Do NP schools care about where your BSN came from?

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Specializes in ICU, neuro ICU.

Hi everyone,

I am graduating next year with an ASN and will be deciding where I want to further my degree with an RN to BSN program. I go to a state college and we have an accredited RN to BSN program, but I am wondering for the future whether NP programs give a look at where your BSN came from? I don't know what kind of NP or graduate school I will want to pursue just yet, but I don't want to have any doors closed on me. Would it put me at a disadvantage to have a state college BSN vs. a university BSN or does that not matter in the slightest?

Thanks!

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Specializes in ICU.

Why would going to a state college look bad? State colleges are good schools. I'm trying to figure out the thought process on that. Private colleges are pretty expensive. The for profit, private colleges usually are not accredited, so you won't find a job after you graduate. Now, the private colleges that say are a christian or catholic colleges, they are good schools, just super expensive. I think it's silly to waste money on it and be in debt the rest of your life. I would think one of the most important things a NP school would look at is your GPA.

Most state schools, like IU, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, are awesome schools. You don't have to go to Princeton or Harvard to have your degree.

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Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.

I've looked into NP programs and never once I got the sense that they care about where you get your BSN as long as it's fully accredited. I'm pretty sure that GPA and experience matter much more.

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Specializes in ICU, neuro ICU.

I meant state schools (as in state and community colleges) compared to public universities that are definitely accredited, but I understand what you're saying. I would never go to a private school, I agree it is a waste of money in most cases. I'm not someone digging myself into 100k of debt for no reason. I left a great university to avoid unnecessary debt once I realized I couldn't pursue nursing there!

And I like to think so too, that GPA and experience would matter more. Thanks for your response.

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I got into a top graduate program with a hospital diploma and a BSN (completion) from a decent-but-nothing-special state uni that no one has ever heard of. The original question isn't that simple -- I'm sure (I hope) there are a lot of nursing graduates programs that don't look favorably upon graduates of some of the more notorious proprietary schools, but you certainly don't have to have gone to a "big name" school in order to get into a decent graduate program.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

My (top ten nationally) school had nothing against my BSN from middle-of-nowhere state university and even allowed some course transfers from there.

They make it very clear, though, that they do not accept Exelsior, some online BSN diploma mills and quite a few private schools with particularly bad reputation and low NCLEX pass rate. Certain pre-requisites must be either from a short list of state universities or approv ed by the program.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

My (top ten nationally) school had nothing against my BSN from middle-of-nowhere state university and even allowed some course transfers from there.

They make it very clear, though, that they do not accept Exelsior, some online BSN diploma mills and quite a few private schools with particularly bad reputation and low NCLEX pass rate. Certain pre-requisites must be either from a short list of state universities or get approval from the program.

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Specializes in ICU, neuro ICU.

Luckily the RN program at my school is highly regarded in our county (Palm Beach State College.) Our RN-BSN program, however, is very newly nationally accredited, but that shouldn't matter I don't think. Someone has to be in the early years of a program, right?

I guess I'm just wondering if it came down to it would they take someone with a BSN from Palm Beach State or from the University of Florida for example. But from what everyone is saying, it shouldn't matter.

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I think you should be more concerned about job prospects with the glut of RNs going into NP schools rather than BSN rankings/preference.

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Specializes in ICU, neuro ICU.

An interesting point. I suppose that would depend on the specialty one chooses for NP/grad school.

I am not concerned about BSN school rankings, I was asking if NP schools are :saint: Can you blame me for wanting to keep my options as wide open as possible?

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An interesting point. I suppose that would depend on the specialty one chooses for NP/grad school.

I am not concerned about BSN school rankings, I was asking if NP schools are :saint: Can you blame me for wanting to keep my options as wide open as possible?

I was referencing grad schools caring about BSN rankings or prestige.

FNP is by far the most saturated.

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Specializes in Occupational Health; Adult ICU.

Uh oh! A shortage of RN's and a glut of APN's....

If a person has recently entered nursing and does not have much experience I'd bet that GPA and letters of reference matter the most.

If a person has been an RN for several or more years I'd suspect that as long as the applicant had a minimum historic GPA (maybe 3.3 or >) that letters of reference and essentially "what has the person done/knows is often what counts the most. This may be more important if a person chooses to go into a nursing sub-specialty. (Such as CRNA or Occupational Health).

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