Daughter looking to be a RN

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What is the differnce between a nursing program or a university degree in nursing besides cost? Same thing when you go to get a job? Do most nurses have a dgree froma university? Her mother seems to think she has to have a degree from a university.

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Specializes in Current: ER Past: Cardiac Tele.

OK, well there are RN programs which is an Associate Degree (2 years) and then most universities offer a Bachelors Program aka BSN (4 years). Most universities also offer an RN to BSN program.

Check into your local community colleges for the RN programs and see how they compare. But be aware that some of the private nursing colleges in your area, will not only cost more, but the credits accrued from that school may not transfer to a university if your daughter decided she would want to further her degree.

I'm not really sure how old your daughter is and if she's just graduating HS or not, but it just depends on your financial situation and what kind of college experience she wants :)

Good luck in your research!

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Specializes in Surgical.

Is there an issue with cost?

Each program has its merits. Yes, you can get a two year degree and still be an RN.

But there are more important questions...

like what does she want to do as a nurse?

does she want to specialize, manage, teach...... all of these things can make a big difference down the road.

Doing the BSN/university the first time can be cheaper in the long run. RN to BSN programs can be very expensive. Plus, if she is young and has no other obligations, now might be the opportune time to go for that advanced degree.

I'm not against the 2 year degree - thats how I started. So I speak from experience about the additional cost (and time) involved if you wait.

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She is a senior in HS and cost is a slight problem. Her mother wants her to go to a CC to get her general then a four year college. Problem is in california classes are hard to get at a CC. She started off wanting to do a lvn course for 13 months then get a job and continue her education towards being a RN. Cost for that 33k versus a 3 year RN course at a cost of 132k. Think she can do a CC and a four year somewhere in that price range.

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33K to become an LVN? That's sounds steep.

At my cc, it's a little under 100 per credit. Each semester runs me about $1600 (about half is tuition and half is fees) plus I invested about $1500 into books when I started the program. They just need to check out the cost for the CC.

If she is young and coming out of high school, I am inclined to suggest going right in for a BSN at a university. However, if cost is an issue, many cc offer fine programs (in fact, where I live, a lot of the cc offer better programs than some of the 4 year schools).

Here is a suggestion to keep costs down:

Plan to go to the cc for the associate degree RN (associates and BSN allow you to sit for the N-Clex and become an RN). Start investigating what the requirements for the program are regarding prerequisites, waiting lists etc. Also, start investigating the requirements for a BSN and 4 year schools. She can work on pre-reqs her first year (A&P, microbiology, etc). During her 2nd, she can work on classes that will be applied to her BSN (maths, English, communications, humanities, etc). Hopefully by her 3rd and 4th year, she can work on her associates to get an RN. After that, she can get a job and have her job pay for the BSN or she can go right on for the RN to BSN programs.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

I would also suggest you contact a local hospital and see if she could spend a day shadowing a nurse. Then she can see what she's really getting into, and what all nurse's do.

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she is a senior in hs and cost is a slight problem. her mother wants her to go to a cc to get her general then a four year college. problem is in california classes are hard to get at a cc. she started off wanting to do a lvn course for 13 months then get a job and continue her education towards being a rn. cost for that 33k versus a 3 year rn course at a cost of 132k. think she can do a cc and a four year somewhere in that price range.

132k??? or was that a typo? i hope so, because rn school is not worth 132k. the expensive associates rn schools by me are $18k per year, so that's a total of $36, which is still high. if she goes to one of those schools with the fast track programs, the ones that usually cost more, there is a good chance a lot of her credits will not transfer to the 4 year university, which means more money will need to be spent, and more time. most of those students have to re-take a lot of general education classes and a lot of them have a hard time moving to different states and getting licenses by that state.

as far as what's the difference between associate's rn and bachelor's rn, it depends on where you live. where i am at, there are more job opportunities for the bsn's. i've also heard a lot of people say lpn jobs are going away. so that may not be the ideal option for her.

i would have her do the cc rn, then she can do the rn-bsn, which seems to be about 1 year. there are tons of places to get the rn-bsn, and tons of online colleges too. this is what i'm doing. the total tuition for my rn at the community college is going to be about $20k. but that is also because there is a wait. however, while i am on my wait, i am working on classes that are required for the bsn(saves money), so by the time i get my adn, i will just transfer to the local university to complete my bsn which will be another $11k, and another year.

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I would also suggest you contact a local hospital and see if she could spend a day shadowing a nurse. Then she can see what she's really getting into, and what all nurse's do.

This is a great idea as well. When I graduated high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Sometimes at that age, you think you know, but you really don't know yourself well enough. This would be great for her to see what is really involved in nursing before anyone spends money on it.

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132K??? Or was that a typo? I hope so, because RN school is NOT worth 132k. The expensive associates RN schools by me are $18K per year,

No typo 132k...this is in california. Going to try and see about getting her to shadow a nurse for a day if i can. Anyone in the so cal area let me hear you schooling experiences.

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Specializes in Hospice & Palliative Care, Oncology, M/S.

I'm just ending my first semester in a BSN program, and I'm really loving it. I live in San Diego, and 132K sounds high... are you referring to private colleges?

I do recommend that your daughter shadow a nurse, as others have suggested. It really does open your eyes to be on the "other side". My first day in clinicals I knew I was making the right move.

I wish your daughter the best in her future! :)

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School is west coast university

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WHOA! My nursing school at my local community college is $50 per credit hour. I am totally thankful for that after reading about what other CC's charge!

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