do i go for absn or bsn?? would really appreciate any advice !

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Hi all,

I am new to the allnurses community however have continuously been coming to this page for various school reviews and general nursing help. I am currently going into my third year at a university and have been a pre-nursing major for the past two years. However, I am now at a point where I must either get into a nursing program or change my major. I'm currently residing in California and as many of you probably know, where I live has the most competitive schools to get into (yikes).

I unfortunately messed up freshmen year and did not take my grades too seriously but was able to pick up my grades sophomore year, leaving me with a 3.36 cum gpa and a 3.0 science gpa. Ive only taken the teas once as a practice round and got a 73 but am retaking it this coming month and am hoping to bring it up to atleast 80 but hopefully high 80s! I also have 60+ volunteer hours.

I've looked around at manyyy BSN programs in and out of the state, however my family would prefer i stay on the west coast, limiting a good amount of choices for me already. I also don't have a competitive gpa AT ALL and have found this to be extremely discouraging while looking for BSN programs to get into. I am now faced with the choice of either taking a break from university, of which i am already halfway done with, to pick up my grades and hope to get into a BSN program in fall 2019 or in the year of 2020, OR continuing at my university with a different science major and after graduating, go for an ABSN program or an RN program, then RN-BSN.

Anyways, sorry this is an extremely long post but I have been stressing about this decision for the whole summer now and still haven't really reached a viable conclusion. I realize both are not bad options, however I am not sure which would be best in my journey to becoming a nurse.

Does anyone have any advice??

Thank you so much in advance to anyone who replies.

-aspiring nurse

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It's kind of going to depend on what programs you're looking at and what your financial status is. I imagine getting a bachelor's and then doing a ABSN is going to cost more and take longer. You also don't usually qualify for federal grants with a second degree, just federal loans, so that's possibly another factor. (Though I have seen some people here mention some type of California state financial aid program? So that might be an option.)

For some programs, going forward to get a bachelor's to improve your overall GPA isn't going to matter if your prereq GPA is still bad/not competitive. So you'd have more of a chance retaking classes than spending time getting a degree you aren't going to use. With others, it could improve your chances.

I've heard a lot how California nursing schools are saturated with applicants making it supremely competitive, so it might be the most cost and time effective to just look at schools outside the state. I'm not sure how competitive schools are in other west coast states.

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thank you so much for your advice! One of the reasons that I actually didn't mention for staying and finishing my bachelors, would be to give myself atleast a degree before pursuing nursing just incase I decide later on that nursing isnt for me. Not sure if this changes your answer at all- but its so difficult for me to decide that nursing is what I for sure want to do for the rest of my life when I am unable to grasp what it would be like being in nursing school and to work as a nurse.

Again, really appreciate your comment!

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If your university has a career services, see if they help find people that you can shadow? Like maybe you can shadow a nurse, and that will give you a better idea of what nursing entails and if that's something you think you would enjoy.

You could also look to see what other jobs you could see yourself doing with career services and if you would find that more fulfilling than nursing.

Only after I knew what I wanted to do would I make the ultimate decisions. There's not use in adding on time to completing your goal if you find that nursing is what you want. There also no use in stressing out and trying to better your application for a nursing program if you aren't going to like nursing.

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What's your long-term goal when it comes to nursing? A bachelor's degree always has a place, it always has value. Just remember, it's only a bargaining point, to convince a guy to interview, or maybe make a little more to start.

Only you can answer this question for you. We can all tell you what we would do, but we don't know your complete situation to really weigh in too well.

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Very true. Thank you I appreciate your input!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

California is super competitive from what I hear so that does complicate things a bit if you are unable or unwilling to move. At least at this point in your education path you do have options. The largest barrier may or may not be financial. I don't know your financial situation and I would never presume to ask but you do need to be aware if you opt for a Bachelors degree in another field with the plan to then transition to a nursing degree your financial aid options will be more limited.

Since you are already a couple of years in to school if you do opt to transfer to an Associate's program your pre-reqs are most likely done so the degree path should be much faster. That would also open the option for an RN to BSN path which should also go faster as long as the program you choose will allow you to transfer in the credits you've already completed. If you are looking into that option do your research and find the programs that will transfer most if not all of your existing credits. Unless there are classes you really feel you should retake there's not much point in paying again for credits you've already earned elsewhere.

Depending on what part of California you are in the job market can be difficult, though I hear there are places in the state where the job market is much friendlier to nurses with an Associates Degree. Unless you live in one of those rare pockets of a wide open job market getting your Bachelor's one way or the other might be the best option for your future employability.

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BSN > aBSN (if you have the money) > no BSN

Only go to an associates program if you cannot get into any BSN program.

Then bridge RN-BSN.

Sure, its more steps this way, but it works.

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BSN > aBSN (if you have the money) > no BSN

Only go to an associates program if you cannot get into any BSN program.

Then bridge RN-BSN.

Sure, its more steps this way, but it works.

Or if you don't know 100% that you want to be a nurse. A BSN is expensive if you finish, start working for a couple years and realize that you hate nursing.

Even in your most competitve areas, there's always going to be jobs for people with ADNs. There's RNs that can back up that for the last 10 years, they've been hearing that they're about to phase out nurses with associates degrees and start demanding a BSN. Just like all the NPs that have been hearing for the last 20 years that they're going to be demanding a doctorate. It's just not going to be realistic until we have a surplus of RNs.

I can't, in good conscience, recommend a BSN program to someone unless they're absolutely 100000% positive that they want to be nurse, and that they can handle nursing at its worse. Basically, if you've never been an aide and saw what nurses have to do on top of still having to be able to do your job if you're not there, I wouldn't go straight to BSN. Even just your first semester of clinicals will probably cost you more than getting your entire ADN at a community college. That's an expensive gamble if you're new to healthcare.

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I honestly thought that a BSN was the absolute way to go, but I am now much more open to the idea of ADN programs. They definitely are more cost effective and there are so many more options when it comes to local community colleges. Thank you for your comment and advice, it is greatly appreciated!

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Specializes in 25 years NICU 5 years Telephone Triage.

I have never heard of the degree "ABSN". Do you mean "ADN?" Which is an associate degree in nursing.

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I have never heard of the degree "ABSN". Do you mean "ADN?" Which is an associate degree in nursing.

Probably coined to mean "accelerated" BSN.

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