Hi, If you're fairly young and can wait it out then I'd say get your CNA. Oh, don't pay big bucks for it. Golden Care Academy in San Diego offers it for $120! Get your CNA then take the basic sciences classes needed for City College's ROP LVN program. They also offer a 30 unit LVN to RN setup program. Palomar College in San Marcos now has shorter wait list times, but you need lots of prereqs first. Can't wait? Then consider paying $50K and do it at private school like Kaplan, or whatever. Again, your RN will be as good as the next nurse, but the associate degree part is non-transferable. If you can work and take some college classes at a community college and don't mind waiting, and waiting then that would be the best bet cost wise, I feel. As for me, I can't wait anymore. John