Allied Health vs. 4 year Nursing program

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Howdy,

I am currently a freshmen at Texas A&M and am stuck on what road I should take for Nursing. At A&M they offer a Allied Health degree that covers all the prerequisites that are needed to go to the 18 month accelerated nursing program afterward. So this is where I cannot decide what has more pros and less cons.

Would graduating with 2 degrees, Allied Health and BSN, in 5 1/2 years out weigh going to another school and getting a 4 year BSN. I plan on advancing in the Nursing Career and become a NP. If anyone has any insight on this it would be greatly appreciated! :)

Oh and with just a Allied Health degree what could I do?!

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I think the Allied Health plan sounds pretty good. For one it provides a backup plan which is a very good plan. You should know that many BSN programs don't take just 4 years, unless you are going to take a full load of 16-18 credits every semester to knock out the pre-reqs. I'm going to finish my BSN in 5 years so I think the allied health is a good suggestion if it has the same exact pre-reqs. Plus you can't go wrong with two degrees lol.

The allied health degree could also help you get a job to work while you're doing the RN degree. From what I understand Allied Health is for education on healthcare but most people use it as a starting way into healthcare fields such as nursing

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Hey there! I'm currently a senior at A&M (by hours; whoop) majoring in allied health. I am actually applying "early" to nursing school because I have all of my pre-reqs done. But, if I don't get in "early" then I am going to finish my degree. I think either way you do it will be a good choice. I struggled with this decision for quite some time but since I got all of my pre-reqs done I went ahead and applied.

Let me know if you need any more help because I know this is a tough decision!

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Thanks so much! Ya'll have really helped me on deciding on whether leaving A&M for a Nursing school, or staying until I get my pre-reqs (or graduate). I love the college that I go to so this helps!

Guiltysins-your so right, I defiantly need a backup plan after hearing the competitiveness of getting into a nursing program I would feel good about at least having a major in something in the healthcare

astigall-Howdy! are you in FAN? if so I might have seen you before! haha. I am glad to hear that you are doing what I was thinking about. Good luck at your applications! are you applying to the Health and Science Center?

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The god honest truth is that a 4yr bsn program will probably take you 5.5 years. This is because you will typically have to have near all prereqs and coreqs completed with a good grade just to be in contention with others applying to the program that is 1yr right there, if your state is on a 3 semester year if you only go two semmesters a year that is a year and a half, then add the 4 yrs for the bsn you will be up to 5.5 years, then there is typically at least a 1 semester layover from when u get accepted to when you start. This makes it sound = to the allied health plan but trust me when you are taking ur nursing courses you will not want any xtra load on you and thats if you could because rn programs are typcially taking up most weekdays 8-5 which really limits other courses you can take.

My advice to you is stick with getting any pre and coreqs done then when you are in the down times take allied health classes, and only after you apply to every school you can to get your nursing degree (so long as they are accredited) because you dont want to waste time getting into the program at the school you love when one you don't know about may have accepted you.

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yes I am in FAN! haha!

oh and one other thing, your actual degree would not be in "allied health" it would be for health education. it's weird...i know. but anyways, I recommend staying at A&M either way you go. And yes I have applied to the Texas A&M Health Science Center. Now I am just waiting to hear back! eek!

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Ewwww, Aggies :p

All kidding aside, I would look and see what a degree in Allied Health will do for you career-wise. Is it going to be worth spending the extra tuition for this degree? What kind of jobs can you get with it, and are you interested in them? Are the remaining courses going to cover something you wouldn't get in nursing school but that would help you as a nurse?

I, personally, would go for the BSN. That's because I'm paying my way through school so cost and time spent in school are huge concerns for me. Look at how the extra degree would help you and see if it's worth it to you.

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Oh I agree totally on the tuition thing, I am paying for my college too. So I probably am going to do Allied Health coursework while I get my pre-reqs, apply to nursing school as soon as I can get my prereqs, and i will have a backup plan worse case scenerio. I should be ready by next spring with everything if I take a summer course. Thank's and Gig'em :p :up:

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This is exactly why (for traditional students) I advocate direct entry programs 100%! They will take you 4 years because the curriculum is set up in a way that you do take a full load of 16-18 credits every semester, and it is expected that you take no longer than 4 years! Then of course, it also takes away the stress of worrying about whether or not you'll even get into the nursing program etc.

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To be honest, under MY KNOWLEDGE (I live in Washington, so I've been exposed to the RN programs here) a BSN will not take you an additional 4 years after the pre-reqs. I mean, c'mon, people. It takes two - for the RN curriculum. That's it. However...you /do/ have to have all the lovely gen-ed classes completely in order for it to only take two, or basically have junior standing. Most of the programs here are designed to be done in 4 years - two years for pre-reqs/gen-eds, you apply your sophomore year for junior year entry, and voila! Four years.

Also...in a lot of cases, pre-requisites can be done in a single calender year. ...that's how I'm doing mine. :eek:

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