Heading back to school.
 

After 5 years of being out of highschool I've decided to do something with my life. The only problem is it's discouraging because I want to do nursing, and my highschool grades were crap. And with langara getting rid of their application process, My only other option is to do volunteer work at hospitals, upgrade my courses and applying at bcit and douglas (and get 30 credits). I'm seeing a langara counciller this thursday, but I also want tips on how to succeed. So far I'm registered for 2 courses while im waitlisted for 6 more (unlikely I'll get in).

It sucks. I'm turning 24 next month and I've just decided to go back to school. I have nothing to show for it either. It's putting so much stress on me that until I go to school I think I'll feel depressed for the rest of the month. I couldn't even get out of bed today.

Hopefully the counciller has some good news for me.

What are some tips to succeed? How to study etc...

First off its never too late to go back to school, and if you want to upgrade your marks go to night school.

Well I need 30 credits regardless, to get shortlisted to bcit nursing.

Well, you need those 30 credits to get in; there is no way out of it.

So in the mean time, you should get your ducks in a row to reduce future stress:

-take care of finances / savings
-take care of your health (eating / sleeping schedules)
-start learning how to manage your time
-start reading books that will help you with your studies

You need to pull yourself out of this depressed state of mind.

There is a time when it is too late to go to school, despite the common cliche. However, 24 is not too late, especially if you want to be a professional. I believe the average age of Nursing students is somewhere around 25 or so.

The best advice I would give is to make sure you put in the time and effort in your studies. The reason I say this is because, in my experience, your grades are always a reflection of the amount of effort you put it. That is not to say that if you put in the effort, you will get good grades. But you will certainly get a better grade with more effort than not. The implications of this is that with good grades, you will simply have more options, and having options is never a bad thing in life. Say in 2 years time you don't want to do nursing anymore, and you want to get into med school, pharmacy, or optometry?
The biggest determining factor on whether or not you will get into these professional schools are your grades. So aim for at least a 3.6gpa.

pre read like a mother fucker. been a keener in class and see if you can answer the intructor's questions without coming off as a complete douche. when you are active in the class you learn more than just jotting notes down.

enrolling in college/bcit is a great start. even if you are shortlisted, the fact that you are in the school already means something. at least it's something productive. but i've heard there's been a change in entrance requirements looking at volunteer time and not just grades.

this is for the more competitive programs. you gotta do more than just get good grades these days.

I have an appoitment with a bcit program advisor, and ill do whatever it takes to get into nursing by 2012
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me too! 7 years for myself=p

Being 24 and "having nothing to show for it" isn't a big deal at all. Based on your posts, it sounds like you've enjoyed your 20s and really, that's what being young is about. The grass is always greener and it could have been a heck of a lot worse - you could have gone to school and studied your ass off for a mediocre job in lieu of life experience and personal development (which a lot of young people seem to lack these days.)

If you're going into Nursing because you genuinely want to help people, then all the power to you. However, you should be prepared to work hard for the next several years. Then, once you finish your program, you will be rewarded with long and stressful hours and indifferent doctors. I suppose the overtime will be worth it though.

My biggest fear is after getting these 30 credits, and doing all this volunteer hours I won't get in! Discerning
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Words of encouragement:

It's never too late to go back to school. Don't ever let anyone look down on you for not finishing post education at a certain age. School, like life, is filled with disappoint and failure, but without those, there can be no success.

Tips for success: Perseverance and sacrifice. Going out while the weather is nice out or hitting the books hard is a decision a lot of students have to make.

Lastly, lay off the Street Fighter 4 :rofl:

Good luck

Kwantlen also has a nursing program. you might want to look into that.

Best of luck.

Then make sure those 30 credits are absolutely stellar. Like someone above said, make preparations now so that later on you can fully focus on school and volunteering (volunteering you can do now).

You have the advantage of having been in the "real world" and knowing that this is what you want to do. This is the what you've got to do to make it happen, so... go do it. Focus on your courses and don't half-ass them and you'll be fine. :) Be a keener--go to tutorials and office hours and get help whenever you have questions. Other students might hate you for it (your professor/instructor might too), but you do what you have to do.

Ok, so I checked my expenses. I'll have a bit of money coming in from a settlement, but I'll be purchasing a beater to get rid of my expensive tl.

I'll be making 2k+ a month working part time (3 shifts a week) So this is definetly doable.

By december 2011, I hope to have the 30 credits and apply for bcit nursing, and all the other nursing programs.

im in a similar situation to you.. i dropped out of 2 schools (douglas and sfu) and went to work for a little bit.. after about a year i landed a job as a pharmacy assistant and now im going back to school to get into pharmacy..

my tips for you..

you can either

A)Take it slow
B)Rush it and do bad and ruin all chances

i mean lets be serious here.. i know people are saying OO.. ill do well and everything when i start trying.. but from my past experience.. unless you have always been a super smart genius the B) path may not work.. the added stress of trying to be perfect.. the competition.. and just the course load you're putting on yourself is like doing this

(thanks Berz for video)


it wont do anything at first but the combination of everything will eventually blow up, stick you and and hurt you in the end..

so my suggestion to you is to spread it into 2 years.. cuz right now your choices are get in.. or not get in.. the latter choice could be because of poor marks that cannot be undone because you rushed it..

now also keep in mind you're not the only one applying.. i bet there are hundreds of 24 year olds in vancouver thinking the same thing as you.. but then they overloaded themselves because they havent been in school for such a long time..

CONCLUSION ( seeing as you made a decision to change your life you arent a dumb person) but absolutely sure you can handle this please dont rush into this.

me personally have taken both paths.. the fast path usually starts with A's then turns to B's then the stress of failing even harder usually turns you to just give up.

in path B i now.. i have a 3.7GPA in all the sciences required for ubc pharmacy and an 86% pcat

so everything is possible.. make the right decisions and DONT GIVE UP!

things you need to change..
-Sleeping patterns
-study patterns
-listening patterns
-dont spend AS much time partying

studying is actually really easy.. people just do bad cuz they cram in ALL in the last 3 weeks of class..

if you actually keep up with the lessons and just keep re reading everything until you get it and keep that way you do MUCH better in terms of grades and everything

and out of the colleges.. the one that has no student life and is in the middle of no where is capilano university :P (which is like 20 minutes bus from bcit)

I know quite a few of people like you 24,25,26 etc going through this phase many whom graduated too and figured what they've chosen wasn't right for them...so now they wasted 40gs for a degree at SFU or UBC for nothing and going back to do something they love. So ,what I'm saying is it's not late especially for a 24yr old....better that you thought it through then waste 40gs on useless paper.

^it's easier for them to get into programs, as opposed to someone who doesn't have any school under their belt.

but 4 years and 40g wasted!!

It's really never too late to go to school, besides there's a lot of ppl on the same boat. If you succeed in nursing, you'll be making good money in no time. In the short-run, you might think things don't look too well or how tough it is. However, if you think long-term end result, it'll be pretty sweet when you are doing something you enjoy and making good money.

so tomorrow, I'm picking up a book and going to start reading. I'm going to prepare myself to study. I'm going to take an lpi test also so I can get into first year english.

Fuck I want this more than anything. I'm finally motivated for something in my life
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YOU CAN DO IT!!!! :thumbsup:

I think for the OP, you just have to play to what 20s have over teens.. eg maturity, management skills (especially time) and organisational skills.

Time management is most important skill one has to learn. If you haven't had a time management / note taking course done before.. then now is a good time to enroll in one and learn the basics before class starts.

When you are in your 20s you are also more sure of yourself. So your leadership qualities should be more apparent. Help out, especially in your field related work. Get to know the profs early. They are extremely helpful if you want work experience or well paid part time CUPE work. I stress early because they know how much money they have to hire students around February.

Remember most of the learning these days are collaborative.. To excell, you definitely have to have the ability to read people and be able to find a study group. Virtually in all fields, it is not about memorizing all of the information or homework they give you (that's the dumb way), but you have to have a system to pick and choose the portions of the course or the credits that will get you to the next level.

In the previous thread, you mentioned you don't live at home. So move as close to school as possible, even if it means silver fish infested on campus housing. You save so much time not having to commute (so you can volunteer etc). Remember, the whole point while in school is to learn and get your grades. Time is money.

One of my friends is a senior counsel to one of the largest BC Corp. She didn't go to university until 40ish and didn't get her LLB until close to her 50s. Yes it was hard, but it is doable.

never too late man. im 25. planning to head back when im 27 for business

i'm not sure if this helps, but i find taking all or as many electives as i can at once helped a lot. it can prepare you and let you get a sense of what's ahead, and mostly it can let you focus on the more important and interesting things later on. i'm not sure what kind of electives you need for nursing but you can always fit a couple in when jan. comes.

i don't know if you're very good at english, but it's one of those subjects that can really discourage people. the professors are extremely subjective. with the same level of writing i had marks +/- 20%.

another thing i find is that i hate online courses. you end up asking a lot less questions than in a classroom setting, and it's always easier to hear it the first time round before you read the txtbook.

good luck!