All Philly accel bsn programs- info

DragonflyLady17 · May 22, 2011

Hey!!!! Philly has a lot of bsn schools to offer and these are the accel bsn I know of and looked into...

UPENN, Villanova Express, and Jefferson FACT program...they are very good schools- all are costly and need to take out loans, but if you really want to finish fast- go for it.

Pretty sure you would need a Bachelors since they are all second degree programs.

I have attached the links below. Best of Luck!

http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/admissions/accelerated/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.villanova.edu/nursing/programs/undergrad/second/bsnexpress/admission/

http://www.jefferson.edu/jchp/nursing/fact.cfm

kiki617 · May 23, 2011

Thanks for your input! Are you also looking into the accel option? I do already have my bachelors. Would you say that Jefferson would be the cheapest option?

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 23, 2011

I was accepted into the Jeff accelerated BSN/MSN program for second-degree students some years back but did not attend. I needed a part-time evening/weekend option which Jeff nominally has. They neglected to tell me until after I applied and was accepted that only the MSN courses were offered eves/weekend. I believe that the full-time tuition when I applied was on the order of $25k per year - I'm sure that's increased quite a bit.

Jeff may well be the least expensive of the 3 programs phillygirl mentions, but all are quite costly. I believe that Drexel also has an accelerated program but I know that their tuition is over $600 per credit. Frankly though, I'd be surprised if that's much different than Villanova or Penn. You may also want to check to see if Temple has an accelerated program. If they do, they would certainly be the least expensive.

DragonflyLady17 · May 23, 2011

I have my Bachelors also and I did look into Jefferson FACT program. I did get accepted but I turned down the offer. In this economy and with my previous loans, I cannot afford the tuition which is close to 40K. Instead, I plan on attending school part time part at LaSalle. It is longer time period but I have no rush. Am content :) Good luck!

Upenn does give aid I hear but that is only if you show financial need. Yeah Jefferson would be the cheapest but all are private schools that are the cream of the crop.

kiki617 · May 23, 2011

Thanks Phillygrl!!

So i just looked into that Achieve program... awesome. I missed the deadline though, of course. I'm not in so much of a rush, just by me there isn't any evening/weekend bsn programs, only asn. If working while doing a bsn was an option i would certainly prefer that as to not add to my already mounting debt from undergrad. Perhaps I will look into next years application as I'm looking to move to philly for sept 2012. Just curious, as you've gotten into other programs as well, whats your background like? Have you worked in a clinical setting? volunteer? super high gpa? It's redic competitive in boston, as I'm sure it is there as well.

Thanks for your feedback!

DragonflyLady17 · May 24, 2011

Check you messages- explain more there :)

I am not super smart, just your average girl.

But what I do, do is :

I just try and make my application stand out so even though most nursing schools only ask for certain materials like transcripts and recommendations, I also give in my resume and cover letter. Anything that they can see (additional paperwork), that this person really is selling herself. Trust me it works!

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 24, 2011

. . . I'm not in so much of a rush, just by me there isn't any evening/weekend bsn programs, only asn. If working while doing a bsn was an option i would certainly prefer that as to not add to my already mounting debt from undergrad. Perhaps I will look into next years application as I'm looking to move to philly for sept 2012. . .

If cost is an issue - as is the case for most of us - you may want to consider getting your ADN through your local CC, then doing an RN-BSN program such as U Wyoming, U Texas-Arlington or Ohio (these are the least expensive that I know of - I'm sure there are others). Once you've gotten all the pre-reqs such as A&P, mirco, nutrition, etc out of the way, most CC tuition for nursing is only a few thousand dollars. The programs I mentioned above are in the $5k to $7k range, so you could complete your BSN for significantly under $10,000 - or less than the cost of one semester in the Penn or Drexel BSN programs. Not trying to discourage you from either program - I'm actually a Drexel alum - just trying to let you know that there are less expensive alternatives available.

kiki617 · May 24, 2011

Thanks so much Phillygirl and Chuckster!

The community colleges here have multiple year waiting lists, and they tend to go with the students who have taken the mst credits there (this actually is a requirement for where i've taken most of my prereqs). To add that I would have transfer credits, unfortunately my chances of getting in are pretty terrible as they rather go with a candidate who has taken 5 or 6 classes there and will spend more money on the program as a whole as they won't have any transfer credits. Is it not really like that in philly? Also, ADN can't get hospital jobs (or at least rarely) right? I know that you would have to have a lot of experience to get into one of boston's hospitals with a ADN, and I'm almost positive they are even doing away with that all together. I'm not entirely opposed to an ADN, but if I could get a BSN in the same time frame, for just a bit more $, I would rather do that.

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 25, 2011

. . . The community colleges here have multiple year waiting lists, and they tend to go with the students who have taken the mst credits there (this actually is a requirement for where i've taken most of my prereqs). . . . Is it not really like that in philly? Also, ADN can't get hospital jobs (or at least rarely) right? I know that you would have to have a lot of experience to get into one of boston's hospitals with a ADN, and I'm almost positive they are even doing away with that all together. I'm not entirely opposed to an ADN, but if I could get a BSN in the same time frame, for just a bit more $, I would rather do that.

That's too bad about your local CC. Admission to the program at the CC I received my ADN from was competitive but based solely on your NET scores (they've since modified this and now use a combination of your standardized test score - they're now using TEAS instead of the NET - and your GPA). The top 120 or so scorers (and now I guess, the top 120 scorers with higher GPA's) are admitted, with a handful placed on a wait list. Those on the wait list would be admitted if/when someone declined their offer or failing that, got placed into the next semester's candidate pool. So there really was no waiting list. There was also no consideration given to those who had previously taken courses there (I was admitted as a transfer student who already had 2 previous degrees).

You are correct the job market for ADN's is tougher - most of my CC class, myself included, have not been able to find nursing jobs. Your goal is the BSN however and the ADN is just a stepping stone to get there, so employment as an ADN is really a moot point, isn't it? If you did want to work as a nurse, one strategy that seems to be fairly effective is to work as tech or CNA while going for your ADN and then after passing the NCLEX, get hired as an RN. Nearly everyone in my nursing class who already worked as a tech/CNA got hired on after passing the boards (I did the eve/weekend pgm and so there were quite a few of my fellow students who did this). By the way, many CC nursing programs are structured so that you are eligible to sit for the CNA after successfully completing your first semester - but check with your CC on this.

Full disclosure: My original plan was to get my ADN, work part-time for a while as an RN, then go directly to a 2nd degree MSN program. Unfortunately, in the time it took me to become an RN, the job market for ADN's in Phila deteriorated significantly and it's not really possible to find a nursing job, especially a part-time job, as an ADN (for financial reasons, I need to continue for the next several years in my present, non-health care related job). I really don't want to be an MSN with essentially no clinical experience, and so probably not employable, so I've applied to two online RN-BSN programs. The plan now is to get my BSN (hopefully, no later than the end of 2012), then find a part-time nursing job and apply to an MSN program. the ultimate goal is FNP, so the MSN is key.