ADN or BSN?

[Jsjrin, ADN]

I am a 24 student, with hopes of getting into nursing school. I finish the last class of my pre- req's this summer. I have done a lot of research on ADN and BSN. It seems smarter to achieve a BSN (if accepted) instead of an ADN. With an ADN, there is one year of pre- req's and two years of cohort. I am not trying to rush my education, but I want to be wise in choosing which route to take. All in all I want be ready to take on the responsibility of an RN license, but also I don't want to spend almost the same amount of time for ADN, when adding a year I could have my BSN. I was thinking of taking the LPN route, that way I can start with the basics, then only spend 18 months obtaining my ADN in a bridge. I just need some advice on what I should do... Anyone?

[Ndoht, BSN, RN]

It sounds like you are not sure getting which degree out of the three is best suited for you, while you know BSN is the most preferred degree. It really depends on your personal situation. Do you have a bachelor's in a non-nursing field? Do you have a competitive GPA (~3.5)? What is your financial situation?

If you already have a bachelor's degree, competitive cumulative GPA, and isn't worried about shouldering 10K+ per year, you can apply to ABSN programs. If you already have a bachelor's degree, but your cumulative GPA isn't very competitive, while you do have relatively good prerequisite GPA, and shouldering 10K+ a year is too much of a burden, you can apply to ADN programs. If you do not have a bachelor's degree, only have good prerequisite GPA, and cannot afford 10K+/year tuition, you can also apply to ADN programs. If you do not care about taking more time, have family and children to take care of, need to start earning money asap, don't have very good GPA, you can apply to LPN programs.

ABSN takes you ~a year while traditional BSN takes you two years.

ADN takes you two years, then a year of BSN bridge.

LPN takes you a year, then a year of ADN bridge, followed by a year of BSN bridge. (This route does seem like it takes the same amount of time with the ADN route, but you have to keep in mind of the gap year after each graduation spent waiting for your acceptance for the following degree program.)

Of courses, these are just generalizations made since I have no idea about your particular situation. People can disagree, but I am just trying to help you decide a little bit when a lot of different factors need to be taken into account.

[Jsjrin, ADN]

thank you!