[quiksilverbt]

Has anyone gone through an accelerated bachelors program for nursing, any opinions or advice?

[HM2Viking]

I just finished. It was a 16 month program through MN State university Mankato. It is an excellent way to go. Be prepared to put the rest of your life on hold for that time. It was my perception that instructors liked the accelerated students as they tend to raise the bar of discussion and performance. PM if you have any questions.

[RN prn]

I am currently in an accelerated BSN program. First, I must say that it is a LOT of work and a lot of hours that you put toward school and clinicals. You have to be dedicated and organized. Time management skills are a must. However, take this with a grain of salt. This might be the first time in my life that I have ever worked this hard, but so far it has been very rewarding and I'm really enjoying it. Plus, I don't mind that my graduation is approaching so quickly. If you are a motivated student, this is a great program to do because it is usually around 12 - 16 months. You can get yourself into the field in such a short time frame. There are many different individuals in my program, some straight out of college, some that are moms/dads with young children and some with older children that are going to college themselves. Good luck and I hope this helps you. If you need more information, just reply and I'll try to answer any further questions for you.

[Britt03445]

I, too, am in an ABSN program. My program is 15 months long. Like 'hm2viking' said be prepared to put your life on hold because you must dedicate all of your time to Nursing. If you are genuinely interested in this field and practice good time management skills you should be fine. However, if you are a procrastinator (like I used to be) you may have a hard time adjusting to the changes. Everything moves SO FAST! My school is on semesters but we change classes every 8 weeks (so like 2 sets of classes in one semester). It's not too bad considering the university where I earned my first degree is on quarters (10 weeks). Sometimes I feel like since I am getting this info so fast, I question if I'm actually learning these things or memorizing them for tests YIKES! That's not good, I know. Surprisingly at my school the ABSN NCELX passing rate is really high and just slightly higher than the traditional BSN program. They say it's because the info is a little more fresh in our mind....I don't know.

I just finished my first semester and I will say that we started with 30 people and now we have...24! A few people had to go into the traditional BSN program. Our grading scale is: A 100-92, B 91-85, C 84-78! It's rather difficult but I can kind of understand why they set the bar so high, considering our program is only 15 months. The only bad thing is that my GPA will more than likely be shot! I wanted to pursue an MSN, but once they see my grades they may think twice about accepting me because I'll have one too many C's (which were actually 84%'s) and you know a C is a 2.0 GPA wise!!!

That's just my 2 cents about ABSN programs. Overall I like it! I just have to stay on my toes because I know the second i get a 77% in anything (regardless of how many A's I have in other classes) I will be booted into the traditional program! Good Luck and you'll probably do fine...I'm used to doing enough to get by (bad, i know)...not anymore!!! In my free time all I do is STUDY, and I actually enjoy it!

Btw, you can kiss working goodbye! Almost everyone in my prgram is living off of loans! We are all hoping to luck up on a really nice loan forgiveness program post- grad.

[MB37]

I'm in a 15 month program as well, half way through. My program only accelerates in the second half though (except a couple non-core classes that we have to take early where regular students can choose). I worked all summer, and quit my job in the fall. I was actually bored most of last semester going at the pace of the regular program without a job - it's the first time in my life I haven't worked, including throughout the other 6 years I've spent in college. This semester I have 4 didactic courses, plus lab, clinical, and a one credit elective. We have to read 2-300 pages/week, which isn't so bad, we're in class 8-3 Monday and 8-6ish Thursday, plus 20 hours of clinical divided between T/W. I have to write 1 paper and give three presentations, but at least they're all individual. We have to turn in 5-6 "official" care plans, but we'll probably actually write one each week - the first few will be "practice," but we still have to do them to pass - that's how last semester was at least. I used winter break to start reading, so I've almost finished everything for January. I should this weekend. Then I can start at least finding articles for my paper, so I can at least start doing a little research when I have time.

Sorry, I know this is getting a little long - basically, every program is set up differently, so find out as much as you can about yours in advance. If you must work anywhere near full time, you may want to consider a traditional program - especially if you might be considering grad school. If possible, quit your job and live off of loans/parents/significant other. If you used to be a procrastinator, learn how to quit now. If you have the time and the dedication, go for it! As I said my program didn't really accelerate until last week, but I got all As my first 2 semesters. If I get a B here and there, I built up my GPA enough when it was easier that it shouldn't really suffer. If you have kids, you'd better have reliable child care that will allow you to leave for clinical before 6 am (usually) 100% of the time, and someone to watch them when they're sick and day care won't take them. I think my program is great, and I wouldn't do it any other way. However, I'm married to a guy with a pretty good job, and we don't have kids. I can devote all the time I need to school. If you can too, then this is the way to go!

[Jennabugs]

I finished a 15 month program at California State University Long Beach in Dec 2005. I agree with what everyone else said - be prepared to but the rest of your life on hold!

I had no children or other major committments while I was doing this program (I was 28), I know those that did it with kids and it was VERY hard for them. You must have a flexible spouse.

I recommend doing it if you can quit your current job - you can't work. Our classes were six weeks long, so you had a major schedule change every six weeks. We had 12 hour clinicals frequently on weeknds.

In the long run, it was worth it. Although I have alot of student loan debt as I was not a CA resident at the time.

Best of luck!

[birdgardner]

I just finished the first semester - lots of work especially toward the end, but always manageable, (esp. if I didn't procrastinate.) I've got four children, an hour commute each way, and a helpful husband. If you thrive on challenge, go for it.

[quiksilverbt]

Everyone has been very helpful so far, keep all the comments coming...If you dont mind me asking, Where did you guys do you ABSN?