I'm a high school senior and my ideal route would be going to a 4 year uni right away... but I'm not completely sure if I'd get accepted. So I'm thinking worst case scenario, I go to a community college (CC). No matter where I go, my ultimate goal is to get a BSN (not an ADN).
** Can I go to a CC for 2-3 years for my general education/prereqs, then transfer to a university and complete their BSN program? Is this possible?
I don't want to go to CC for 3 years, wait YEARS to get accepted into the college's ADN program (community colleges are SO congested, esp in California), then get my ADN, be on the wait list again, then finally get accepted and complete a RN to BSN program. This route will take at least a year longer.
** So can anyone tell me if this is possible? Yes/No? Thanks!
I never said that universities don't allow transfers. So please don't discredit what I am saying as incorrect. I am speaking form my own experience and from what my university advisors told me.
But is it harder to get accepted into a BSN program where the pre-reqs were taken at a community college vs university? I believe so and was told so. In fact I do know people who were university students, took the pre-reqs at the community college and was rejected from the BSN program. One friend I know was rejected twice. On her third attempt, was accepted into the community college program that went from a ASN to a BSN that connected to the university. Others I met changed their majors.
I do think going through a community college ADN's route THEN transferring to a university to get the BSN is a smart move. Just taking the pre-reqs at a cc and applying directly to a university BSN can be tricky but also possible. But from my years of experience and talking to advisors. That's not what they recommended me.
Not sure about CC's in your state, but nothing could be further from the truth in mine. In fact, our local CC Chemistry department is known for having harder courses than the local universities. In my state, all the CC and public Univ are part of the same system, so the courses are standardized across the board. They make sure the courses are of equivalent difficulty. If they were not, they would not accept them for transfer, which they do.
There are many advantages to taking prereqs at a CC. Being "easier" is not one of them. In many cases, you get a better education than at a big university as the teachers can actually interact with the students. Having smaller classes allows for a much more personalized educational experience that you are simply not going to receive in a seminar type class with 300 students. We have a top 20 nursing school, and they accept plenty of people who took their prereqs at a 2 year school, so either you are grossly misinformed, or your state's school system is just awful. Of course the advisors are not going to recommend it to you. They want your money, plain and simple.
In A&P, I studied with a friend of mine who was taking the same class at the state university - I was amazed at the amount of additional material that the CC required us to know compared to hers. CC definitely does not equal easier, in many cases I have found it to be harder. Pretty much every instructor I have taken at the CC level has had their PhD. To me, paying thousands of dollars to be taught by a TA at a university is silly.
meeep, BSN, RN
853 Posts
Not sure about CC's in your state, but nothing could be further from the truth in mine. In fact, our local CC Chemistry department is known for having harder courses than the local universities. In my state, all the CC and public Univ are part of the same system, so the courses are standardized across the board. They make sure the courses are of equivalent difficulty. If they were not, they would not accept them for transfer, which they do.
There are many advantages to taking prereqs at a CC. Being "easier" is not one of them. In many cases, you get a better education than at a big university as the teachers can actually interact with the students. Having smaller classes allows for a much more personalized educational experience that you are simply not going to receive in a seminar type class with 300 students. We have a top 20 nursing school, and they accept plenty of people who took their prereqs at a 2 year school, so either you are grossly misinformed, or your state's school system is just awful. Of course the advisors are not going to recommend it to you. They want your money, plain and simple.
In A&P, I studied with a friend of mine who was taking the same class at the state university - I was amazed at the amount of additional material that the CC required us to know compared to hers. CC definitely does not equal easier, in many cases I have found it to be harder. Pretty much every instructor I have taken at the CC level has had their PhD. To me, paying thousands of dollars to be taught by a TA at a university is silly.