Christy,
Sounds like your in my neck of the woods. Born and bred in Chicago, that's me. Your plan sounds good, but I want to make another suggestion. Have you ever thought about attending DePaul? They have a direct entry masters program. It's two years, full time. Some of the classes are online. You can even go part time if you wish. They are very flexible. It's a shorter route to advanced practice nursing. I graduated from DePaul's program in 2006. One of the best decisions I ever made. After 6 months of graduating, I started an ANP program and just graduated this past July. Just landed my first NP job and this was my first week. Absolutely love my new NP job so far!
DePaul is a great program because it allows you to go farther in your education in a shorter amount of time.
Just something to think about.
Nursing News