Community college for an ADN

My understanding is that currently, most community college ADN programs have long waiting lists. You would need to ask your local program.

I got into my community college first try, no waiting list and I couldn't have had more than a 2.5 GPA from my first year of college. I got all B's my

first semester and stopped going entire halfway though my second and got 2 C's and 2 D's. Then I took a year off and retook my teas and did really well, and I got in the first try. My school told me they only really look at teas scores though, so I kind of really lucked out. It all depends on your school, really.

The program I'm applying to requires a year if prereq courses, consisting of Anatomy and Physiology along with several other general courses. When I submitted my application, they asked for a copy of my high school transcript with it but it didn't factor into my acceptance. So basically, you'll need to find out what your local colleges offer and their requirements into the nursing program. Some of them may not even consider your high school grades. Hope this helps!!

I must say that your GPA looks pretty good and I would hazard a guess that you'll probably do just fine for entry to a 2 year college or 4 year university. Getting into Nursing School itself is a whole different game regardless of ADN or BSN programs. What you have to do is take prerequisite courses and maintain a good GPA throughout those, as close to a 4.0 for those courses is the goal. Your overall GPA usually can be lower than your prerequisite GPA, but keep that high as possible too.

Look at what the area nursing programs require as far as prerequisites go and most of the courses should be very similar. As you become qualified to apply to the various programs, apply to them as it increases your chances of getting selected. Generally the BSN degree is preferred over the ADN. Also, make sure that the schools you are applying to are accredited by the State Board that governs Registered Nursing, and is regionally accredited by the same body that accredits schools and colleges in the area. This is particularly important because this regional accreditation makes transferring credits (coursework) much easier.

There are those of us that generally try to steer people away from "for profit" schools. The education you get at those places can be every bit as good as anywhere else, but you'll pay through the nose for it and many times the credits you take aren't easily transferrable to other colleges and universities, thus requiring you to effectively have to retake coursework you've already done. It doesn't make your degree any less valid (assuming the place is properly accredited and such) but certainly it's a lot more expensive!

My school required a minimum of 19 on the ACT for the ADN program. The BSN program at the same school only required at 16 on the ACT. Contact the school you want to attend and see what their requirements are.

My community college had an "acceptance list" you had to get C's in english comp, dosage calc, a&P 1&2, and micro and then you would get put on it and it might be a few years out. They didn't care what grades you had before. Good luck.

My community college ranks based on a variety of factors and they don't have a waiting list anymore. The better you do in your pre-reqs, ACT, and other tests the more points you have. It is very competitive. A lot of people find going to a private school or to a four-year university easier to get into.

It REALLY depends on where you're going. Our community college was more competitive, and anything less than about a 3.5 would be iffy for admission. You also got extra points if you were a CNA previously, or had some other healthcare-related experience.

But the ADN program I went to only admitted 27 students every fall, and they had hundreds of applications every spring for admission, because the entire area is more rural, so most people aim for that college, since it would help them not drive even further for a BSN program that's more expensive.

Only advice from my experience is avoid for-profit schools. Maybe it's just my area, but our ADN public school had a MUCH better reputation, and remained accredited consistently with higher pass rates for NCLEX than any of the for-profit private programs around. Yes, you might be able to get in faster in one, but quality education and being able to transfer credits later and pass your boards are WAY more important in the long run.

Good luck!

The community college near me has a waiting list and has for years. I got in no problem and no waiting list since my GPA was 3.5 and I scored very high on my nursing entrance exam. That was for LPN School. Y RN school (hospital based school of nursing) was extremely competitive but once again, I had no trouble getting in. I had a 4.0 in LPN School. My sister was more of a 'C' student in her LPN program and was not accepted in to the same school of nursing.

Is it hard to get into a community college for a ADN? I currently have a 3.2 GPA in high school with a 16 on the act ( taking again) and going to the 12th grade. Is this good enough for a ADN or even a BSN prorgram? Sorry for the short post.

Your local CC is likely to have an open admission policy, and your high school diploma should automatically qualify you for admission to the college. Most CC's have separate, usually more stringent, admissions standards for special programs such as nursing however. The answer to your question really depends on the policy of the particular CC and its location.

Admission to the CC nursing program in my neck of the woods is somewhat more competitive than all but the most selective of the local BSN programs. This is primarily due to the desirability of the program, which turns out competent RNs (who until about 2010, were in high demand by the hospitals in the area) and is very low cost. As a result, the program attracts a lot of applicants. When I attended, admission was offered on rolling basis to those who had the highest scores on the standardized nursing admissions test (can't recall if it was the NET or TEAS). The acceptance rate was well under 50%, and a lot of otherwise qualified applicants were turned away. That's changed and now GPA along with standardized test scores and other factors are used in the admission equation. The program remains popular however and admission is still fairly competitive as a result.

Your program is likely to be different than that of anyone replying on this board and my advice to you is to make an appointment with a counselor at the CC and put your questions to him/her. I would also urge you to check with the counselor regarding any articulation agreements the CC may have with institutions offering a BSN. In many parts of the country, it has become very hard for ADNs to find nursing jobs, particularly in hospitals, so going on for your BSN could be important. It may not be the case in your area but in a growing number of locations, advertisements for nursing jobs that used to say "BSN preferred" now state "BSN required", which may limit your employment opportunities. Please note that I'm not trying to discourage you from getting your ADN (I'm one myself) but you should be aware of the reality of new nursing job market.