Going to CC first?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Okay, so here's the deal. I'm about to graduate highschool, and I've been accepted to csulb for pre nursing and I'm awaiting and admission decision from uci. The problem is that my parents are not allowing me to go to either one of them and would prefer that I go to RCC first and transfer after I've done my pre-reqs. My question is: when I'm done with my pre-reqs at RCC, where are my credits transferable to? Can I transfer from RCC to UCI or CSULB?

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That's a question you'd have to ask the schools, as each school has different class equivalents and not all credits may be transferrable.

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I think a big question is why do your parents feel that way? Also, if you're going to college I'm assuming you're 18, so is it really up to them? Perhaps they're contributing financially, which would obviously give them more say than most. Both the CSU and the UC system are incredibly competitive and you should strongly consider giving away your place with them. However it is highly likely that your credits will transfer, but you take the risk of losing your spot. CC is a great option for saving money but I would personally be hesitant to give away my spot.

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I think a big question is why do your parents feel that way? Also, if you're going to college I'm assuming you're 18, so is it really up to them? Perhaps they're contributing financially, which would obviously give them more say than most. Both the CSU and the UC system are incredibly competitive and you should strongly consider giving away your place with them. However it is highly likely that your credits will transfer, but you take the risk of losing your spot. CC is a great option for saving money but I would personally be hesitant to give away my spot.

Thank you, that's the same thing that my calc teacher has been telling me. It has taken some effort, but I think that I've convinced my parents to let me go. They are indeed contributing to my education financially, but it's more than that. It's more about respect rather than needing them to pay off my school expenses.

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Hey OP,

That question is definitely for both schools.

However, I will tell you that from my experience as someone who has a degree and is taking my pre-reqs at a community college, I think that community colleges are an excellent place to complete your pre-reqs and gen ed courses. You will save money and will have time to master your knowledge of the human body and all the other courses needed. By the time you get to the larger school, you will just have to take your nursing courses.

If you choose a larger school to start at, you have some leg room to repeat a course if you don't do well but it will be expensive! At a community college it will still cost you to repeat a course but it wont be as expensive.

Take your time, mom and dad are right.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Good Luck!

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I recently got accepted to Rutgers' nursing program after taking pre req's at a community college. It was a breeze because Rutgers made a partnership with my community college, so everything was laid out clear. I suggest you look around on community college websites and see if there's any information on transfer programs. Or look up the schools directly. I only applied to one program because every single nursing program around my area all had different pre req's so I suggest looking around or emailing/calling some people up. My advisors didn't know anything and unfortunately, I took two classes I didn't need and they were my only B's. Don't rely on what advisors say. Rely on the direct source. I'm glad I took this route because I saved a ton of money :). Goodluck!

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Hey OP,

That question is definitely for both schools.

However, I will tell you that from my experience as someone who has a degree and is taking my pre-reqs at a community college, I think that community colleges are an excellent place to complete your pre-reqs and gen ed courses. You will save money and will have time to master your knowledge of the human body and all the other courses needed. By the time you get to the larger school, you will just have to take your nursing courses.

If you choose a larger school to start at, you have some leg room to repeat a course if you don't do well but it will be expensive! At a community college it will still cost you to repeat a course but it wont be as expensive.

Take your time, mom and dad are right.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Good Luck!

With regards to graduate school, will going to cc first and then transferring for my BSN have any effect on getting accepted into a graduate school in the future?

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I recently got accepted to Rutgers' nursing program after taking pre req's at a community college. It was a breeze because Rutgers made a partnership with my community college, so everything was laid out clear. I suggest you look around on community college websites and see if there's any information on transfer programs. Or look up the schools directly. I only applied to one program because every single nursing program around my area all had different pre req's so I suggest looking around or emailing/calling some people up. My advisors didn't know anything and unfortunately, I took two classes I didn't need and they were my only B's. Don't rely on what advisors say. Rely on the direct source. I'm glad I took this route because I saved a ton of money :). Goodluck!

When you say "rely on the direct source", what does that mean exactly? Do you mean the schools that I could transfer into after my pre-reqs are done?

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Also, if anyone can help me out, I'm trying to figure out what exactly is the best way to go about the cc route. Should I get into the nursing program at the cc, get my ADN, and from there get into an ADN-BSN program? Or is it best to simply do my pre-reqs at the cc level, and then transfer into a BSN program? My ultimate goal is to get my masters, if that matters.

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I think taking pre-reqs and transferring to a 4 year college for a bsn is more convenient. You'll graduate with an associates of science, so you'll have something to fall back on if nursing happens to not work out. :)

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@ Breh_188

I dont see how it could hurt you. If this is your first bachelors degree, it shows a good track record of you taking your time and being steady.

Many of the grad degree holding nurses I know took the accelerated path ( with a previous BA) or started at CC then University then Grad school with working experience.

Its all about you and what you want. Since you are a student without a previous degree you will fit better into either going to a 4 year or a 2 year then University.

If I knew I wanted to be a nurse back when I was fresh from high school, I would have gone to a great community college with an partnership with a well known nursing school. I looked down on community college at that time. But Im eating my words now! I chose a $$$ private school and didnt know what I wanted to study.

Community college is where you learn to be a great student, get your study, time management skills with practice. University is the same but just a little more costly.

As we both know, the influx of people interested in nursing has skyrocketed, leaving schools with the option to raise tuition and become very picky with entrance criteria.

I say, do well in all of your courses especially the science prereqs and be a well rounded student. I dont see how any school could deny you. :)

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@ Breh_188

I dont see how it could hurt you. If this is your first bachelors degree, it shows a good track record of you taking your time and being steady.

Many of the grad degree holding nurses I know took the accelerated path ( with a previous BA) or started at CC then University then Grad school with working experience.

Its all about you and what you want. Since you are a student without a previous degree you will fit better into either going to a 4 year or a 2 year then University.

If I knew I wanted to be a nurse back when I was fresh from high school, I would have gone to a great community college with an partnership with a well known nursing school. I looked down on community college at that time. But Im eating my words now! I chose a $$$ private school and didnt know what I wanted to study.

Community college is where you learn to be a great student, get your study, time management skills with practice. University is the same but just a little more costly.

As we both know, the influx of people interested in nursing has skyrocketed, leaving schools with the option to raise tuition and become very picky with entrance criteria.

I say, do well in all of your courses especially the science prereqs and be a well rounded student. I dont see how any school could deny you. :)

Yea, I looked down on cc at first, but I guess it really works well when you're doing nursing. And with regards to cc, how do you think I should go about it. Should I get my ADN there and then transfer into an ADN-BSN program? Or should I simply take my pre reqs at cc and then transfer into the direct entry BSN program?

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