even the waiting lists were full. I talked to counselors, head of the chem department, everyone, and I didn't get in.

SOOO, now I can't apply until January 2013!! That means I won't get into nursing school until Fall 2013, and that's if I'm accepted the first year I apply! (It's incredibly competitive)

I'm just so frustrated. I've worked so hard so I could get this done in a timely manner, and not take 5+ years to get my Bachelor's degree. Now I have to sit and wait to apply, and by that time I will have been out of school for 6 months and will have to start paying my loans back. Making 9 dollars an hour doesn't make that easy.


SIGH. Everyone tells me "well your only 19, I didn't apply till I was 21" or something along those lines. Well I chose to take a lot on so I could finish faster but now it's for nothing. Blah. lol

I just am tired of being a CNA. It's such hard work for such little pay. It's practically impossible to get a job at a hospital, because there's a gazillion other CNAs applying for those positions who have done it for years. I LOVE my residents, and my job is truly rewarding to me, but I just get TIRED of working so hard for so little! I make 8.75 taking care of Alzheimer patients completely unable to care for themselves, and my bf makes 14.80 working at a darn grocery store!! How fair is that?? (Of course I'm happy he makes good money, lol)

Sorry for the rant. LOL

[Karen]

Is there any other school, even an online one, that they would give you credits for taking the course through? With the current shortage of nurses, you'd think there would be more classes open.

And yes, you could make more money right now at a grocery store, but what you are doing will lead to a career where you will not only make more money for the rest of your life, but you will be helping people, and having a positive impact on their lives, and that's not something any retail job can match in any way, shape or form.

Just a bump in the road, and maybe over the next months, while you wait, you will learn things in other ways that will help you in the long run ...

[Alysser]

WOW! I'd be fuming! I'm in the same boat with taking summer classes and all that.

Don't worry, I'm sure there's a solution to this somewhere. Maybe try another Community College nearby, or an online course as Karen suggested? What about taking more credits NEXT semester for said class?

Good luck and let us know how this works out for you!

[Freedom]

Back when I was in college, I got bumped out of a class. I took it as a summer class at another (local, community) college, transferred in the credits and basically picked up in Sept where I wanted to be.

This is what Karen is suggesting too. Take a breath, and see if there is an option like this nearby.

Good luck with all of it, you sound VERY busy!

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Wow, that is really frustrating, I can understand why you are upset! I had a few ideas about ways around it, but I'm not sure if they would work in your situation or not.

Like others said, I'd try to find the class somewhere else and transfer it. Though, since you can't use financial aid at two different institutions at the same time, you would likely need to pay out of pocket.

Another option might be to talk to your advisor / instructor and ask if you can sit in on the class, and in the event someone drops out (which is very likely), see if you can register for the class late.

The last option I thought of was testing out of the class (with a CLEP exam or something similar). Does your nursing program except this kind of credit? If so, maybe you could audit the class (again, attend classes so you learn the material without getting credit) and then take the CLEP exam or whatever it is your school recognizes to get credit in time for your application deadline.

Hopefully you figure out something that works, but if not, then like Karen said, it is a bump in the road. I know it's hard when you are struggling, and not getting the pay you deserve. My brother was a CNA for years (and worked with Alzheimer's patients, too) so I know how hard that is! Good luck!

[dab_20]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I actually did sit in on the class for a couple weeks to see if anyone dropped, not enough people did for me to sign up. (There were other people on the waiting lists that went too, I wasn't even on the waiting list)
Pembroke_corgi, like you said, I would need to pay out of pocket to go to another institution. That's not really an option. I hardly get much financial aid as it is.
The classes online are still several hundred dollars unfortunately and I wouldn't have been able to go through the application process and figure out a way to get aid to pay for it on time before the class started.
Oh, and we can't test out of our prerequisites unfortunately. There's a few generals that we can, but not our nursing prerequisites.

Anyways, I'm looking at the positives now. The U requires volunteer hours for their program, which I don't have because I don't have time. So, while I'm not in school I can volunteer at different places. I'm also going to take the summer off to get a break. I'll go next spring, next fall, and then take off spring and summer before going into the nursing program.

One less thing to worry about I guess, I don't have to worry about the essay and getting letters of recommendations and such.

I've had such a headache with Human Physiology this semester, it's probably good I didn't get into the Chem class. I would be stressing even more than I am!
I still have that class, Medical Microbiology, and Pathophysiology left. I'm scared!! lol

[Karen]

Okay, good to know. Maybe in the meantime, you can get some Chemistry books from the library to read, just so you have some background knowledge going in, and I bet there are some chemistry lectures on YouTube, if that'd help.

I loved Chemistry and Advanced Chemistry in high school, but it was not offered at Mass Art, where I got my degree. They probably figured we were dangerous enough without introducing more chemical knowledge into the mix! (Okay, I probably would have been the only to sign up for the course ...)