Hi Bianca

I'm so glad you've joined the City of College Dreams community! The more active you are, the more you'll get out of this networking website.

Where to begin.... That's a Great Question. As a mom and a member of the COCD team, I'd offer the following suggestions.

First off, I'm a STRONG believer in 'learning by doing'; for example, my college-aged daughter has decided to switch her major from education to biology. She thinks she wants to work in veterinary medicine but doesn't really know much about that field. So, she called our family's vet and has an unpaid internship there this summer. She's learning so much about the field, as well as the education required to work in veterinary medicine, plus all the various types of jobs within that field. It's an invaluable experience.

So, start by learning more about being a registered nurse and, look into other careers within healthcare as well.

1. Does your school have a college and/or career advising office? If so, visit them and see what resources they have to offer.

2. Does your school require or recommend that you do an 'informational interview', a job shadow, or an internship? If they do, there should be information (probably in the college & career center) about what local companies would be willing to offer you an opportunity to learn more about their field (i.e. healthcare). Even if your school doesn't require a 'school-to-work' or 'school-to-career' experience, your college & career center should be a good place to get started on finding a local healthcare agency that may be willing to host you.

3. You can also start the way my daughter did; call your personal doctor and see if she/he can either host you as a job shadow or if she/he can recommend somewhere else you could try. In healthcare, it's difficult for high school students to get internships because those are usually reserved for college students. But don't give up; ask everyone you can think of.

4. Consider volunteering at the local hospital or senior citizen living facility (such as a nursing home). There you'll get a first-hand look at healthcare as a profession as well as earn valuable community service credit for school (if your school offers such) and, even more important, an experience that will strengthen both your college applications but also scholarship applications. Colleges and scholarship providers LOVE to see community service, especially when it's related to your career goals.

The more you know about the job of registered nurse (which is much more than you may know from a patient's perspective) and the more you know about the education required to pursue your nursing degree, the better off you'll be in applying to college and, possibly, for scholarships.

Visit the websites of colleges in your state, or anywhere you hope to apply, to find out who offers nursing programs. They could be 4-year colleges or even 2-year community or junior colleges that prepare students to continue their education at a 4-year university.

Contact those college nursing programs and see if you could talk to a professor and/or students who have graduated from their programs. Be sure you have a list of questions to ask; such as about the job, about the work environment, about the education required (beginning in high school), and about the jobs outlook - that is the number of jobs likely to be available when you graduate with your much deserved degree!

Also, check back on this website as it continues to grow. You'll soon find expanded linkages to scholarship search engines and other resources that can help you in your journey.

Finally, I sure hope you'll be able to attend Ben Kaplan's City of College Dreams in Chicago, Philadelphia, Ft. Worth, or Portland. Since I don't know where you live, I'm not sure this is an option for you. If it is an option for you, watch this website for registration information to become available. It's free to you and your parents, but you do need to pre-register.

Also, Ben will be offering live webinars in late September and October. Again, more information will become available on this website soon.

Bianca, you're doing the right thing by doing your research now. Be sure to take as much math and science as you can your last years of high school - those are critical for your entry into the healthcare profession.

Keep us posted on how you're doing,
Karylinn