I REALLY need some advice on where to attend ASN/BSN school. Please help :(

Nursing Students School Programs

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  1. ASN vs BSN

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Hello everyone!

I am really needing some advice and thought this would be the perfect place to get some. I had applied to the University of South Florida's BSN program for Fall 2015 but did not get in due to not having a high enough GPA.

So I am trying to decide where to attend nursing school and I have completed all pre-reqs for all three programs that I am looking into (I have already applied to St. Petersburg College and I will most likely apply to the other two as well, so I don't have all of my eggs in one basket again!).

The schools that I am trying to decide between are St. Petersburg College/State College of Florida to obtain my ASN degree or Keiser University.

- SPC/SCF are both community colleges and around 13k each. They are both 2 year ASN programs. I would begin the nursing core in Spring 2016.

- Keiser University is a for-profit school, very expensive, but fully accredited. I spoke with an advisor today and she informed me that they have JUST been cleared for an accelerated BSN program. This program would start in Spring 2016 and it would be 16 months long, but the downside is obviously the cost of around ~$36k. The upside would be that I would be done with the program 8 months sooner than if I were to attend the ASN programs, and that I would have a BSN.

The problem is that I already have student debt.

So I'm trying to decide if getting a BSN 8 months sooner, rather than the ASN, is worth the cost difference of around ~$23k. My career goals are NP or CRNA.

Does anyone have any advice or what they would do if they were in my shoes? I am 30 years old, single and no kids and I feel like I am behind in life :( So I am beyond ready to get into a nursing program and to have a career.

Any advice is GREATLY appreciated! :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

If you are in that much debt, I wouldn't recommend Keiser University. Especially because (although they are accredited) they don't always have the best reputation, depending on where you go.

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If you are in that much debt, I wouldn't recommend Keiser University. Especially because (although they are accredited) they don't always have the best reputation, depending on where you go.

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it. I have heard both good and bad things about Keiser myself.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.
Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it. I have heard both good and bad things about Keiser myself.

Not a problem! I'm not at all saying that they don't have a good program (I have a couple buddies who go there for nursing school) but whether they do or don't deserve it, some hiring managers may not regard it very highly.

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Yes, I've read that also. It's also a concern for being accepted into a future NP or CNRA program. It's just that the timing element is very appealing to me, considering I'm 30. :)

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Definitely go for your ASN. Even though you would finish much sooner with the BSN I still don't recommend getting into that much debt. Just work with the loans you got, go for you ASN, then find a hospital that will reimburse you for your BSN. Also your RN-BSN program shouldn't even take up a good deal of your time since you have most of your general education down pack ( I recommend if you choose the RN-BSN route since it has a flat rate each term).

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Thank you for your input! I agree that it's a lot of money on top of the loans I already have. There is the possibility of scholarships and I know one that I've already spoken to that will cover 10k of the tuition for either the ASN or BSN program. I wonder if I can get some scholarships to greatly reduce the cost, if the BSN is then the better route. Hmm.

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Bump :) Any more advice would be SO greatly appreciated! Thank you all.

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