A question for RN's and RN students.

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I recently finished all the pre requisites (Science's and Gen Ed classes) at a local community college that also has a 2-year RN program.

I applied to the program for January 2009 and was not accepted into the program.

After talking to my advisor, she said 180 students applied and the program can only accommodate 75 and acceptance was a lottery.

Of course, I was and still am very disappointed and a little unsure of what to do.

Recently, I was accepted into a 4-year program at a University with a great reputation and I'm tempted to just forget about the community college.

However, I'm 38 and was hoping I could pay for my education out of pocket instead of having to pay back $30,000 in student loans.

My questions are, has anyone gone through a 2-year program and wished they had gone through a 4 year?

Or, went through a 4 year and wish they went through a 2-year and not owed a bunch of money?

Also, I really don't want to work in a hospital, I want to do public health nursing, home health or geriatric nursing. Would a 2 or 4 year be better suited for the kind of nursing I want to do?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Craig

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I recently finished all the pre requisites (Science’s and Gen Ed classes) at a local community college that also has a 2-year RN program.

I applied to the program for January 2009 and was not accepted into the program.

After talking to my advisor, she said 180 students applied and the program can only accommodate 75 and acceptance was a lottery.

Of course, I was and still am very disappointed and a little unsure of what to do.

Recently, I was accepted into a 4-year program at a University with a great reputation and I’m tempted to just forget about the community college.

However, I’m 38 and was hoping I could pay for my education out of pocket instead of having to pay back $30,000 in student loans.

My questions are, has anyone gone through a 2-year program and wished they had gone through a 4 year?

Or, went through a 4 year and wish they went through a 2-year and not owed a bunch of money?

Also, I really don’t want to work in a hospital, I want to do public health nursing, home health or geriatric nursing. Would a 2 or 4 year be better suited for the kind of nursing I want to do?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Craig

If I would be you I would go for BSN because with a four year degree you will have more opportunity for advancement and promotion in your career field. and I believe that to be a public health nurse you need to have at least your bachelor although for geriatric and home health nursing all you need to have is your associate.However keep in mind that it is hard if not possible to avoid the bedside nursing at least in the beggining of your career,it is not only unsafe for the stay at home patients who will to be taken care of by a nurse who has no-experience whatsoever so it is necessary to have at least one year of bedside nursing.

Also you have to take tuition under consideration,do you have resources,are you willing to spend the money and put your self in large debts in order to get your BSN.A two year degree is much cheaper,faster and if you decide down the road to get your BSN or MSN a lot of facilities are willing to pay for at least half of your tuition,so you may consider that.

Lastly,it all the depends on your ultimate goal...are you planning to be a manager in future,CRNA,health public nurse,NP,an instructor?Also you can always come back for your undergraduate and graduate degree later down the road.

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Specializes in ICU.

I think a lot depends on what you ultimately plan to do and your life circumstances. I returned to school at 34 to complete pre-reqs and was accepted into an ADN program shortly after. I will graduate in May 2009 at the ripe old age of 37.

Nursing programs are extremely competitive--there were over 800 applications for 120 spots in our program. While a BSN degree is desirable for me, the ADN route was the shortest path to entering the workforce as an RN. This will allow me to gain experience and continue working towards a BSN (and after a period of time, obtain tuition assistance/reimbursement from an employer). Additionally, community college is certainly more affordable and after completing the program, there are several RN-BSN bridge programs, many online. If I were younger, I might have chosen the BSN route right away, but whats that saying about hindsight being 20/20?

If you are interested in pursuing nursing, why not continue to work on additional pre-reqs for a BSN degree until you are accepted into nursing school? You'll need classes like stats, pathophys, nutrition, etc. Having additional course work under your belt can only add value to your application, help you while in nursing school and put you on your way towards a BSN degree.

Good luck to you!!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.

A BSN can open up a lot of doors for the future. Is it possible to go middle of the road & get your BSN from a state college (public four year college) rather than a private college/university? I did the four year route at a state college, and have no where near that amount in loans.

Just some food for thought. Good luck in whatever you decide!

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Public health jobs frequently require BSN. If you have the choice between the two, and you can get in now to the BSN - do that. It may be another year or two before you get into the ADN program.

Another thing to think about are loan repayment programs. Depending on where you live, and what type of work you do, you may qualify to have your loans repaid after a certain amount of time. For example, in my state, if you live in a semi-rural to rural area and work in a high-need area (like Public health), you can have most of your loan paid off. Your college advisor can tell you more about that.

Good luck.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Or, you can be patient and go with the ADN which you can pay out of pocket and then go back for your BSN and have your workplace pay for it.

That's what I'm doing, and I will have my BSN with no debt. I'm even going to have most of my MSN paid for by my work. My goal is to see how many degrees I can get for free...

But, if your heart is set on public health, and not the hospital, then you may have to go straight for the BSN.

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I'm in a 2 year program at a community college right now. My advice is to do the 2 year, out of pocket at the comm. college, and then have your workplace pay for your BSN. We were told that A LOT of places will pay for your bachelor degree....this is what I'm doing. Also, unless you have experience in the areas you say you want to work in, don't close any doors to other areas. I don't think I've met anyone yet that 'knew' what area they wanted, and didn't change their mind after doing clinicals, and doing the course work. Good luck to you.:reindeer:

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In many 4-year universities the actual nursing program is 2 years just like the community college nursing programs but the difference is that they ask for more prerequisites. The local community accepts students by lottery and the state uni. accepts students based on gpa, work experience, ect. I prefer getting into a school based on how hard I've worked in school than on hope that name will be one of the first to be picked out of a hat.

I'd go with the 4 year degree incase you may want to advance your career later on down the road.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

If you have been accepted into a nursing program go for it. You could wait and try for the CC, but you are already accepted.

It took me 3 years of applying to schools to finally get accepted, where I am at the average is 1,000 applicants to 40 spots, during the 3 years I earned two assoicate degrees seperate from nursing, just based on all of the pre-req course work, one of the degrees is a transfer degree so if I was to be accepted into a university I could transfer in as a junior. Is that a possibilty or is the whole nursing program 4 years, the 2 universitys in my area the nursing classes don't start untill the junior level.

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Specializes in med/surg, ER.

Your experience is like mine was...except that there was a waiting list instead of a lottery. I was accepted into a BSN program and have not looked back! The people in the ADN program who graduated when I would have last May are telling me they wish they had just gotten their BSN. I consider myself very blessed that I have taken this road. By the way, I will be 51 when I graduate in June...The more mature students seem to have a little more focus (according to the 20 somethings in my class). I did explain that the life experience we have now, we got when we were in our 20's and now is just their turn!

Good luck!

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I just want to point out that not ALL community colleges are lottery. In fact, the community college I go to accepts based on ACT score & GPA. The program I am in is one of the hardest and most respected in the state.

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Just remember there are more pre-reqs you must complete before going into the RN to BSN program...Stats, Patho, some chemistry, more electives depending on school criteria. That alone takes some time. At the university I attended, the sciences had to be taken one after the other (So that's a year by its self before you can even start to bridge.)You can always look at the university you want to attend for the BSN and stay at your community college and finish as many general eds as you can, then transfer into the BSN program. That way you want be wasting time/money. I would also reapply to the ADN program again and also apply to the BSN program. This way you are still working towards you BSN either way without taking out tons of loans...If you get into the ADN program you can continue to pay for it on your own and once you become a RN your hospital can pay for the bridge. But to save money before during a BSN make sure all your pre-reqs are done at the junior college!!! It will also make your coorifice load easier. The BSN you will have more nursing classes then the ADN once your actually in the program.

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