Accelerated/Traditional BSN programs in PA

[Kelsea1214, RN]

Hello all-

Has anyone applied, attended, or going to attend any of these BSN programs...either traditional or accelerated? I am planning on applying to these accelerated programs in PA as well as a few others. Just curious if anyone has any experiences, advice, or concerns they'd like to share!

University of Pennsylvania- accel. BSN

West Chester University- accel. BSN

Thinking about Thomas Jefferson's FACT program- accel. BSN to MSN

[jocy_anne]

I don't really have any information about U Penn or West Chester, but do have a little info on Jefferson. I didn't apply to their FACT program, but did apply to their "Accelerated Pathway to the MSN" program (abbreviated as APW). I'm not sure if you've looked into them already, but the programs are both accelerated and are pretty much the same, except FACT is a one-year program and APW is a two-year program. Both programs give you automatic acceptance into their MSN program once you're accepted into the BSN portion. I attended an information session at Jefferson back in September and, after listening to the descriptions and expectations of both programs, determined that APW was the better choice for me. I feel like I would be too rushed in a one-year program, but you may feel differently about that. One of the things I also liked about both Jefferson programs is that if your GPA from your first Bachelor's degree was at least a 3.2, you aren't required to take the GRE's (unless you put in your application to the program before your first degree is completed...then you have to take the GRE's regardless of what your GPA is).

How soon were you looking to apply? FACT starts in May and APW starts in September. If you were looking to start this year and have most of the prerequisites fulfilled, you could probably still apply to APW at this point. I'm not sure what your chances would be at getting in, but I know they're still going through and interviewing people right now, so you could give it a shot. The required prerequisite courses are:

- Anatomy & Physiology - 8 credits

- Chemistry I - 4 credits

- Chemistry II or Biochemistry - 4 credits

- Microbiology - 4 credits

- Statistics - 3 credits

- Nutrition - 3 credits

- Electives - 39 credits (should be able to transfer courses from your first degree)

Here's a link to their website for more info: :: Thomas Jefferson University : Jefferson School of Nursing ::

I'm not sure if this really helps you, but hopefully it does! :) Good luck with everything!