Confused, need advice. (Orlando area)

[intehflames]

Hi all. I've been trying to figure out what I ultimately want to do with my life as of late, and nursing is looking more and more attractive to me.

The lowdown on me: I'm 21 years old and I've already completed nearly two years of community college. Due to the fact that I'm fairly close to being able to transfer to a 4-year university.. I was thinking about applying to the B.S.N. program at University of Central Florida (I live just outside the Orlando area.. Lake County to be exact). I did look into Seminole Community College's 2-year R.N. program.. but as I said, I've already completed my first two years of college and I only lack a few gen. ed classes plus 6 of the prerequisites listed on http://nursing.ucf.edu/images/pdf/Pages%20from%20UCFUGRDCatalog0809-BasicBSNcurriculum.pdf so, to me, it seems like it would be a waste to just throw away those two years I've spent taking general education classes. But I'd like some input from those familiar with the field of nursing.

The only thing I'm worried about in applying to UCF for the BSN is that there may be a HUGE waiting list and I'll be waiting forever to get in. According to the UCF website, you have to have at least a 3.0 GPA to be accepted into the program. I currently have a 3.2 GPA so no worries (yet). I would love to hear from someone who might know if there is, in fact, a waiting list for acceptance into UCF's BSN program and if so how bad it is.

I even thought about going for my LPN and then, later on doing a LPN to RN bridge program - but again - I really hate to waste the time and money I've spent in community college thus far. But if I end up having to wait a year to get into the BSN program at UCF.. it might be a good idea.

Any advice is appreciated.

[luv4nursing]

I struggled with a similar problem when I first decided to go into nursing. I had a million credits and now after getting my ASN I have more than enough credits to have a bachelors degree, but I dont. In the end, if you decide to become a nurse...you just want to be a nurse by any means necessary.

At the time it also seemed like a waste to not go for a bsn program with all my credits...but the generic BSN programs are very, very competitive and although they say it takes a 3.0 to get in, the applicant pool is so competitive it seems like the cutoff has been at 3.7-3.8...somewhere way up there. Since I played around in school when I was younger, my GPA just couldnt compete. Once I decided to pursue nursing I got my act together and made all A's and a few B's...but the damage was already done to my GPA.

Even the ASN programs were highly competitive and had long waiting lists (I lived in Central FL at the time and was trying to go to UCF, Valencia, or SCC).

It may work out different for you, but I will tell you in my personal situation. I went and got my LPN....then I got directly into the LPN-RN bridge at Valencia with no problems and worked as an LPN while I got my RN. It was great bc the LPN-RN bridge at Valencia is online and it was very convenient for me to be able to work. Once you get your ASN there are a million ASN-BSN programs out there and many only take a year to finish. There is also one at St Pete College in Tampa/St Pete and its cheap and online too. I think it takes longer to complete though. I found one online I am looking into that would take me a year full time or 1.5-2 years part time. Keep in mind there is little to no pay difference between a new grad BSN and new grad ASN. They look at you as an RN either way. Of course its good to continue on so you have more opportunities than bedside nursing, though.

By the way, I already finished my LPN (which equals to 1 year in the RN program anyway) before I ever would have even gotten into the generic ASN at Valencia. So I actually got my RN quicker than if I would have gone any other route. So I only had 1 year to finish my RN (the program is actually only 11 months---January to December). Versus starting from scratch after waiting to get in and then having 2 years from that point for the generic track program. I am very happy with my decision and it was one of the best Ive ever made. My only regret was not doing it sooner...

[MAcc2ADN]

I went to a few info sessions at UCF before I finally decided to go to DBCC (or DSC as its called now). I too had a lot of credits and felt like I was settling for a 2 year degree instead of getting the BSN. What I did was put myself on all the area lists. DSC, SCC, UCF, etc and waited for a call. I asked many of the nurses where I worked at the time for their opinion and overwhelmingly it was to worry about the RN part... not the ADN or BSN part. Then, after you've been working for a little while and know what you want to do in nursing (ER, L&D, hospice, OR, education, mgmt, etc) then get the further degree if you need it. Many of the colleges have nice rollover programs that are not that hard to get into and are geared toward working students.

As for the GPA, I hate to tell you that the prior poster is absolutely correct. I walked in with a 3.85 and was VERY nervous applying after sitting through their info session. A min 3.7-3.8 is what they can narrow it down to because of how many applicants want in.

My advice would be to apply at all and take the first that accepts you.

[intehflames]

Thanks so much for the replies guys. And yeah.. a 3.2 GPA is good.. but not good enough to compete for a highly sought after program such as that.

The good news is that in my research efforts last night, I found out that Seminole Community College offers a concurrent AS to BSN program in partnership with UCF:

http://www.regionalcampuses.ucf.edu/pdf/Nursing_Program.pdf

http://www.scc-fl.com/nursing/media/concurrent-as-bsn.pdf

So that looks like a viable option. I'm just curious as to how difficult it is to get into that program. From what I've read on SCC's nursing site, you've got priority admission as long as you have at least a 3.0 GPA and all of the prereq classes completed.