ASN or BSN Degree? Already have attended a 4 year university for 2 years now...

[lindsayfahey]

Hi everyone. I am feeling a bit lost after receiving a denial to UNCC's upper division nursing program. I have attended East Carolina University for my freshman year and then transferred and have been at UNC Charlotte for my sophomore and one semester of my junior year. I am now trying to figure out whether to give up and attend a 2 year associate degree in nursing program at a local community college or pack up and transfer again to another school to continue a 4 year bachelors degree in nursing degree? My advisor told me to just attend an associates nursing program and in the end i'll have a nursing degree and that's all that matters. However, I don't know if that would be a waste of time considering I have been studying and taking courses for a pre-nursing major for 2.5 years now... Please let me know if anyone has encountered a situation like mine before and could offer some advice? *

*(Also, reapplying to UNCC's program is just not an option considering I would have to retake almost all of my science based classes to receive an A rather than a B..I am trying not to become discouraged due to the competitiveness of UNCC's program, but am feeling lost in the process. Thank you)

[Devon Rex, ADN, BSN]

Hello!

This is what I decided to do for myself... went to an accredited (for-profit) school for my ASN, got my RN license, a job, then got my BSN from another institution (not-for-profit) while working full-time.

I don't know about NC, but hospitals in FL do not particularly care where you get your license, as long as it is approved by the State and your state's BON. You have bragging rights if you attend an Ivy League school (Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, or Yale University), otherwise, it's just a matter of how much time and $$$ you want to spend.

My advice... do as I did: find an ASN accredited program by ACEN to get your license. Search ACEN Accredited Nursing Programs Apply with those institutions that will take your current credits to complete the ASN. This degree will expose you to several areas of nursing and will reinforce your decision to going into nursing or not. If you later decide that nursing is not for you... then you've saved the time and expense of a BSN.

However, if nursing IS for you... get your clinicals under your belt, find a job, then pursue the BSN. There are many online BSN programs that do not require clinicals, so it makes it easier to complete while working. A BSN alone is not going to get you a job if you have no experience... but once you do have experience and get the BSN... it will open more doors for you.

If your BSN program allows you to test for the NCLEX-RN after taking so many credits, but prior to graduating with a BSN, then that might be something to consider. But, if you have to complete your BSN prior to getting your RN license, then you'd be wasting a lot of time and money when you could be working as an RN.

I hope I made sense. Best wishes!