Education Question from LPN

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Hi all. I am new to the board, been lurking a little, reading other posts. I am an LPN, but I currently stay at home with my daughter, who is 23 months. I also have a 9 year old son.

I would like to go back to school to become an RN next year. I am trying to decide whether to go the ASN route or BSN route. I can think of a couple reasons why ASN would be more prudent, finances and time until completion to be exact . I have constantly heard BSN would be better in the long run. What do you guys think? I am not trying to start a debate on which is better, just would like some opinions. Thanks in advance:)

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that if you won't be working you may qualify for significant financial aid. Personally, I receive more than 15,000 per year in grants (consisting of Federal, State, and private assistence). I could if I chose take up to an additional $13,000 or so a year in loans. The point is the more aid you will receive the more sense going for the BSN from the start makes. To find out you will need to fill out a FAFSA, and then contact the Financial aid dept at the school of your choice.

Also, keep in mind that if you get your ASN first, MANY schools have online RN to BSN programs available. In many cases you can use the hours at your regular RN job to count towards the limited clinical hours these programs require. Considering that ASN's make esentially the same money as those with BSN's there is little economic argument for getting the four year degree initially. The BSN becomes more importent if you are considering advanced education such as becoming an NP or CRNA. However, some schools have RN to MSN programs available (although not RN to CRNA).

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Specializes in Nursing Education.
Originally posted by NurseRatchet26

Hi all. I am new to the board, been lurking a little, reading other posts. I am an LPN, but I currently stay at home with my daughter, who is 23 months. I also have a 9 year old son.

I would like to go back to school to become an RN next year. I am trying to decide whether to go the ASN route or BSN route. I can think of a couple reasons why ASN would be more prudent, finances and time until completion to be exact . I have constantly heard BSN would be better in the long run. What do you guys think? I am not trying to start a debate on which is better, just would like some opinions. Thanks in advance:)

I did the same thing your are considering. I was an LPN for many years, went back to complete my ADN and am now finishing up the BSN. I advise that getting your ADN first would be the quickest way to earn your RN license. This gives you the option to get some experience as an RN while you are earning your BSN. Once you are an RN, you can work as you go through school to finish your BSN. Most hospitals offer some reasonable decent tuition assistance programs and there is also online options to earn the bachelor's degree. Whatever decision you make, good luck.

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Thank you for taking time to reply to my question Roland. It would be terrific if I could get that much financial aid grant money. I already have a huge student loan to pay back from Practical nursing school. ( Long story, I overpaid because I didn't do my research. A mistake I make only once!). I have a while to decide I just wanted to get some opinions.

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Thank you RNPATL. It sounds as if that would be the best way to go for my situation.

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