ADN American Career College vs. BSN West Coast University

Nursing Students School Programs

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  1. BSN at West Coast University OR ADN at American Career College to Get Hired as basic RN

    • 4
      BSN at West Coast University
    • 9
      ADN American Career College

7 members have participated

Hello all,

I am trying to make a choice between going for an ADN or a BSN. I want to be an RN and both programs are supposed to prepare me for the NXCLEX-RN. I am not sure what others think of American Career College. Sometimes I hear bad things and other times good. Many for-profit schools have negative reviews about people getting gypped for their money.

I am already 32 and I only have my high school diploma. I feel I am old to be starting out in my career but I am determined. I am also a single mother of 3. I was thinking that if I complete the ADN, I will be an RN faster. If I go for my BSN it will take alot more time and money.

My main concern is getting a good quality education training AND getting hired. I heard that nursing jobs will now require a BSN. So does that mean I will have a less likely chance of being hired with an ADN? So do I really need to get a BSN to get hired as a nurse now a days since I heard they set the bar at BSN?

Or do ADN's still get hired? Another thing I heard is that many hospitals pay ADN's to get their BSN.

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Specializes in Intake, Home Care.

Run the heck away from West Coast. For 100,000+ you will swim in debt forever.

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American Career College is $66,225 for an ADN.

ED Gainful Employment Disclosure Template

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

American Career College and West Coast University are investor-owned trade schools, both owned by the same entity. ACC charges $66k for the associate degree program and WCU charges $132k for the BSN program.

Here's my advice: avoid both 'schools' as if they were snake pits. The crushing debt will bite you and infuse venom into your life for years to come. Don't do it.

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I totally agree with posters above. Have you looked into public schools? A lot cheaper and most of them have better reputations. You can always do a bridge adn to bsn program that way you can work after 2 years and still be competitive in the work environment

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Thank you for that link. It is informative. Wow only 10 students finished the program. Wow.

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So in other words I really only want to go for my ADN for now since I am already 32 years old and I do not want to wait 4 years to get my bachelors degree in nursing. I want to get to work right away since I have 3 kids to support all on my own. I want to know if it is still popular to hire ADN's or have they raised the bar for the academic side to where they now only hire BSN's. I heard somewhere that they will no longer hire ADN's and that they will now require BSN. I hope that is not the case. But It would sure be helpful to know.

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Thanks for the warning. I sure do not wish to put myself in huge debt. I forgot to mention I do have a GI bill which is why I was even considering this route, that and the fact that community colleges have long waiting lists.

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Specializes in Critical care.

California's new grad unemployment rate has been reported elsewhere on AN at 40%. Those are some tough odds. I'd research and then move to where the jobs were, if I were a new grad in such an impacted area.

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Specializes in Intake, Home Care.

The GI Bill caps at 17,500.00 per year. That's not even half a semester at WCU. Community College or a University that participates in Yellow Ribbon are your only options if you don't want debt.

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Specializes in ICU.

Are you going to have to work full time while in a program? Are your hours at your job flexible? Do not attend one of these for profit colleges. They are terrible and have awful reputations while being extremely expensive. California is an extremely impacted state right now for nursing students. A BSN is not a requirement, but with the extreme number of new grads out there, employers will want it. They can be picky about who they hire because of the volume of applicants. Research the job market in your area.

I will be 40 when I graduate my ASN program in May. I also live in an area where a BSN is not required to get a job. Some of the large hospitals in the big city say BSN preferred. But I look at the job posting for hospitals in this area once a month and I am not worried about needing a BSN. I will for my own knowledge end up getting one at some point, but that is more if I want to be able to at some point advance my career. With social security starting the push to get people to wait until 70 to retire, I will still have 30 years to work when I turn 40. At 32, you are not over the hill yet, so getting a BSN is not a bad idea. But your problem is going to be trying to go to school full time if you have to work. Especially if you have to work during the day. With 3 kids and no help, I'm assuming you must.

Look into all of the programs and look at your options. Yes, there are waiting lists in California. Everyone in Cali wants to be a nurse I guess. Weigh your options do some research and talk to counselors at the schools you would like to go to. See what you need to do prereq wise and what their waitlists are like. How many people apply each year and what you need to get in? Then make a good decision. Look at school as an investment. You want to be able to get a monetary return on this investment. Paying 66k or 100+k for a degree is not a good investment. You won't get back in wages as a nurse to make that up. Good Luck.

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Specializes in Med-Surg; Infectious Diseases; Research.

The problem with some for-profit schools is that they may only be regionally accredited. This limits where students can be trained and ultimately where graduates can practice. I would call a few hospitals near me or a few potential employers and just ask if they have hired any graduates from those programs and see what they say.

Nursing has talked about making the BSN the entry level degree for the last 25+ years with very little progress. When trying to decided between the ADN and the BSN, I encourage clients to think beyond graduation and getting their first job. Personally, I wouldn't bank on my future employer paying for me to get my BSN. The healthcare market changes everyday and funding for those programs are at the sole discretion of CEOs and CFOs. They may do it one year and opt not to do it the next.

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