College HELP

[jesslopez16a]

Hello everyone! I am currently a senior and in the process of applying to colleges. I was thinking on applying to a 4 year university to obtain my bachelors degree in nursing, however I also want to be able to save myself some money. I thought it would be smart to apply to a community college to get my pre-requisites (takes 2 yrs) and then transfer to a university to receive my bachelors. However I was unsure if after, transferring to a university it would take 2 years or 4 years to receive the bachelors degree in nursing. Thank you for your time!

[elizabeast7, ADN, BSN, MSN]

I'm not sure about other schools, but at the one I teach the transfer students still do three years of nursing classes. I will say it's easier, and still saves you money to complete your prerequisites at a community college, though.

[fischerRN]

It all depends on the program/school you're applying to. My undergrad school had a fast track for those who had completed all the pre-requisites, and this track could be completed in 18 months. Many chose to do the average time instead of the accelerated track just because of the difficulty of the fast track. I would research the schools you would want to apply to, and contact them! Best of luck.

[verene, MSN]

Depends on how the programs are set up. Usually it would be 2-3 years after transferring, but doing pre-reqs this way would likely still be cheaper. (Though do look into what scholarship and grant options might be available for each option). If there is a transfer agreement between the Community College and University it may make the transition smoother and quicker - check the websites and/or admissions offices of both schools to find out if this is an option.

[amok]

I go to a community college that is accredited to offer an RN certification course that takes about three years depending on what you can test into or do over summers, so after completion you can take the NCLEX. In Michigan, a number of community college and public universities have what's called the MACRAO Agreement to make transferring simpler and more of a guarantee. For example, my CC and one of the biggest schools just about five miles away have a pretty nicely streamlined way to complete the CC nursing program and then take just a handful of courses at the university to get a BSN. I would see if your state has something similar, because I cannot tell you how much money I have saved by doing as much as possible at a CC instead of a four-year university.

[gere7404, BSN, RN]

In my area, you can't apply to a BSN program until you've met a certain number of prerequisite requirements. You can start at the university to take the pre-nursing courses, which are the same offered at the local community college except several times more expensive.

If you take a standard course load each quarter at the local community college or university, you'll complete the prerequisites in two years and be able to apply for the actual BSN program which is an additional three years. My university did give a couple points of preference for students who did their prerequisites at the university, but most of my cohort are transfers from the local community colleges, myself included.

[Nurse2BeCam, ADN]

It's different for different schools. In my area, it takes one around 2 years of pre-reqs at the community college, and the bachelor nursing programs near me offer 16 month/15 month programs.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

Generally speaking, the most cost-effective route is to attend a community college to earn an ADN and a nursing license. After a year or so of employment, once you've settled in a bit, do an online or B&M ADN-to-BSN program.