Second degree Bsn cost

U.S.A. Colorado

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anyone who has done second degree Bsn programs in colorado, what program did you do and how much did it cost you?

Would trying to go back for a traditional program be easier? Or getting an associates?

It is fairly difficult to find a job in Denver metro area with only an Associates, unless you are okay starting out in a SNF, home health, Psych, etc. UC Denver has a good breakdown of tuition costs on their website. Their traditional program is manageable with working part-time. Metro is also priced pretty well. Regis and Denver School of Nursing are very expensive but have good programs. Have you started your pre-recs? Any hospital experience?

I don't have any hospital experience and have looked into shadowing but have found a lot of hospitals require that you be in highschool or college to shadow. I just moved to Colorado so was planning on starting my pre reqs in 6 months when I have in state tuition.

My only concern with a traditional program is having to retake many general courses I already did with my first degree!

I don't quite recall what CU required but I only had to worry about 5 pre-recs: A & P, Microbiology, Nutrition and Chem. If $$ is not too difficult you could look into getting a CNA cert which would be helpful for college admissions. You can also challenge the exam after finishing a few nursing courses if you would prefer to wait.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

I was literally just researching this today for a friend of mine. An ABSN at CU will cost about $28,000 (tuition only). This is in-state rate. It's a 16-month program, I believe.

A traditional BSN will cost about $40,000-50,000.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

My only concern with a traditional program is having to retake many general courses I already did with my first degree!

You should be able to get transfer credit for many of your general ed/pre-req courses. The science courses will need to have been taken within the past 5ish years in order to get credit.

Thank you so much! It seems accelerated would be the way to go for costs. I am hoping my gpa won't stop me from getting in I didn't do the best my first two years of college

I'm just starting school on January but thought I'd add my opinion as I'm a career-changer and have spent the last 2 years preparing for nursing school.

If you have a previous degree I can't imagine a reason to pursue a traditional program. In fact, at Metro State I don't know that they would allow an applicant to apply as traditional as that's the reason accelerated was developed.

CU and Regis accelerated are 12 months (too fast for me!) and Metro is 17 months. DSN is 22, I believe. Metro's cost is about 38k total, but that includes all predicted costs above and beyond just tuition. They don't look at cumulative GPA, just prerequisites and they use a ranking criteria including CNA license, experience, prereqs, HESI, etc.

I recommend getting your CNA immediately while completing your prereqs. Ace those and get some hours and you shouldn't have trouble!

Thank you so much! Do you mind me asking what you were doing before and why you decided to go back for annursing degree? I've been doing some research in Metro as well and I think that would be the program I would go with!

Sure! So I have a bachelors in geoscience from 2004 and did that for a few years, but once I had my first kiddo I fell back to my massage therapy license and opened my own medical massage place (doesn't count for healthcare experience, unfortunately). I've mainly been massaging since then. I ran an infant massage program which turned into a postpartum support group of sorts, which led me to my interest in midwifery:) Since deciding to change careers I got my CNA and have worked a bit in memory care and am currently in a local hospital part time. I highly recommend CNA work. Some people say it isn't necessary, and that may be true, but it's been priceless for me and made me realize I need to go into school open-minded about what field of nursing I'd like to pursue. How about yourself? What brings you to nursing?

Sure! So I have a bachelors in geoscience from 2004 and did that for a few years, but once I had my first kiddo I fell back to my massage therapy license and opened my own medical massage place (doesn't count for healthcare experience, unfortunately). I've mainly been massaging since then. I ran an infant massage program which turned into a postpartum support group of sorts, which led me to my interest in midwifery:) Since deciding to change careers I got my CNA and have worked a bit in memory care and am currently in a local hospital part time. I highly recommend CNA work. Some people say it isn't necessary, and that may be true, but it's been priceless for me and made me realize I need to go into school open-minded about what field of nursing I'd like to pursue. How about yourself? What brings you to nursing?

Awesome! I graduated with a degree in public relations and marketing. I was a pre nursing student my freshmen year of college and the advisor talked me out of it and I should have went wih my gut and stayed! Since graduating I worked in sales and it had made me realize a lot about myself/my motivators and what would make me satisfied at the end of the day. I know that inaant to help people, I want to give back and contribute to society and know that what I did during my day makes a difference in helping others! This is why I have been thinking about going back to school because since I graduated I have still been thinking about nursing! For some reason I have been just very nervous so I have not made my final decision yet. I think my nerves are more from being afraid of the amount of loans I will have to take out again and the chance of failing is very scary to me!

Awesome! I graduated with a degree in public relations and marketing. I was a pre nursing student my freshmen year of college and the advisor talked me out of it and I should have went wih my gut and stayed! Since graduating I worked in sales and it had made me realize a lot about myself/my motivators and what would make me satisfied at the end of the day. I know that inaant to help people, I want to give back and contribute to society and know that what I did during my day makes a difference in helping others! This is why I have been thinking about going back to school because since I graduated I have still been thinking about nursing! For some reason I have been just very nervous so I have not made my final decision yet. I think my nerves are more from being afraid of the amount of loans I will have to take out again and the chance of failing is very scary to me!

Well, I'd say at least start the process if you're feeling it! It can take a while and you may gain more certainty (or less) as you work through all the science prereqs. Use that time to make sure it's what you want and try and work as an aide too! That would be my advice! Good luck to ya! :)

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