Excited, but confused!

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Hi all! I'm writing today because like the title, I'm excited but very confused on where to start.

After many trials and tribulations in my career life. I realize the thing that inspired me years ago is still the thing that keeps me going today. My mother. She passed away from ovarian cancer, after years of fighting, going into remission, then getting hit again even harder by the beast, she still put up a strong fight for me and my sister. I was there every step of the way and it was a very life changing moment for me.

After years of fighting myself on it, I have decided on beginning my schooling and career in nursing, but of course first I need my education. I reside in Connecticut and the different programs are all so overwhelming. To begin I haven't even started college, so this is also why I feel very overwhelmed. I know I need to complete pre-req's but are there certain things I should be looking out for? Community colleges around me offer associates programs, and I'm not 100% sure which ones I should be looking into that would be "accredited" towards a BSN. There aren't a lot of people around me who have actually gone to school, especially for nursing. Any insight would be helpful. Thank you all so much! ?

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That is so exciting that you are ready to start this! There are many important things to look at when choosing a nursing school. You definitely want one that is accredited at the state or national level. I would also look at their NCLEX pass rates and I would compare prerequisites for each program. Most ADN programs in my state have the same prerequisites, but it is good to check so that you can apply to multiple schools. If you are interested in doing an RN to BSN program after an ADN program then you could look into the colleges that have those programs as well. Sometimes they have extra prerequisites, so it would be good to knock those out early as well! My state has Direct Transfer Agreements to transfer from an ADN program to an RN to BSN program, but I have been told by the universities that as long as the program is state accredited and you have done all of the university's prereqs it does not matter if you went to a DTA school or not. The DTA just guarantees that you have completed all of the requirements.

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Specializes in Oncology.

Congratulations on starting this journey! I'm finishing my first semester in my local community college's ADN program and I love it; therefore, I'd personally recommend an ADN program, followed directly by an RN-BSN at a university. Schools will usually mention their accreditation on their nursing programs' websites. The general rule of thumb is that if you're a licensed RN who completed an accredited ADN program, you're eligible for RN-BSN programs (though individual states and universities will probably have a few extra criteria regarding GPA and grades). A Google search should tell you what your state's policies are.

As for choosing a school, you're right that they're all quite different. I encourage you to peruse the websites of a few different schools and look at the following:

  • pre-requisites for the nursing program
    • most schools require Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Microbiology, and possibly Chemistry/biology
  • other admissions criteria specific to the nursing program, possibly including:
    • overall GPA
    • pre-requisite GPA
    • pre-requisite grades
    • TEAS or HESI score
  • NCLEX pass rate
  • approximate cost
  • how many students are accepted each term (and how many apply)
  • do they offer only face-to-face or is there a blended (partially online, partially in-person) option
  • layout of the program (sequence of courses and clinicals)

My program also offers information sessions on campus for prospective applicants; I attended one before applying and the info was invaluable, so I highly recommend taking advantage of anything similar that schools around you may offer.

I hope this helps! If you have any more questions, we're here to help ?

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On 4/23/2020 at 3:15 AM, AlissaTaylor13 said:

That is so exciting that you are ready to start this! There are many important things to look at when choosing a nursing school. You definitely want one that is accredited at the state or national level. I would also look at their NCLEX pass rates and I would compare prerequisites for each program. Most ADN programs in my state have the same prerequisites, but it is good to check so that you can apply to multiple schools. If you are interested in doing an RN to BSN program after an ADN program then you could look into the colleges that have those programs as well. Sometimes they have extra prerequisites, so it would be good to knock those out early as well! My state has Direct Transfer Agreements to transfer from an ADN program to an RN to BSN program, but I have been told by the universities that as long as the program is state accredited and you have done all of the university's prereqs it does not matter if you went to a DTA school or not. The DTA just guarantees that you have completed all of the requirements.

Thank you so much! I have started to look at the details of the programs at community colleges around me. Your insight has made my research a little easier. I really appreciate it.

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On 4/24/2020 at 12:32 AM, Shan said:

Congratulations on starting this journey! I'm finishing my first semester in my local community college's ADN program and I love it; therefore, I'd personally recommend an ADN program, followed directly by an RN-BSN at a university. Schools will usually mention their accreditation on their nursing programs' websites. The general rule of thumb is that if you're a licensed RN who completed an accredited ADN program, you're eligible for RN-BSN programs (though individual states and universities will probably have a few extra criteria regarding GPA and grades). A Google search should tell you what your state's policies are.

As for choosing a school, you're right that they're all quite different. I encourage you to peruse the websites of a few different schools and look at the following:

  • pre-requisites for the nursing program
    • most schools require Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Microbiology, and possibly Chemistry/biology
  • other admissions criteria specific to the nursing program, possibly including:
    • overall GPA
    • pre-requisite GPA
    • pre-requisite grades
    • TEAS or HESI score
  • NCLEX pass rate
  • approximate cost
  • how many students are accepted each term (and how many apply)
  • do they offer only face-to-face or is there a blended (partially online, partially in-person) option
  • layout of the program (sequence of courses and clinicals)

My program also offers information sessions on campus for prospective applicants; I attended one before applying and the info was invaluable, so I highly recommend taking advantage of anything similar that schools around you may offer.

I hope this helps! If you have any more questions, we're here to help ?

Yes, definitely helps. I'm very anxious about the pre-reqs. Science was not my thing when I was in high school, but oddly enough after high school I'm very drawn to it. It all sounds so scary hearing it, but once I'm in there I will feel really good about soaking up all the good information. I really appreciate your help! ?

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