BSN or MSN?

[daita]

Recently I have decided to become a nurse. Please excuse my lack of knowledge, but I'm trying to find the best plan for me and it feels like I'm running in circles. I'm a 23 year old who is a junior at Devry university, I work full time and get free school. I could obtain pre reqs to go into an accelerated BSN program next Aug, or get my Bachelors in healthcare management in about 2 years, and then transfer into a BA-BSN program or possibly Rush's BA - MSN program.

My first option is to attend Resurrection University, they don't require a BA for admission, but offer a BSN in 16 months with prerequisites that I could complete at Devry and another community college. This is about $47,000. I own a condo, so I would also need about $1000 a month for mortgage, utilities, etc. I can apply for this program April '14 and start in August '14.

My other option would be to finish my degree at Devry and apply to Rush, where they offer a BA to MSN program. I would be able to apply Aug 2016, but not sure if I would be accepted. Right now I have a 3.65 GPA. The BA to MSN program is $60,000 but a lot of doctorate credits are included, so if I wanted to go back to school it would be much quicker and less expensive.

When applying to Rush, I thought I'd also apply to Loyola, who offers a BA to BSN program for about $48,000.

So my questions are basically - does it matter what school I go to? Will this affect my pay, and will I be a better candidate from Loyola or Rush for a RN position? Also, my funds are pretty limited so much of this would be from loans, is it worth it to get the MSN or should I start with the BSN and move up from there so I can get my degree started and start making a better income?

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Recently I have decided to become a nurse. Please excuse my lack of knowledge, but I'm trying to find the best plan for me and it feels like I'm running in circles. I'm a 23 year old who is a junior at Devry university, I work full time and get free school. I could obtain pre reqs to go into an accelerated BSN program next Aug, or get my Bachelors in healthcare management in about 2 years, and then transfer into a BA-BSN program or possibly Rush's BA - MSN program.

My first option is to attend Resurrection University, they don't require a BA for admission, but offer a BSN in 16 months with prerequisites that I could complete at Devry and another community college. This is about $47,000. I own a condo, so I would also need about $1000 a month for mortgage, utilities, etc. I can apply for this program April '14 and start in August '14.

My other option would be to finish my degree at Devry and apply to Rush, where they offer a BA to MSN program. I would be able to apply Aug 2016, but not sure if I would be accepted. Right now I have a 3.65 GPA. The BA to MSN program is $60,000 but a lot of doctorate credits are included, so if I wanted to go back to school it would be much quicker and less expensive.

When applying to Rush, I thought I'd also apply to Loyola, who offers a BA to BSN program for about $48,000.

So my questions are basically - does it matter what school I go to? Will this affect my pay, and will I be a better candidate from Loyola or Rush for a RN position? Also, my funds are pretty limited so much of this would be from loans, is it worth it to get the MSN or should I start with the BSN and move up from there so I can get my degree started and start making a better income?

*** My advice is to do whatever BSN program gets you a license quickest. Before you decide on a MSN program make sure there is no anti DE (direct entry) MSN bias in the places you want to work. One large regional health system I work for doesn't consider new grad DE MSN grads for employment. Others I know of would only hire a DE MSN grad if they already knew them, like they worked there as a CNA or something, and a lot of nurse managers want nothing to do with DE MSN grads. There may be other areas where they LOVE the DE MSN grads. Check into it.

The school you go to won't really matter and the pay will be the same for either degree. all of your options sound VERY expensive to me. It is a big risk to take considering how difficult it is for new grads to find work. Read this board you will see many, many posts from grads who have been looking for their first job for months or years.

[douxmusique]

My advice is to make sure 100% that both of these schools will accept your credits from devry and then jump into the bsn route simply to get you licensed and working asap since you have a mortgage and what not.