End of 3rd quarter- Fall '11

I will go into detail more later but here is how I did this quarter:

Pre algebra- C- (SO disappointed, I need at least a 'C' to move on)
Interpersonal Communication- B
Sociology- C or B?? not sure, grades will be finalized this week so stay tuned....

Aspiring to be a nursing student

Quick post about something funny I've noticed. When people ask me what I am going to school for, I say that I am doing the prerequisites for nursing and they excitedly start to ask me medical related questions about diseases or disorders. I am very flattered that they think I have some sort of medical knowledge but I am SO EARLY on in my journey that the extent of my medical knowledge is from WebMD and google. I can't diagnose, treat, or even advise. The only "medical" class I have taken so far is medical terminology so if you need the definition of a word, I'm your girl!

A post about school instead of financial aid!

As I was reading my posts on this blog I realized that most of them were rants about financial aid and not about my actual school experience. School would not be possible with out aid and it will always be a pain in my ass but I would like to post about my first year of school....

I am nearing the end of my THIRD quarter.... where did the time go??

My first day: I remember my first day very clearly. I take 1 or 2 classes online each quarter but my first actual on- campus class was medical terminology during Spring 2011 quarter. I parked my car and pulled out my backpack from my trunk containing: textbook still in shrink wrap, a binder, notebook, new pens, and a bottle of water. Arriving nearly an hour early, I made my way through the parking lot and saw a group of students leaving the medical studies building. They carried heavy textbooks and full backpacks. I took a deep breath and took a mental picture of everything around me. The crisp Spring air, the pretty flowers beginning to bloom, the very full parking lot (even at 6pm!). Feeling very excited to be a college student, I walked past the group with the heavy textbooks in hand. They were smiling and talking amongst themselves and wearing navy-blue scrubs. Almost instantly I realized that I was looking at nursing students and suddenly felt like a freshman on the first day of high school. My school plans were all put into perspective at that moment and I made a commitment to myself to be one of 'them' in the navy blue scrubs.

Nursing advising: In order to obtain a nursing advisor I was required to attend an information session about the Nursing program. On April 25, 2011 I sat for 3 hours listening excitedly to the process of applying for my school's nursing program. I took notes and left with some very good information. I called a few times to schedule an appointment with an advisor but since the quarter was nearing an end, I was told to try again in the Fall. One thing they told us during the information session was to create a timeline. I am always planning ahead and was more than willing to put my plans down on paper. I found a website to create a timeline of my classes and personal commitments. I have yet to obtain an advisor so I took it upon myself to advise myself in the meantime. I am still early on in my journey and will eventually need an advisor as I move along but I am confident in my research and my plan.

Summer vaca

Only 10 days of summer left before fall quarter begins. The break between summer and fall is the longest of all the breaks at 5 weeks. The remaining quarter-breaks only have about 2 weeks. Main reason for this post is that I still have NOT received summer aid. Summer quarter is long over but it has yet to be paid for which also means the bills are stacking up at home. My school has had record numbers for the upcoming year and are very behind in processing applications. For the record, my data sheet for financial aid was turned in April 13th, today is September 9th. 5 whole months?!?! I am anxiously awaiting but am a week or more away from receiving a check. Positive thoughts and fingers crossed it will be sooner than later!

Fall quarter classes:  Math080 (pre algebra), Sociology, and interpersonal communications.

Final grades for summer 2011 quarter

Diversity in Law/Ethics for medical occupations: B+

General Psychology: B

Summer quarter GPA: 3.15

Cumulative: 3.5

My first B

Finished up summer quarter with a B in Psychology and B+ in Diversity in law/ethics. I know I should be happy with B's (this is coming from a student that was happy with C's and D's in high school) but I worked hard and really hoped for at least A-'s. Both of these classes were taken online and I would like to say that just because they are online, does not mean they are easier! Neither of these classes are actual pre req's for nursing and those classes I am determined to get all A's in (I hope!). It's very competitive to get into nursing school and grades in the science courses are the first thing they look at. I am glad for the quarter to be over and I am looking forward to the next 5 weeks off! Oh, and BTW, I STILL have not received my financial aid. My school is WAY behind so even though I turned in all my paperwork back in April, I won't have my money until end of August. Very annoying that my aid will come AFTER the quarter is long over with.

3 days into Summer quarter '11

I had registered for Eng 101, Diversity in Law and Ethics for Health Care Occupations, and Psych 100. I ended up dropping English the first day (it was my only on-campus course this quarter) because it sounded pretty intense, as is psych. Both the diversity course and psych are online. Diversity is going well so far but psych is not off to the best start. It is a lot harder than I anticipated. I think its one of those classes that I would do better at on campus rather than online. You live and learn, I guess! I scored a whopping 65% on my first quiz :( I knew this was bound to happen sometime but after a nearly perfect first quarter, I went into summer a little too cocky. I am up for the challenge though. My goal is a B in this class but I would be happy with a C. Wish me luck! I will update around midterms!

End of first quarter in college

I am very pleased with my progress and I would like to summarize how my very first quarter went. I'll begin with FAFSA; I FINALLY received my first student loan disbursement, oh, right around... MIDTERMS! From the requested date to the actual received date, was about two months. My tuition was paid so late that I almost wasn't able to register on time for upcoming summer and fall quarters.

Summer courses: Psychology 100, English 101, and Diversity in Law and Ethics for Health Care Occupations. Summer is a shorter quarter so I may drop the diversity course.

Fall courses: Math 80 pre algebra (eeek!), Sociology, and Interpersonal Communications

I am planning on retaking the COMPASS test for math in hopes that I will place into a higher math class. I placed into pre algebra the first time which is adding almost a year of prereq's to my year of prereq's! I am also in the process of making a timeline for the new few years that I will post soon....

P.S.
Final grades for my first quarter (Spring '11): Study Skills for College Success: A-; Medical Terminology: A          GPA: 3.85    cumulative GPA: 3.9

Midterms... first ever!

Can you believe I am half way through my very first quarter? I sure can't! My studying paid off earning me a 96% on my medical terminology exam, and a 90% on my study skills exam. Of course, I hoped for 100% but I am very pleased. Not too shabby! On the other hand, I am STILL waiting on financial aid. As of today, my loan has been "certified" but has not been disbursed yet. Enrollment services has put a hold on my account until my tuition is paid. This means that I cannot register for the next quarter until it is paid. Wow, its already time to register for the next quarter and I am STILL waiting to pay for the first quarter. UGH.... My registration appointment is Friday May, 13th 2011 so hopefully my loan will come through by then!! Classes fill up very FAST and registering late can mean that I won't get into the classes I want. Crossing fingers!!

Financial Aid...

Has NOT been a pleasant experience, to say the least! Since before Spring quarter began, I had contacted financial aid multiple times just to check my student loan status. After almost a MONTH, I was informed that "my loan has not been certified".... WTF does that mean?!?! I called immediately and got right through (hmmm.... weird) and was told that my name didn't match my SSN (due to my official name change 6 months ago!) and that I needed to show my SS card (which I did over a month ago.... TWICE) sounding confused, she tells me this like I am the only person that has gotten married and had a name change. Now I must wait to hear from the reviewer (hopefully tomorrow) before my loan can be processed. My tuition is temporarily on "hold," pending my loan disbursement, but I fronted the $$$ for my books and supplies. I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting my reimbursement AND praying that I am not dropped from my classes. Unfortunately, I am one of many thousands dealing with financial aid, so for my future reference, I will make sure to NEVER change my name ever again!....... BTW, I am doing PHENOMENAL so far in both of my classes. I am working hard and thoroughly enjoying this new experience. Both classes are challenging but I am learning something new everyday. I am off to a GREAT start and I intend to keep up the momentum!

The first day of the rest of my life- week two

Both of my classes; Medical Terminology and Study Skills for College Success, consume most of my time during these first weeks of school. Yep, that's right; I have officially been a college student for over a week now. My hard work has begun to emerge, as I am off to a great start; I currently have an A and an A-, respectively. This is an AMAZING start to my college-success! I could not have picked better classes to begin with. Mark my words, these classes are the foundation for my college success!

15, 5, 4

These numbers reflect my current wait list status for; interpersonal communications, pre algebra and sociology, respectively. I'm really hoping to get into math this quarter, it needs to be completed before I can take the science prerequisites for nursing. I hate math and I want to get it out of the way. I'm glad I was put into pre algebra because it will give me a good chance to review, and to succeed. I didn't want to delay anything with my financial aid so I registered for health, human development, and a diversity class as my backups. Spring quarter starts in 4 days but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I will be moved into my first choices!

Preparing for the first quarter...

To attend college for the first time you have to apply to the school. Once accepted, (I will be going to the local community college so being accepted just meant having a HS diploma) I took the placement test. Its been nearly 10 years since high school so I wasn't a bit surprised that I tested into pre algebra (I hate math). I'm somewhat proud that I tested into ENGL& 101 (college level reading and writing). This helps allot because so many classes have prereq's for this level of english. Math aside, it felt nice to be "college ready" even after 10 years. I have stayed in constant contact with the financial aid office. The only hiccup I've had so far with fin. aid was some extra paper work because I changed my last name right before applying to school. I had to go into the local social security office and apply for a new card with my new last name. Then it took a couple weeks to update in my FAFSA. Next step: registering for classes! I havn't had a chance to meet with an advisor but I have a pretty good idea of where to begin since I had the placement exam to give me a starting-out point. Registration begins early for current students and by the time open registration began, all the classes I wanted were full. I added my self to the waitlists and have slowly moved up. Chances are, I will get into the classes I want. It's slightly more difficult to choose classes this quarter because I want evening and online classes. Since I'm not sure yet where I stand with my financial aid, I need classes around my hubby's work schedule so that I don't have to find (and pay for) daycare. Daycare is something that my financial aid can cover but since I haven't been officially awarded yet, I didn't want to commit to that cost. Full time at my school is 12 credits or more. If I move off the waitlists and into the actual classes I will be taking 3 classes for a total of 15 credits. School starts in 8 days and I'm so excited! Now I just need to keep my fingers crossed that I do actually get into my classes!!

FAFSA

This acronym plays a huge part in paying for college. You must fill out this application if you want any type of financial aid (grants, loans, scholarships, etc.). It calculates household size, income, being unemployed, etc and through some magical computations it decides your "need" for aid to go to college. I will be starting school Spring quarter, 2011. But my FAFSA is based on my last filed tax return which was for tax year 2009. In 2009 I had a job! FAFSA won't take into account the 2010 tax year until this fall and even then will show I made a good amount of money. I lost my job in November of 2010 so the fact that my household income has been cut in half wont be taken into account until 2012! So at the time, I do not qualify for any grants (even though there are grants for unemployed workers, etc). So for my first year or so of school, I will have to rely on student loans. Loans meaning I will have to pay them back. There are certain limits that apply but basically my student loans will cover tuition and books with a tiny amount left over for living expenses. The whole financial aid process is so complicated but I am grateful it exists because there is no way I could pay for school while I'm in school.

Going "back" to school.

I loosely use the phrase "I'm going back to school". Mainly because my last school experience was high school and I'm not going "back" there. I've never been to college but I still refer to it as if its something I've done before.
Anyway, here is the story of how I got here today:
After 8 long agonizing years in retail, I lost my job for not meeting the sales quota 3 times over a 12 month period. Did they take into account 7 years before that? No! Did they consider the economy? No! This debate is a whole other story worthy of its own blog but I won't go into that. The goal now is to move on. Unfortunately the work experience I gained over 8 years was enough to qualify me into any other minimum wage retail job. (the retail work I did was unique and paid much more than minimum wage.) So a career change was imminent. Not that it was much of a career anyway. I took many things into consideration while I was planning what to do for the rest of my life. If going back to school and racking up student loans was in the plan, I knew I had to pick a career that would pay off (and not take 10 plus years to get there). I also know that I should do something that I really enjoy and just as important, something that would always be "in demand". I thought back to when I was younger and when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said: a nurse. And so it begins!!