Any advice/words of encouragement ?

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Specializes in student.

I have a 3.96 overall GPA, 85% score on TEAS and I'm from the LA area.  My overall goal is to get my BSN. 

I applied to 5 schools(ADN route) last Summer for Spring 2021, didn't get in. I reapplied for Fall 2021 to 7 schools and got in to two so far, no other responses yet.  One is a hour drive minimum from home(I'd have to relocate), the other is 5 minutes away (they have way less opportunity for BSN collaborative programs).  I'm really hoping that a school closer to my home with more opportunity for the BSN collaboratives will accept me, but for now I'm really having trouble deciding. I really appreciate the opportunities that I have, especially after not getting in last semester and knowing how competitive nursing is in Los Angeles.  I just have a lot of concerns such as having to move, and not being able to get into a collaborative program. What is my next option as a back-up plan if the collaborative doesn't work out? 

Also, the school that is far hasn't given ANY info about their program yet, and the one that's close expects all tests and requirements done very soon.  I know it's wrong to take two spots, but I don't want to let go until I have enough info to make a educated decision about what I'm letting go of, or until a school I prefer over these two accepts me.  Hopefully that makes sense. I've just kind of had all of this on my mind and it feels good to even just type it. Thank you in advance for any advice you may have. 

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Specializes in student.

I also want to add that all of the schools I applied to have an NCLEX pass rate of at least 92%. 

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Specializes in Addictions, Psych.
9 hours ago, cheeky said:

 know it's wrong to take two spots, but I don't want to let go until I have enough info to make a educated decision about what I'm letting go of, or until a school I prefer over these two accepts me. 

It's not necessarily wrong. If your school has a wait list, your seat can go to someone else if you drop the program. 

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Specializes in Physiology, CM, consulting, nsg edu, LNC, COB.
On 5/26/2021 at 11:42 PM, cheeky said:

I know it's wrong to take two spots, but I don't want to let go until I have enough info to make a educated decision about what I'm letting go of, or until a school I prefer over these two accepts me. 

This isn’t like West Point or Annapolis where there are no wait lists. Go ahead and accept whichever ones you want, and see how it all works out before you make your decision. Wherever you don’t go, you’ll make somebody else happy.

Good problem to have! Congratulations!

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I'm not familiar with what you mean by collaborative programs. Could you explain?

Since you don't have the details from the programs yet, it's hard to give you much advice on which of the two to pick.

But I agree with PPs that there is nothing wrong with holding on to two seats while you make up your mind (I held on to one spot as long as I could, ultimately releasing it before I received confirmation for my first choice school, which was nerve wracking, but ultimately paid off).  Your seat will go to someone. If you have any doubts, check out some of the threads on here dedicated to people posting their waitlist numbers and waiting for the call that they're in.

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Specializes in student.

These programs are 2 year ADN programs and in the first year, we can apply to BSN collaborative programs.  In the collaborative programs we would be working towards our BSN during summers and winters and we go directly to CSUs for one more year.  So total time would be three years.  

Basically I'm asking what are other options for getting my BSN? How long do they take?

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Specializes in Wiping tears.
On 6/1/2021 at 11:54 PM, cheeky said:

These programs are 2 year ADN programs and in the first year, we can apply to BSN collaborative programs.  In the collaborative programs we would be working towards our BSN during summers and winters and we go directly to CSUs for one more year.  So total time would be three years.  

Basically I'm asking what are other options for getting my BSN? How long do they take?

What I know, if your classes, for example, general education, are embedded in your program, it takes longer. There are nursing schools (check UNLV) that have a shorter duration of schooling; the prospective candidates must apply with a complete prerequisite prior to the application. At UNLV, it's 16 months for the BSN. Click UNLV Nursing

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Specializes in Emergency / Disaster.

It took me an hour and 15 minutes to drive to Campus every day.  While driving isn't great - it is doable without moving.  Just an added thought for you.

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Specializes in Wiping tears.
On 6/1/2021 at 8:54 PM, cheeky said:

These programs are 2 year ADN programs and in the first year, we can apply to BSN collaborative programs.  In the collaborative programs we would be working towards our BSN during summers and winters and we go directly to CSUs for one more year.  So total time would be three years.  

Basically I'm asking what are other options for getting my BSN? How long do they take?

UNLV has less than 16 months for the BSN for those who already have a BS/BA. If you don't have a four-year degree under your belt, it does take time to get the BSN. 

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Specializes in student.

I don't have any BS/BA yet. 

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Do you need the BSN right away?  It seems like employers go through peaks and valleys of saying they want BSNs from all their new grads, and then go back to ADNs. Around here, there was all this chatter that hospitals were moving to all BSNs (so I went to an accelerated BSN program over the much less expensive community college ADN), but that didn't end up happening, and now ADNs are having no trouble finding jobs.  There's no difference in pay for a BSN here, either, and in places where there is, the difference is negligible (like an extra dollar an hour).

Many people get their ADNs and then gradually do their BSNs (often online) while working.  This takes longer, but is usually a financially better option.  How much longer depends on the school and what general education classes they want you to take.  Usually there are only a few actual nursing courses involved in the ADN to BSN (for example, ADN programs rarely have community health classes and most BSNs do).  You may find that there are a lot of seemingly random credits required to fill out the general education requirements for a bachelor's degree (fine arts, social studies, etc.).

My advice is to start researching ADN to BSN programs.  Look at your local universities as well as online programs. See which courses they are going to require. Then start looking at which of those courses you can do now.  If you do an ADN without a collaborative, you'll have the summers off, which means you'll have the time to enroll yourself in the classes you'll need to complete a BSN. There will probably be nursing courses you can't take without being enrolled in their BSN, but you can certainly fulfill most or all of your general ED requirements.  Then after you graduate your ADN, you spend a year or two doing the nursing courses to bridge to BSN. This can be fast or slow depending on how many courses you want to take at a time; many people let it drag out a bit because they're working (as RNs), but you don't have to.  This route is a bit more work on your part because it's DIY researching course requirements rather than a pre-packaged collaborative program, but the timeframe should be roughly similar.

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Another note to add, at least here in Texas, it is much easier for an ADN to get a job if they are already a PCT somewhere. That floor hires them and then they do a ADN to BSN online program while working as an RN for that floor

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