#2 wants to be a nurse. She took much of the prerequisites at the local CC, has her EMT, was a member of a volunteer fire dept when we lived in MD. Its an informed choice.
To get into nursing school is a real problem these days. Waiting for several years with a lottery for admittance seems to be the norm. We took a different path...expensive private school. We looked at the time to required to get in, the costs to house her while she waits, lost income, etc vice a 2.5 year straight run. I decided to write large checks for the next few years. It makes sense from an area under the curve perspective.
Its not a choice everyone can make, but it works for us. She is living with family to minimize costs, and we do not require an outside job (her job is to get good grades).
As a Nursing student the military will give her a scholarship upon request in exchange for 4 years service, which may be an option for others.
Nursing is a special case, but at least in our case, the right answer was to bite the bullet.