Do you go directly into a BSN program after high school?

MammaNurse2Be · Jul 14, 2009

Hi there!

Good for you to start thinking of your path so early! A BSN is a 4 year degree which you begin working on once you get into college. You don't take pre-reqs then start a bsn. All the classes are towards the goal of earning a BSN. For example, as a freshman you would take your basic english, math, and then those pre-req science classes which you need before you can begin a clincial portion of the nursing degree. Usually those are bio, chem, anatomy, physio, and micro or some variation on the above. If you are taking any upper level science classes in school now such as a bio or chem, you may be abe to clep out of those classes. It is never to soon to start thinking of your goal so good for you for thinking about this NOW! My suggestion would be to go talk to your school counselor and get some advice about classes you can take now that will help you get a leg up in the future. Heavy math and science are the way to go! Also, before freshman year you have a summer which is good to take your english or math requirements which can lighten the load when taking those heavy college science classes. Really, you are so smart to be thinking like this! It is much easier to get that degree before you have kids and a husband!!! Trust me!

MamaNurse2be

SnowRain7489 · Jul 14, 2009

YES, PLEASE DO THAT!!!!!!!! And start your research NOW. I struggled w/ trying to find a school to transfer into because I had taken prerequisites at a community college. If you start out as a RN student your freshman year, you don't have to worry about where you're going to go later on, because you're already going to be in the program. Just think of the stress, time, & disappointment that you'll be avoiding- what a wonderful thing. I agree w/ MammaNurse2Be about taking a summer class or 2 to lighten up your load & save money. But defiantly start applying to 4year schools RNprogram that allows you to start the RN program as a freshman ASAP!

ErinJane · Jul 15, 2009

I think it depends on the program. In ours, you have four years after being accepted to the program. I had taken 2 years of classes (some prereqs, but I was a poly sci/ economics major then) before being accepted so I will have been in school for 6 years when I get my bachelors.

elkpark · Jul 15, 2009

Nursing is a very confusing world for people who are just starting to look into it! :) The issue is that there are different ways to set up a BSN program. Some programs are four-year programs that incorporate all the pre-requisite courses into the four-year curriculum. You are accepted into the nursing program and are officially a Nursing major from Day One. Others set up the specifically nursing portion of the program as a two-year program (the junior and senior years of college), and you are just a "general" college student (a lot of schools that do it this way offer a "pre-nursing" major) and take the prerequisite courses during the first two years before you're officially accepted into the nursing program and become a Nursing major.

It's a four-year program either way, you take the same courses, and you end up with a BSN degree. The rest of it is just "picky details" that vary a little from school to school.

jjjoy, LPN · Jul 15, 2009

The BSN program I went to didn't accept students until junior year of college. The first two years, you took pre-reqs and gen ed classes then applied to the program at the end of your second year (or third year if you had any extra coursework to take). Many students were transfers from other schools but there were also several who took the pre-reqs at the same uni. As far as I know there was no edge given to students applying from the same uni. If you didn't get into the nursing program, you could wait til the next year & apply again, apply somewhere else (the problem there is that the pre-reqs are often a little different from school to school), and/or major in something else.

I've heard of other 4-yr BSN programs that do accept students as freshmen, with the pre-reqs and gen ed courses taken as official nursing students, as opposed to as pre-nursing students. That sounds like a great option if you know from day 1 that you want to major in nursing and have the option of going straight to a full-time 4-year university program.

minky93 · Jul 15, 2009

Wow, thanks a lot everyone! You really cleared things up! :redbeathe

minky93 · Jul 15, 2009

I've also found only three four-year BSN nursing programs in nyc where you go straight into the program in freshmen year.

The programs are: NYU, Pace, and College of Mount St. Vincent. The rest you need to take the prerequisites courses and then apply for the BSN program.

elkpark · Jul 15, 2009

I've also found only three four-year BSN nursing programs in nyc where you go straight into the program in freshmen year.
The programs are: NYU, Pace, and College of Mount St. Vincent. The rest you need to take the prerequisites courses and then apply for the BSN program.

Either type of program will get you where you want to go (nursing licensure). Which specific program would be the best choice for you is a very personal, individual choice.

UVA Grad Nursing · Jul 16, 2009

It really varies from school to school. At my university, we accept people directly into the BSN program from high school. It is a 4-year BSN. In the first year, you would take A&P and a course in nursing history. In the second year you would do your skills and assessment classes, and have your first med-surg clinical.

Other programs are more a 2:2 format (two years of liberal arts and prerequisites, then 2 years of nursing). At UVa, we spread the liberal arts and the nursing across all four years.