<p>It's been four year since I graduated HS and been going to Community college on and off in between those times. A lot has happened as far as loosing both my parents and family problems. My motivation and drive have gone out the door. Recently, after seeing everyone graduate college, I need to make a change. I've been considering going into nursing for many reasons but need pre-reqs and apply. Now, my question is how can I attend school and live on my own? Can I take out loans? Is their other government aide that will help me other than fafsa?</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the loss of your parents. You’re considered an independent student. If you have no or little income, then your EFC may be 0. If so, then you’d get about a $5600 Pell Grant and about $11k in loans. </p>
<p>What state are you in? Maybe you’ll qualify for state aid.</p>
<p>I think, in your situation, I would be sure to look at hospital nursing programs. They may be cheaper and make you employable quicker than starting with your Bachelors (and less competitive than with your AA which, where I live, is very competitive). I would look up hospital nursing programs and ask a lot of questions about post-graduation employment prospects. They may require completion of entry-level classes, some of which you may have already taken.</p>
<p>I’m located in Connecticut, and I’m looking to get my bachelors as I’ve heard It’s a wiser decision nowadays. I’ve already taken 5k out for loans…stupid on my part but I will have to do more research on schools. Right now I’m going to Gateway CC</p>
<p>I can’t offer you any advice on nursing or financial aid, but I can tell you about losing a parent.
When I was a freshman in college my father died. My mother couldn’t work, so like you, I was on my own to finance my education.
It is possible to do it and succeed - I sure did.
You have the desire to successful so I am confident that you will be able to see it through. It won’t be easy, but just keep going. It is really tough to try and get through college without guidance from your parents, but obviously they left you with a good foundation that you can build on. You will do it, just like I did. It will take lots of work and sometimes it won’t be easy, but don’t give up. :)</p>
<p>Our hospital nursing school will hire their own graduates and then pay for them to go to complete their BSNs. Don’t dismiss those programs so readily.</p>
<p>Some of the community colleges in Connecticut offer nursing degrees. You might want to check with those. You could get your nursing degree and license and work on a bachelors in nursing later on.</p>
<p>There are three routes to an RN: an Associates degree (often at a community college), a diploma program through a hospital and a Bachelor’s in nursing. The sticker price for cc and a hospital program is generally cheaper. My thought was that the most important thing would be to get into the workforce as an RN, earning a decent salary, and then you could do the BSN later. There are a number of colleges that have RN to BSN programs, some even online. (Anyone who is already an RN will have completed the clinical portion so earning a BSN when you are an RN is generally more flexible than completing a BSN all at once.) </p>
<p>You should also be sure to check your community college to see if there’s a program and how competitive it is. Our community college happens to be very competitive. (At my local cc, students generally apply after taking a number of required courses and they are ranked by gpa. The last time I checked, they need pretty close to a 4.0 to get into the program at my local cc-- but it may be totally different where you.) </p>
<p>Traditionally, hospitals hire the best graduates from their own nursing programs-- so it’s possible to do the program and have a job in hand, something that is very valuable. That said, many students seek jobs wherever they completed their clinical training.
Here is a link to accredited programs: </p>
<p>Be sure to inquire about admissions (including pre-requisites), costs, financial aid, the number of grads who’ve passed the RN exam and how many of their students in the past 3 years have had RN jobs at graduation.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid to apply to different kinds of programs to maximize your admissions and financial aid opportunities.</p>