Bachelor's Degree (NonScience) to Nursing

gere7404, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2016

You'll have to do the 2 years of prerequisites no matter which BSN path you take -- a traditional BSN program is 3 years long (on top of the prereqs you take while non-admitted), an accelerated program is 1.5-2 years long on top of the prereqs. I didn't have to do the SAT at all for my BSN program admissions, some schools require certain tests for their programs, and most that I saw required some kind of personal essay statements.

Oyiwaa · Aug 29, 2016

So can one take the pre-reqs in the same university? I see some students refer to themselves as pre-nursing - by that are they doing pre-reqs?

Or do I have to go back to high school / community college and take the pre-reqs?

thanks - Ginny

gere7404, BSN, RN · Aug 29, 2016

Pre-nursing is synonymous with doing pre-reqs; in general, you aren't officially admitted into a pre-nursing or nursing program at this point, you're just completing the requirements to apply to a nursing program.

You can take the prereqs anywhere as long as they transfer to the university you'll be going to attend for the BSN program. I did my prereqs at the local CC to save money, but if I wanted to take them at the university I could -- in fact, taking them at that institution would have earned me a couple of preference points for my application.

verene, MSN · Aug 29, 2016

You have 3 main options to go through nursing school. All of which will require you to take pre-reqs (1-2 years depending on what coursework is needed, some coursework from your prior degree may transfer e.g. English 101)

1. Take pre-reqs at community college (1-2 years), apply to community college nursing program (2 years) graduate with ADN and eligibility to sit NCLEX and start working as RN. Take RN-BSN bridge program while working (9months - 1 year). Most cost efficient approach to getting a degree, but may ultimately take longer than other path ways. Depending on local job market it may be difficult to find work with only ASN level training.

2. Take pre-reqs (1-2 years). Apply to university nursing program as a transfer/post-bacc student. Transfer to university and take nursing major course work only (2 years). Graduate with BSN. This approach leads to BSN degree with only 2 years of nursing focused course work. Nursing programs typically limit the number of transfer/post-bacc students they will accept into the program, getting spot can be very competitive.

3. Take pre-reqs (1-2 years). Apply to university accelerated bachelor's program. Theses programs typically take between 12 and 8 months to complete and award a BSN degree. This is likely the quickest option to get through schooling, however it may not be cheap, despite the shorter length of time many of these programs just as if not more expensive than a regular BSN. Furthermore, you are likely to be unable to work while completing the program because of the condensed nature of the curriculum.

I highly recommend for whichever route you decide upon taking your pre-req classes from a community college. The tuition is a lot less, class sizes may be smaller (this was my experience) and in the long run, no one cares where you got your pre-reqs just that you got them and did well enough to be accepted into nursing school.

You will not need to take high courses or sit the SAT or ACT exams. Some of the ABSN programs require GRE, some do not, and some who require waive the requirement if you can prove you've taken graduate level coursework before. You will need to submit transcripts from all schools (college level) previously attended.

You will want to look into programs in your area (or area you are willing to move to) and find out their requirements for admission, these can vary widely between schools. Make a list of what pre-reqs you need, which ones you might already have from your prior education (and get these evaluated by the program if you are unsure), and start working on a plan from there. It's hard to know how long getting through pre-reqs will take until know which ones the program(s) are specifically looking for and you can map out a plan.

FutureNurseInfo · Sep 3, 2016

Hi,

going for a traditional 4-year program will be pretty much like having to take pre-reqs for 2 years and then completing accelerated program for 1.5-2 years. The only difference is I think with accelerated program you will get your Bachelor's in Nursing, which becomes more of a requirement to be employed.

EDnurseNY · Sep 4, 2016

Hi there! I went through an accelerated program in Western NY, and I think my school did things a bit differently. Of course there were (six) pre-reqs, but all of them were online and were extremely easy. You can also do as many as you can handle at once/afford to do at once. It did not take me two years to finish the pre-reqs, it only took me one and I had spaced them out. Also, my classmates with degrees from foreign countries did not have to take the SAT, and no one had to take the GRE.

My story is similar to yours, I had a Bachelor's degree in something else, and a Master's in education. I am so glad I did the accelerated program because I don't think I could handle another 4 years of school, I wanted to start my career as soon as possible. That said, it was also the hardest thing I've ever done academically. It was harder time-wise (not really content-wise) than grad school.