Does it matter: Community College or University

Like it or not the general perception is BSN>ADN. There are regional exceptions where a hospital may hate the for-profit grads getting pumped out of 4 year programs, and like the CC students, but that is not the norm. You can always get your BSN online after getting your ADN.

You're really comparing apples and oranges here. Universities and community colleges offer different nursing degrees and while graduates of both programs are eligible to sit for NCLEX-RN, the two are not seen as equivalent in the eyes of employers. Right now, many institutions prefer to hire BSN graduates over ADN grads. Many ADNs are finding they need to get their BSNs in order to be competitive for jobs.

You can get an excellent education at a community college. It really isn't "less than" a university but it may be more difficult for the graduate of an ADN program to find a job. Much depends on the program, of course. Frankly, I think it's better to attend an AD program at a highly regarded community college than a BSN at a university that might not have a good reputation. Look at NCLEX passage rates and make sure the program you attend is accredited by either the NLNAC or CCNE.

I hope this helps answer your question!

I think it depends on your experience. As long as your school is accredited and you have experience I dont think it matters what school you went to.

A lot of CCs (at least in Oregon and Washington) team up with local universities to offer an additional year of classes and the option to go on for your BSN. I'll be entering an ADN program this fall, staying there for 2 years (for a GREAT deal, about $11K for 2 years), then moving on to a very well-respected university for the last year to get my BSN.

It really depends on where you live. Around here hospitals dont seem to care about the BSN/ADN debate. What I've noticed helps you land a job easier here is CNA/tech experience while in school regardless of the degree you're going for. Magnet hospitals around here will even hire ADNs. From what I've heard ADNs in Cali and NYC have a lot harder time finding jobs because the market is so saturated.

Around here the difference between the ADN program and the BSN program is mostly the pre-reqs like physics, organic chemistry, art, history, etc. The only core nursing classes that the BSN covers that the ADN program doesn't are Management, Nursing Research, Theoretical Foundations, and Community Health Nursing. However the BSN students have a lot more credits in gen eds and such. When I finish my ADN I'll only need to take 4 classes (online) to have my BSN because I started out at a university and took all their pre-reqs. I work with excellent ADN and BSN grads and you can't tell what degree they have by the care they give.

#1 make sure your school is NLNAC or CCNE accredited. We have some BSN programs around here that aren't accredited by either, and I'd much rather go through an accredited ADN program than an un accredited BSN program.