Admission options

Ok, the college that I want to attend does not require more than 4 advanced high school level courses (with a competitive average of 80%) to apply for the program as a mature student. However, I have the option of taking just the 2 high school level courses I need as prereq's (only needing to pass at 50%) and then doing 24 college level credits from the nursing program, many of which are courses I would be taking in my first year. In order to use these credits for admission, I need to have a GPA equivalent to the competitive average of 80%.

The appealing part of using the college courses for admission is that I would be able to take all of those online or evenings/weekends. I have 2 kids, ages 4 and 7, and going to school at night would eliminate any need for childcare. I would only be looking at part time care for one term when my youngest goes to half day kindergarten in about 18 months once I actually started nursing school. And if I did all of those courses ahead of time, I would only have 2 daytime classes while she is in school, so there is the chance that childcare wouldn't be an issue.

The downside is that I would not be enrolled in enough credits per term to be on the Dean's List, so no honor roll, and I will need to maintain really good marks in order to be eligible for admission.

Either way, I would graduate at the same time.

Which way would you go if you were in my shoes?