ABSN vs. Direct Entry MSN?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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There are a couple of these threads already but they're a little dated. I wanted to know what people who are experienced in the field feel about ABSN vs. direct entry MSN programs? I'm trying to decide between Hopkins direct entry MSN and 2 ABSN programs for the Spring. Hopkins is obviously expensive, but it may end up saving me money in the long term, since I want to go on to become an NP.

Background: I am 26 years old with a BA in Biology from a state university. I have some clinical experience working as a medical assistant/orthopedic technician. I was originally leaning towards doing the ABSN because I really wanted to get experience in nursing before locking myself into working towards an FNP. One of the things that I really love about the field is the diverse roles nurses play, and I don't know if I should start a master's program without knowing what I want to do as a nurse.

Any input is welcome!

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You are correct. Don't go straight to a MSN if you don't know where you want to work yet. Nursing is generally flexible but graduate school requires you to narrow your track by quite a bit... peds/family/adult only/ womens health/midwife/psych/primary care/acute care are all options. Best to figure your interest out before investing a lot of money.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
You are correct. Don't go straight to a MSN if you don't know where you want to work yet. Nursing is generally flexible but graduate school requires you to narrow your track by quite a bit... peds/family/adult only/ womens health/midwife/psych/primary care/acute care are all options. Best to figure your interest out before investing a lot of money.

This X 1,000,000 ^^^^^

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You are correct. Don't go straight to a MSN if you don't know where you want to work yet. Nursing is generally flexible but graduate school requires you to narrow your track by quite a bit... peds/family/adult only/ womens health/midwife/psych/primary care/acute care are all options. Best to figure your interest out before investing a lot of money.

This, again. I've known some people who either went into nursing via a direct-entry advanced practice program or rushed into grad school after finishing a pre-licensure nursing program, and then figured out after they had the graduate degree and licensure that they didn't like doing what the degree had prepared them to do. Then they had a degree and career path they didn't want (and the loans to pay for them), and were trying to figure out what they really want to do, and what additional education (and loans) they were going to need to get them there. Not a good place to be.

Nursing is a huge "tent," and there are tons of careers and roles within nursing that most people aren't even aware of until they've been in nursing for a while. I really encourage people to go into nursing as a generalist, get some real experience, learn more about "nursing world," before you make a decision about furthering your career. Any nursing graduate degree is going to cost a lot of time, effort, and money. You might as well get it right the first time.

Best wishes for your journey!

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Love all of your feedback - extremely helpful! Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

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Going to play devil's advocate because I just completed a direct entry MSN (and am now doing a DNP program). The direct entry MSN, unless Hopkins has a specialized track, should be BSN classes plus a few extra classes in leadership and research. It does NOT require you to specialize in a specific field or limit your options of where you can work after graduating, it just prepares you to take the NCLEX-RN. With that being said, MSN programs are more expensive, I personally did one because I was not eligible for any more undergraduate financial aid (and ABSN programs are often super expensive too). One perk is that a lot of jobs will pay you slightly more with an MSN (though this shouldn't be the reason for choosing one over the other since it is not a super significant difference).

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Thanks for weighing in - it's actually nice hearing from someone who's gone through a direct entry MSN that can kind of speak to the post-grad flexibility. Part of the reason I'm struggling a lot with the decision is that there aren't many ABSN programs directly near me, so I would have to move to attend one... making them cost almost the same as going to JHU since I am currently able to commute to campus at a much cheaper cost. I'm also maxed out for undergrad aid, so I would have to take out all private loans to cover everything.

Did you find that it was difficult to find graduate programs that acknowledged your MSN credits? I've heard that some schools don't accept direct entry master's credits, but that doesn't seem right to me.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

It depends. Partly upon how much you will be relying on student loans/grants. Financial assistance is much more limited for those pursuing a second degree so if you need financial aid you'll be better off in the long run going straight for the MSN as your first degree. This will also make the eventual path to NP faster and more affordable should you decide to pursue it. A MSN doesn't necessarily commit you to a particular specialty though there are paths you can take to focus the degree toward the specialty you want.

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I actually am doing my DNP at the same school I did the direct entry MSN (I was accepted to both when I applied) but I can't imagine it would be super difficult considering many NP programs take applicants with their BSN and RN license and the MSN has all of the same classes as the BSN plus a few extras. If you did an MSN for your NP instead of a DNP, the only issue I can think of is that the school may want you to take some of their masters courses even if you already took them in your first MSN program.

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Thank you guys for your input. I'm seeing a lot more pros to the MSN than I had previously thought of. It's all a lot to consider & I appreciate you weighing in!

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Specializes in Peri-op.

I am applying to direct entry MSN because it is faster and cheaper for me. And, yes, I am not eligible to undergrad loans either (like someone above mentioned). But it a generalist degree, I do not have to pick a specialty yet.

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