<p>I am seventeen years old and I made the decision to drop out in the ninth grade...Stupid decision, I know but what's done is done and I can't change it. I know what I did was stupid but there was major health problems going on in my house and I was not going to attend school when I knew for a fact that I was needed at home...Getting off topic but just wanted to get that out of the way. ;) </p>
<p>I still have not enrolled into a class to get my GED yet but I am currently in the process of looking for a place where I can go and prep to take my GED Exam. Once I have obtained my GED, I would like to find out what my options are for colleges. I would like to be a a Registered Nurse (RN) and a few friends have told me that I would have to start out at a Community College (For me that would be CSN or College of Southern Nevada) and then transfer to a better college. Is that how I would go about doing it? I would like to go to school for my R.N at University of Southern California but I am not even sure if I can attend USC with a GED. Any advice that anyone can provide is very much appreciated as I feel like I am practically scrambling to get everything in order. I knew when I left H.S that I was going to be a Nurse and one of the VERY first things on my list should have been to go and get a GED but as said before...What's done is done and I can't change it now. I realize the mistake I made and I am now trying to correct it and better my financial future. </p>
<p>Well everyone who posts here needs advice so great title. You are in luck because it doesn’t matter much where you get your RN. Most people’s choices are dictated by cost. I’d look locally, and you don’t have to transfer to a better school, if you can fine, but an RN is an RN. After you are making money you might get a Master’s like my neighbor who got one at USC and makes good money as team leader of a surgical group. Just get the RN for now.</p>
<p>Look on college websites to see if they take a GED or not. The problem is that colleges like USC have a lot of requirements beyond a hs diploma that make your eligible. Such as Foreign language, lab sciences, etc. USC does take a lot of California Community college transfers, though.</p>
<p>Read the threads pinned at the top of the financial aid forum to get some idea how that works.</p>
<p>First, great decision, pat yourself on the back for deciding to go for your GED. I think a CC is a great way to ease back into the classroom experience, it’s not a huge financial investment compared to 4-year schools and you can really take care of your basic requirements. The first thing you should do is make an appointment to talk to a counselor at your CC about pathways to four year schools. I don’t know about transferring to USC per se, but that is an easy telephone call. For now, get that GED under your belt. Also, don’t get discouraged. You’ve dealt with some things, you’ve made a decision and you have a goal. You are way ahead of a lot of kids in that you have a goal. Now go for it. Good luck.</p>
<p>USC absolutely accepts students with a GED but they must have done very well in a community college or the equivalent. </p>
<p>CSN will be your next stop after you get the GED. Be warned that you will very likely need to be at CSN for at least three years because of remediation issues and finances. During that time you can see what your grades are, where finances dictate you can transfer to, and if you still want to pursue nursing. </p>
<p>OP, you probably have the right path in mind. Get the GED. If you do well, go to a cc and do well there. Then enroll in a 4yr university that offers nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, a BSN.</p>
<p>One concern I have is that the math and science you need to pass the GED may not be of the same academic quality as the math and science you’ll take in cc. Another is that the math and science of nursing are even more intense, as you’ll see in this list of courses required in the BSN program at UCLA:</p>
<p>UCLA’s Math 3a, for instance, is Calculus for Life Science Students. In order to get into this course, you have to have earned a C- or better in a college Precalculus course.</p>
<p>Yours will be a long journey, might seem overwhelming, but you’re only 17. Take it in increments.</p>
<p>My last suggestion is that you look elsewhere for your BSN: USC does not have an undergraduate school of nursing, nothing that offers a BSN.</p>