College confusion!

Nurses Career Support

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Hello everyone!

I am currently a junior in high school that has been dreaming of practicing nursing ever since I could remember! I can't really see myself doing anything else! With time going by so quickly before I know it, I'll be applying for college already. My ultimate goal is to get a BSN, but living in SoCal, nursing has become such a competitive field. Also, with my financial situation, jumping straight into a 4 year college may be a little too expensive for me.

I am leaning more towards a CC (Pasadena City College to be exact) since it is cheaper & planning on either getting my ADN, taking the NCLEX & furthering my education with RN-BSN route OR just taking prereqs and transferring to a 4 year college.

My question is, what route would you guys suggest to take? Try to get in a 4 year? Go to a CC and get my ADN? or Take prereqs at a CC and transfer?

Also, whatat were your college experiences like- choosing the school and the applying processes? Sorry if this is scattered all over place- I have just been concerned lately since time has been creeping up! Any help would be appreciated!

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Specializes in L&D.

That's great that you know what you want to do at such a young age! Im 23 and i graduate in dec, but if I knew then what I know now, I woulda graduated at 21. So, good for you for being on the right track! If you dont have kids yet then that's even better! If I were you, I would do my pre-reqs at a cheap community college, ace them, then transfer to a 4 year university and go all the way for the BSN. It would be even better if you could pay out of pocket and avoid student loans (which will be much easier if you do your pre-reqs at a CC). You'll be 21 with a BSN and killin' it! Congrats on being such a goal oriented young person.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! @ BSN-RNTEXN And may I ask, what school/schools did you attend/are attending?

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Specializes in L&D.

I'm not gonna leave specifics, but I attend school in East Texas.

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Ahh.. I see! Congrats on graduating and good luck with everything! *insert smiley face here

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Specializes in L&D.

Thanks dear!!

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the Nursing career forum

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If you're your going for your ADN you would still need to take all of the prerequisites.

And I don't know if that CC is as same as my CC where the same pre-reqs is aim for both BSN and ADN programs (so you'll be able to apply to both when the time comes).

So I would look into what cheap University (if you can find any) with a state and regional accreditation (so you can transfer your prerequisites) and apply to Universities + the ADN and see if you could get into either.

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Cangrats on being driven! I'm not a nurse, but I am researching the field and I have a good friend who is a nurse. He says that BSN is the way to go. The reason being that nursing is getting very competitive and many hospitals are requiring BSN. The hospital where he works is aiming for 80-85% BSN by 2016. He says they will hire ADN, but requires the new hire sign a contract to complete their BSN within 5 years of hire. If I were you, like others have said, I would get my prereqs at a CC and transfer. Some CC offer ADN nursing programs. If you could get your ADN there and then transfer to a BSN program even better in terms of costs. To really set yourself apart from your competition you might consider volunteering at local hospitals during any school breaks. You'll gain valuable insight and show that you're driven and your time as a volunteer may be counted as experience when you find yourself with a BSN in the job market. Good luck! I hope my daughter is that focused as a Junior!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

It warms my heart to come across high schoolers like OP who are goal-directed & actually beginning to formulate a concrete plan to achieve their objectives!!! Maybe there's hope after all, right?

I echo PPs advice to complete pre-reqs at CC. This is a much less expensive option. In many cases, most of the cost can be offset by a Pell Grant. But I would also encourage OP to take advanced placement classes if possible as preparation for CLEPing some of those pre-reqs. Many of us have done this (I CLEP'd all my college English classes as well as Sociology). CLEPing saves a lot of time and money.

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Specializes in Neonatal IMC, Neonatal ICU.

I was in your shoes not too long ago but in a different state. My best advice to you is while you are still in high school, take as many ap and dual credit classes as possible. Depending on your school district, it might cost money now but it is a lot cheaper than taking those classes at w university or community college. Go to community college for the rest of your prerequisites as they are much cheaper per credit hour than a university. From there, switch to a university and get that bsn. I wish I had done it that way but things got a little convoluted for me so I am taking a different path to getting my degree. You will save time and money by sticking to a plan. Another way to save up for college is to start getting involved in extracurriculars and community service as many will offer scholarships. Even if you get a few small scholarships, you can apply that towards your prerequisites and save some cash. Good luck on your journey and it's great to see you are trying to find a plan that works for you.

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I know this is kind of late (well really late- it's been a year!) but I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to answer my question! Yay for nursing! Actually going to ask another question since now I am a high school senior ready to apply to colleges! Time does fly by, eh?

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