Current Undergraduate Student Wishing to Pursue a BSN but Does Not Have an RN Degree

[Val A.]

Good Evening Everyone,

I am currently a Hunter College Undergrad in my third year. My initial plan was to take all nursing pre-requisites (a & p I & II, organic chem, microbiology, etc), take the pre-nursing exam, and apply to hunter's nursing program. However, I was told the program is highly competitive, accepting only 100 students a year. In addition, the average GPA is a a 3.8 and there is currently a 2 year waiting list.

Unfortunately, I am not willing to wait around for 2 years so I decided to look at other options. I finally settled on SUNY downstate as the college I would obtain my bachelors of science in nursing from. To my surprise, I come to find out that SUNY downstate requires that you be a RN before applying to their bachelors of science program in nursing.

Hunter college does not require an RN degree in order for students to enter the BSN program. I assumed most BSN programs would be the same, but was disappointed when I found out otherwise.

For those who have attended the SUNY downstate BSN program, did I misunderstand the admission requirements and can I actually apply without an RN degree?

Does anyone know of any college (preferably CUNY/SUNY) that accept students without an RN degree into the BSN program?

Everyone's help is greatly appreciated!

- Val

[April, RN, BSN, RN]

If a program requires an RN license to apply, then it is an RN to BSN bridge program, not a traditional BSN program like you are looking for.

[happy2learn]

There are two programs at SUNY - one that is accelerated which is for people who already hold a Bachelor's, and the other is an RN-BSN program.

College of Nursing: Admissions

You didn't read it wrong. The program you looked at is for RN's to gain their BSN.

As far as other schools, I'm not in your area, so unfortunately I can't help you there. I just googled to school to see if you were reading it correctly. I thought it was kind of strange that they didn't offer a regular route.

I suggest going to this site to find an accredited school:

http://nlnac.org/Forms/directory_search.htm

Also, for school related questions you will get more responses if you submit threads in the student forum.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

There is no such thing as an "RN degree". I am not even sure what you are asking about. If you want to be a nurse, you have to go to nursing school.

[LookForward]

try stony brook university and binghamton university...they dont require you to have an rn degree...

[coast2coast]

There is another CUNY school of nursing ... Lehmann I believe? It's been awhile since I looked into it, so not 100% sure about spelling. But very sure it didn't require the R.N.

[Scoots]

No one explained this part, so I will. "RN" is a credential or license obtained by taking the state nursing board exams and passing them. A candidate may have gone to a hospital diploma program (in which case no college degree is involved), obtained an Associate of Science degree from a college, or obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from a college. All must take the state tests in order to be called a "Registered Nurse". There are particular courses that are required to be taken before one can sit for the exam. You just can't take the exam cold.

Many programs build upon each other and become "bridge" or "plus" programs. I am attending a school starting next month that puts the student through the LPN required courses before they enter into the RN courses. They call this a "one plus one" program.

Hope this helps and hope you find the right school for you.

[LifelongDream]

I'm going to try to make this less confusing than previous posters. There are different routes to the BSN Degree. These include:

Diploma RN: Receive their training at a hospital and sit for State Boards to become RN. No traditional AP, etc. It's more hands on and learn as you go. These programs were very popular in the past, but now there are few remaining.

Associates in Nursing and then BSN: Two year degree to get to RN from community college. Then, complete a one year RN to BSN program to get bachelors.

Accelerated BSN/ Second Degree BSN: These programs are typically 12-18 months. They are much more expensive than the RN to BSN programs, but you finish in a fraction of the time.

Personally, the Accelerated BSN seems to be the best option for you at this point. It makes the most sense because even though it may cost you more, you will be finishing school a full two years earlier than those that chose to go the Associates to RN-BSN route. You can start making money while they are still in school.

Good luck to you! :)