RN to BSN, the quickest and less expensive

U.S.A. Missouri

Updated:   Published

I'm a RN with a BA ( not BSN) that has been out of the clinical area for 15 years and in my 50's. I am burned out working in administrative roles for case and disease management programs for the insurance industry. I need a change but see for some positions I Need my BSN. Also considering an advanced practice program as jobs are available in this area. Since I still have children to put through college and with my age I need to choose the fastest and least expensive program. No school loans as we are contributing to our 401k and the kids tuition is coming up in a year. University of MO in Warrensburg offers a year RN to BSN program online and the cost looks the best, even below UMSL. Anyone know about these programs? In a quandary what to do next since I've been out of the clinical area for so long.

There are many, many RN to BSN programs. This is a highly competitive business, so you need to be a responsible consumer and do your research (good practice for the work ahead!). Do not consider programs which are not accredited by CCNE. Start here to search for programs that meet that minimum standard

CCNE - Accredited Programs

An online program may be the most expedient for you, and some are priced very competitively. If you are considering an advanced practice role you might want to consider an RN to MSN program, which will include the BSN content. Since you mention having been out of clinical (and presumably school) for quite a while, be aware you will likely need to update some coursework.

Well I did a ton of research on online RN-BSN programs and I don't remember seeing University of Central Missouri! How weird. I really wish I had gone with them - I would've saved myself thousands of dollars!!!

I went with UMSL. Avoid Chamberlain and Central Methodist. I am actually really unhappy with UMSL but that's for another post.

My online RN-BSN is PT for ~13,000.00 and it'll take me 2 years. I'm fine with the time as I'm in my 20s and working FT.

I have all my prereqs and general education completed prior to this program so all I needed were the core upper level nursing classes needed for the BSN.

Hey Love2Read -- would you mind elaborating on what you've discovered about Chamberlain & CMU, or what you don't like about UMSL?

I just started looking into the RN-to-BSN programs, and have been asking RNs on my floor about the reputation of various schools, but I'm not getting much info. Apparently, Goldfarb and SLU are solid, but super expensive. I'd prefer one of the cheaper ones, but not if they have a bad reputation....

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