Ruined my chances of a BSN? Have to be an ADN forever??

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  1. Am I screwed?

    • 1
      yeah, you're screwed. see ya!
    • 5
      no, there's still hope! and I'll tell you why...
    • 0
      maybe you should consider other career options b/c nursing's not looking good for you
    • 3
      pizza

9 members have participated

Long story - I experienced some bumps along the way during my undergrad years, but now those mistakes may haunt me forever!

So during my freshmen year of college, I took chem + lab at a UC and got a "D" in class and a "C" in lab. The following summer, I retook the lecture portion again and received a "C-". In retrospect, I had poor foresight in the road I would be taking after graduation and rushed to finish my classes instead. At the time, I did not think that I would be applying to nursing programs nor that they would be looking at my 1 chem class that I took. I only thought of major pre-reqs like anatomy, physio, and microbio and did not do deep enough research or else I would have not taken it that time or at least have taken it during the semester.

Now, after graduation, I'm planning take a couple more classes to apply for ADN, and then bridge ADN-BSN eventually because I do want more job opportunities in nursing. However, as I'm looking at BSN programs, they have a chem pre-req, and unfortunately, the chemistry class I took is widely transferable.....!

Even though I don't WANT to transfer it and instead retake chem again at a CC, I don't think I have an option since nursing programs will evaluate my transcript and see that I already (partially) repeated chem once before. I live in the Los Angeles area of CA and it seems like every BSN program that I look at requires chem, and that the minimum grade must be a "B" with only 1 repeat allowed.

The more I look at it, the more it seems like an ADN degree will be the highest step I can take on the degree ladder, and I feel so hopeless because I do want degree advancement, and also I've been hearing more and more that employers will hire BSNs before they even look at ADNs. Overall, I'm just worried about the job prospect in a highly competitive metropolitan area.

Anyways, I would love to hear your thoughts about this, especially from anyone that has been through this path before or can give more insight to my dilemma. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Specializes in NICU, RNC.

Once you get your ADN, you should be able to do an online RN-BSN bridge without any problem.

Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

How old is your Chem pre-req? I ask because I originally went to college 20+ years ago before I decided to go back to school to become a nurse. Even though I had already passed A&P, Micro, Chem, etc., I had to to re-take these courses because they were older than 5 years.

Some schools only allow one re-take and will replace the grade. Others allow more than one re-take. You should still be able to re-take the Chem course and transfer it in. Bear in mind, when you transfer courses, the grade itself does not transfer, only the credit. It depends on the receiving school's policy as to how many re-take attempts you're allowed to have.

As stated above by NICUismylife, once you finish the ADN, you can complete an RN-to-BSN program with no issue.

Don't all nursing programs request transcripts from all colleges attended? Then the admissions will notice that I repeated chem once before?

Specializes in NICU, RNC.
Don't all nursing programs request transcripts from all colleges attended? Then the admissions will notice that I repeated chem once before?

It may be an issue for getting into an ADN program (although since you're in CA, I'm guessing ADN will be a lottery system rather than a point system, so it may be a non-issue). The RN-BSN program won't care about your repeat in chem. They have seemingly unlimited spots, and it's all online.

Ohhh, I see!

Thank you so much Nicu and Kris! Your advice has been very helpful!!!

In my area, the lottery system has mostly been phased out now in favor of the point system. The nearest program near me ended their lottery system back in 2013. So far, I only know of one ADN program in my area that still uses the lottery system, but applicants still need at least a 2.5 GPA in Anatomy, Physio, and Micro to be eligible to be put into the lottery. For ADN, I'm not as(?) concerned because I was able to find programs that only look at Anatomy, Physio, and Micro for the science pre-req portion. At my school, chem is a pre-req for physio, but it's not a pre-req for the ADN program. So, I'm more concerned about my eligibility for RN-BSN programs because they DO require chem for their admission.

@SopranoKris - I took chem in 2013, so it's 4 years old now! Which reminds me, I should probably look into programs that do have a time-limit on their science pre-reqs...

I'm sorry to hear that you had to repeat all those classes, it must have been a real pain! Over here, I found some schools, such as CSULA, that don't have an expiration date on those classes, and a couple of other schools that have a 5-10 year time-limit.

Yes, I've been looking at different schools, their school policies, and even emailed a couple nursing advisors to ask about the repeats. I did hear about people repeating their classes on this forum, but it's from older posts, and some schools only allow 1 repeat now or they don't specify it on their page. I heard about for-profit schools, such as Chamberlain, that may be more lax in their requirements, but they should only be a last resort because apparently they charge $675 per credit hour. Yikes! I'll continue to look at other online RN-BSN programs available.

By the way, @Nicuismylife and @SopranoKris, did you look at the "reputation" of your schools for your degrees? Do employers even care where you got your degrees from or they just look at your experience in the field? I'm asking because I was thinking of applying to a nearby CC (community college) for my ADN because it's cheaper and closer, but a family member is kinda frowning upon CCs and think that I should go to a CSU (state university) instead because they have a better reputation. Does she have a valid point? Should I get my ADN from a CSU instead??

Anyways, thank you, thank you, thank you, again Nicu and Kris!!! It has been driving me crazy for a while now but your advice made me more optimistic!

Specializes in ICU, Military.

Assuming you get into your ADN program and finish it, there are plenty of ADN to BSN programs willing to take your money to upgrade. Just do well in your ADN program and there wont be any issues.

Specializes in NICU, RNC.

I did look into the reputation of my school. I had the option of the community college or the university. Both have nursing programs with good reputations. Surprisingly, the community college has the better reputation. In fact, every time I spoke to a floor nurse during clinicals, they always said, without fail, that they could spot a CC nurse on the floor (in a good way). Every single one of us (55) had a job before graduation, and most had several offers to choose from. Only a few people didn't go straight into their specialty of choice.

I do believe, however, that down in the LA area, many employers prefer BSN. You really need to research the nursing climate in your particular area.

Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

By the way, @Nicuismylife and @SopranoKris, did you look at the "reputation" of your schools for your degrees? Do employers even care where you got your degrees from or they just look at your experience in the field? I'm asking because I was thinking of applying to a nearby CC (community college) for my ADN because it's cheaper and closer, but a family member is kinda frowning upon CCs and think that I should go to a CSU (state university) instead because they have a better reputation. Does she have a valid point? Should I get my ADN from a CSU instead??

Anyways, thank you, thank you, thank you, again Nicu and Kris!!! It has been driving me crazy for a while now but your advice made me more optimistic!

Yes! In my area there was a community college and 3 brick-and-mortar universities offering BSNs. The community college had the best reputation of graduating competent nurses. I opted for the community college because 1) tuition was less expensive, 2) I could earn the RN quicker and start working as a nurse sooner, and 3) the hospital pays tuition reimbursement for the RN-to-BSN.

When I was doing clinicals, the nurses always commented that they could tell which new nurses went to our CC program and which went to the local area BSN programs. Our CC had the most clinical hours and focused on skills. We were able to hit the ground running, whereas the BSN nurses struggled a bit more when they first came to the floor.

Research your area and see what the hiring climate is like. I ended up finishing school sooner and with no debt going the CC route. I was hired the week before I graduated and was able to take ACLS after having a year of acute care experience and then transferred to ICU. Only took 9 months to finish my BSN and I was able to do it while working full time nights.

Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

Darn you. Now I want pizza.

Specializes in GENERAL.

Cut your losses.

Specializes in ER.

There are loads of CCNE accredited RN to BSN schools that are more lenient than the direct entry ADN or BSN schools. In fact, you should be more worried about getting into the ADN school to begin with.

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