ADN to BSN to MSN

Jules A, MSN · Feb 21, 2009

Hi,

In my area you would have to apply for a ADN to BSN program but it wasn't hard getting in. I did it that way so I could work as a RN while going back to school. You can also do ADN to MSN at some places but I decided to get my BSN so that if I got sick of school I would at least have something quickly. Good luck.

honeykrown, MSN, NP · Feb 21, 2009

The key would be early registration after passing the NCLEX.What happens is after starting a job, most people get caught up and make excuses for registering back in school. I got an AD and i'm back for my BSN. Took a semester off before i did. I hope this helps. Good luck to you

my4helpers · Feb 21, 2009

Jules

This is one of the reasons that I just want to get my ADN for now. I hate to commit myself to the BSN and then get tired. At least I would have a degree quickly to fall back on. Plus my husband and I do have 4 children. My oldest will be 10 in April and I have been a stay at home mom for almost 10 years. Our youngest is 17 months and she will start school in 2013 so I was hoping that I would be graduated by then and working. I was looking forward to working as soon as our youngest starts school, but continuing my education for the BSN or MSN is also an option. I don't think I would ever to the ADN to MSN. I think I need baby steps! :lol2:

Jules A, MSN · Feb 21, 2009

Jules
This is one of the reasons that I just want to get my ADN for now. I hate to commit myself to the BSN and then get tired. At least I would have a degree quickly to fall back on. Plus my husband and I do have 4 children. My oldest will be 10 in April and I have been a stay at home mom for almost 10 years. Our youngest is 17 months and she will start school in 2013 so I was hoping that I would be graduated by then and working. I was looking forward to working as soon as our youngest starts school, but continuing my education for the BSN or MSN is also an option. I don't think I would ever to the ADN to MSN. I think I need baby steps!

Lol, my baby steps included getting my LPN first. I wasnt positive I wanted to be a nurse but figured I could get through a year of any thing and at least have that certificate. Fortunately I love it and plan to continue on but like honeykrown added its best to just keep plugging along while you are in the routine. I'm hoping to become a psych nurse practitioner and would like to finish up before they are requiring a Doctorate so thats helped kick me in the butt when I'm sick and tired of school. Once you have your RN though its a huge relief and school is no where near as stressful. Hang in there, you can do this!

firstyearstudent · Feb 21, 2009

If you really want a BSN, I'd do it directly, instead of getting an ADN first. If it will take you two years to get your prereqs finished and then 2 years to gets your ADN, why not take 4 years and get a BSN instead (if you can afford it, I don't know what your financial position is). It is often easier to get in BSN programs. Community colleges can be extremely competitive. Also, once you get an ADN, you may find yourself repeating classes like anatomy since some school require that some prereq. classes be taken within a certain time limit.

The ADN is a totaly rip off, if you ask me. You work so hard and for just a little bit more work you can get a BSN. I already had a BA, then did an ADN program and now regret it. In less time I could have taken an accelerated BSN program and in the same time I could have gotten a direct-entry MSN.

Forget the ADN. The only reason why it still exists is because they really need nurses and the community college programs are already there and they can do it cheaply.

As far as an ADN program being less of a committment, I'm not sure that's the case. It's really not much less of a time committment (if it is less of a time committment) and it's not easier.

Jules A, MSN · Feb 21, 2009

The ADN is a totaly rip off, if you ask me. You work so hard and for just a little bit more work you can get a BSN. I already had a BA, then did an ADN program and now regret it. In less time I could have taken an accelerated BSN program and in the same time I could have gotten a direct-entry MSN.
Forget the ADN. The only reason why it still exists is because they really need nurses and the community college programs are already there and they can do it cheaply.

While for someone with a BA already it probably isn't a good choice in my case I will have made over $150,000 working as a ADN in the two years it will take me to finish my BSN part-time. I didn't have to repeat any of my pre-reqs even though they are quite old. Actually the only reason I'm getting my BSN now is to have something to use as a stepping stone for my MSN. In my area a BSN by itself doesn't even pay any more than an ADN so I wouldn't even bother if I was going to stay working as a RN.

my4helpers · Feb 21, 2009

When I talk about the commitment part, around here the BSN is 4 years I am assuming and that does not even include pre-reqs?? So I would be looking at possibly 6 years for my BSN opposed to just 4 years for the ADN. If my children were older then maybe I would go straight for the BSN, but since they are small (9, 7, 4, 17 months) I want to be done ASAP, then if after the ADN is complete and I feel like I can handle a few more years of schooling then I will go for it. I hate to step into something and then realize it is just to much for me.

As far as the ADN being a rip off, I have to agree with Jules. Their is no way I would even get my BSN if I did not want my MSN. My friend has been a Nurse Practitioner for the past 4 years. When I told her about me going for nursing the first thing she said was just get the ADN UNLESS you want your MSN then of course get your BSN. She said their was no difference in pay between the ADN and BSN and really it's not worth it.

RhodyGirl, RN · Feb 21, 2009

When I talk about the commitment part, around here the BSN is 4 years I am assuming and that does not even include pre-reqs??

No, the 4 years includes prerequisites. That is, as long as you take them according to the school's plan of study. I have to agree with the previous poster to go straight for the BSN if you have the time and finances for it. I started going for nursing at the very end of 2006 and will graduate either Dec 2010 or May 2011......I know people in the community college setting who haven't even started the actual nursing courses yet, after several years of waiting!!! Don't get me wrong, BSN programs are still competitive, but there doesn't seem to be quite as many people applying for them.

So, long story short, just know that ADN programs can take just as long, if not longer, than BSN. Good luck with your decision and with getting into nursing school!

my4helpers · Feb 21, 2009

I guess I am more confused now than ever! LOL!! When I look at the info. provided by my school it states that the ADN is two years and the BSN is 4 years. Now with the ADN being two years I know that I won't be done in two years because I still have to take my pre-reqs. So if I went straight for the BSN won't I need to take the pre-reqs first? I think it might take me about two years to complete them. I have never been to college before. After graduation I went to a vocational school for 9 months and became a Medical Asst. and that's as far as I went. In fact, I have to take the placement test at the beginning of April so they know where to place me. I plan on taking my pre-reqs at the same school that I will be applying for nursing. They take 100 students each fall and hopefully when my pre-reqs are done I will be in that 100. So I guess my question is if I went for the 2 year ADN program I will not be done in two years because of these pre-reqs. Therefore, if I went to the 4 yr BSN program how could I be done in 4 years if I still need the pre-reqs?

Jules A, MSN · Feb 21, 2009

You got it. Four years for the BSN includes pre-reqs and yes an ADN usually takes almost 3. I did my pre-reqs in less than a year and CLEP'd as many as my school would accept. The price of a CC is something to consider also because I paid $80 a credit so I was in for quite the sticker shock when I started doing my BSN classes. As the others have said it is easier to get into a BSN program but if your grades are good you shouldn't have a problem getting into a CC.

firstyearstudent · Feb 21, 2009

I still maintain that if you can afford it (and many state colleges are very affordable) then get the BSN out of the gate. To the original poster, do not think that an ADN not a huge committment. For instance, getting an associate degree in accounting is far less of a committment than getting a bachelor's degree in accounting. But with the ADN vs. BSN that's not the case. This is because there are set (high) standards for R.N. education, no matter which program you are in. In terms of actual nursing classes, the BSN has perhaps a few more nursing classes. The pre-reqs for BSN are perhaps slightly more stingent (you might have to take chem 101 or physics) and then there are general education classes for a bachelor's degree that ADN students don't have to take. Generalizing, the general education courses will be relatively easy.

Frankly, if you have kids, and some people may disagree with me, the BSN might be easier since the first year or so will be less nursing intensive and heavier on general educastion courses and will therefore ease you into the academic environment as a first time student. You will be a freshman at a four year university. At a community college you will be just another frantic ADN candidate desperate to get a A in micro or anatomy (both difficult courses) so you can compete to get accepted. There will probably not be a lot of hand holding. But, naturally, I can only speak from my own experience and about the particular schools I attended. Of course, some BSN programs at state schools will require you to take the pre-reqs before applying.

In general, where nursing education is concerned, and I know this sounds strange, but the cheaper the program the more competitive it is (and the less handholding you will get, screw up and you're out). If you can pay a lot, you can afford to be a less dedicated student.

I used to work at a nursing school 20 years ago that was part of a very prestigous four year private university and they let anyone in (anyone that could pay the exorbitant tuition, that is) and then babied them through all the difficult classes. At some point, word got around that the nursing school was a back door into this otherwise highly competitive university so students would apply for the BSN, do a year, then switch majors. It happened over and over and over again.