| Waiting lists at nursing schools around the country | | | | education and tend to graduate nurses much more |
| are reaching record lengths. Aspiring nursing students | | | | quickly than traditional nursing schools. |
| are finding that many schools have waiting lists of | | | | These schools also cost a lot more than traditional |
| three or four years length these days, because there | | | | nursing schools, and therefore, they can afford to |
| are so many applicants for each available position. | | | | pay their teachers more. This means that they can |
| State schools and community colleges have especially | | | | usually attract all of the nursing teachers that they |
| long waiting lists because they are the cheapest | | | | need, and therefore they can let in a lot more nursing |
| options. | | | | students. |
| Why such a crush of competition to get into nursing | | | | The wait to get into these schools is often months |
| school? | | | | rather than a year or many years. |
| Nursing is seen as an especially desirable job in | | | | Traditional state colleges and four year colleges can |
| today's unstable economy. While most professions | | | | not afford to pay their teachers very high salaries |
| are seeing layoffs and uncertainty, there is a huge | | | | which means that it is very challenging for them to |
| demand for nurses, and the career pays pretty well - | | | | attract enough teachers. |
| anywhere from $25 to $60 an hour depending on | | | | Is it worth it to these students to pay forty or fifty |
| experience level, area of the country that the nurse | | | | thousand dollars for an Associate's Degree in Nursing? |
| is working in, and where the nurse is working. | | | | It may well be. Most employers will repay a portion |
| So across the country, hundreds of thousands of | | | | of the nursing student's education in exchange for an |
| people who want to change careers or start their | | | | agreement to work for the employer for a certain |
| career are applying to nursing school - only to end up | | | | amount of time. |
| crushed and frustrated to find out that it might be | | | | And the alternative may be a three to four year wait |
| years before they are accepted. | | | | just to START school, which will then take at least |
| However there are other alternatives. | | | | another two years. |
| One of these is to apply to what is known as a | | | | So in order to get started with one's nursing career |
| "career nursing school" or "degree | | | | faster, it's not a bad idea to consider a "degree |
| school". These schools, rather than being liberal | | | | school" as an alternative to the traditional state |
| arts schools, concentrate specifically on a nursing | | | | or community college. |