College questions

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · Aug 15, 2014

I think a lot of the BSN programs now include the prereqs as part of their program? If I'm not mistaken. You would spend the first year or 2 complete the "prereqs" and then the remaining years would be the actual nursing courses. You can get kicked out of the program if your GPA falls below a certain criterion, however. But I think that most BSN programs have the prereqs already incorporated, so you'll take them before taking the actual nursing classes. I don't think it's a separate process though, depending on the school.

phuretrotr · Aug 15, 2014

You don't have to take your pre-reqs at the same school of your nursing program. You could for example take pre-reqs at your local university or community college and then transfer to a different school where you would like to study nursing. The only barrier that you may encounter is that sometimes certain pre-reqs do not transfer from school to school. This is not typically a problem but to prevent it from delaying your schooling, if you have some nursing schools in mind, you can call and ask them if pre-reqs from your initial college transfer to their school. Most of the time, pre-reqs will transfer if you receive them from an accredited school.

Your major would be nursing and you would take pre-nuring classes. If you explain to your advisor your plans to enroll in a nursing school, the advisor should set your major to "pre-nursing" or something equivalent to it.

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · Aug 15, 2014

Oops, I read your post wrong. I thought you were asking about BSNs and if you had to take prereqs separately. If the program you're looking into requires that you have prereq classes already completed, then you can take the prereqs at a community college to save on costs. Just make sure that your credits will transfer, as the PP mentioned. As for the major, it depends on which college but I think some of them may list as Health Sciences, along with Pre-Nursing. It's best to speak with an advisor, as I'm sure you're not the first student to do this. When in doubt, seek advice from the advisors. :) Good luck.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Aug 15, 2014

I would enter as prenursing. If you do biology as premed you will be taking a lot of credits you don't need, the try to apply to an ABSN program which is costly and will take you longer. Do prenursing and get your prereqs done then apply to the regular BSN program. An ABSN program will take you about 16 mos to complete. 16 mos longer than needed.

studentbear, CNA · Aug 15, 2014

The best information that you can get is if you set up an appointment with the BSN advisors at each school you're looking at. Requirements and processes can vary school to school.

RunBabyRN · Aug 15, 2014

You're correct, where you do your prereqs doesn't matter, with the exception of doing them through trade schools (the most expensive option out there). Do them at a community college- you may even be able to start now! When it comes time to apply for your BSN program, apply to ask many schools as you'd consider. Casting a wide net improves your chances of getting in SOMEWHERE, even if it's not your first choice of schools.

Apply as a pre-nursing major. Otherwise, some of the classes you'll need won't fall under your major, or you'll waste time on classes for a different major.

On a side note, I'm not sure if you're aware of the job market for nurses right now, especially new grads, but it's pretty rough out there. The nursing shortage is long behind us. Just know what you're getting into. :)

Livetoride · Aug 15, 2014

Unless you're going to medical school, don't bother with pre-med. Pre-med is mainly hard science and math classes; more than you actually need to enter nursing school. You enter as Pre-Nursing if BSN is your goal. Complete the pre-reqs, but talk to the actual nursing advisors at the school(s) you are interested in first to set a plan for your degree, and also to be sure to visit them from time to time to make sure you are on track for getting into nursing school.