Going back to school, when I figure out which school

[beautygirlsmom]

Hi,

I've been lurking on the site for a few weeks reading and thought I would say hello and make a post.

I am a SAHM, started college after HS at a community college in NJ that had a nursing program doing some of the pre-work. Life and a cute guy who became my DH happened. Next thing I knew, I was back at school a few years later, in a second community college that had a nursing program, this time in FL. Once again life happened, family members with terminal conditions, and I was out of school again.

I just left a meeting with the nursing program guidance counselor at that same first NJ community college. Only now years later their nursing program is no longer accepting new students and shutting down in a few months. She answered my questions, but I left that meeting thinking that any time spent at a 2 year community college might be time wasted.

I have 50+ 2 year school credits, some I could use, all of them over 5 years old.

I am lucky that even though my DH has retired from work early due to a vision disability, we are able to send me back to school full-time. And I have a full-time free tutor at home with nothing else to do :)

So where do I go to school?

I ruled out any programs from non-accredited institutions.

Looking for a 4 year accredited school (college or university) for an BSN program that admits to the Nursing program, even if conditionally, is looking like a needle in the hay stack.

Since I am a SAHM, and this is my third time is the charm to focus on myself and my education, and we have the means and the maturity to finish it this time, we are looking at everything from Alaska to Hawaii to Fargo, ND, and all the stuff in between.

Am I missing something? Is every BSN program only taking transfer students, or students who get admitted to the College or University as -or general studies, and then roll the dice and hope you get accepted to those limited number of slots in 2 years?

Or are the $40k/year programs at Illinois Wesleyan University the only types of programs that do direct admission?

[Moogie]

First of all, :spnngwlcm:

Glad you found us!

You are willing and able to relocate and you're looking for an entry-level BSN program, right? You're also hoping to get previous college credits transferred in---but after that I am a little confused. Are you looking to start the program immediately? Do you have a lot of prerequsites done for a BSN program?

Every program is a little bit different and has different prerequisites. If you can relocate, the sky is the limit as to where you can go. Keep in mind that if you are an in-state resident, you tuition will be less----but for the most part, a state school will be less expensive than a private school. May I ask in which geographical location you are currently?

Some BSN programs take transfer students, some don't. I've seen transfer students have to jump through plenty of hoops to get into BSN programs and I've also seen the process go relatively smoothly for someone transferring community college credits. A lot of times, you just need to talk to the admissions people at the various schools to see what they would consider taking for transfer.

This website might be of help to you in looking for schools:

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/

You are very wise to stick to accredited schools. I think you are on the right track---it's just so hard to say, go to this school or that school because everyone is different and a lot depends on how well you have done in your previous college courses.

You might also wish to check out some of the state-specific educational threads https://allnurses.com/united-states-nursing/ for information on schools in specific states.

Hope this helps!

[beautygirlsmom]

First of all, :spnngwlcm:

Glad you found us!

You are willing and able to relocate and you're looking for an entry-level BSN program, right? You're also hoping to get previous college credits transferred in---but after that I am a little confused. Are you looking to start the program immediately? Do you have a lot of prerequsites done for a BSN program?

Every program is a little bit different and has different prerequisites. If you can relocate, the sky is the limit as to where you can go. Keep in mind that if you are an in-state resident, you tuition will be less----but for the most part, a state school will be less expensive than a private school. May I ask in which geographical location you are currently?

Some BSN programs take transfer students, some don't. I've seen transfer students have to jump through plenty of hoops to get into BSN programs and I've also seen the process go relatively smoothly for someone transferring community college credits. A lot of times, you just need to talk to the admissions people at the various schools to see what they would consider taking for transfer.

This website might be of help to you in looking for schools:

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/

You are very wise to stick to accredited schools. I think you are on the right track---it's just so hard to say, go to this school or that school because everyone is different and a lot depends on how well you have done in your previous college courses.

You might also wish to check out some of the state-specific educational threads https://allnurses.com/united-states-nursing/ for information on schools in specific states.

Hope this helps!

You have no idea how helpful this was - and thank you for taking the time to answer!

I actually have a lot of my pre-requisites to complete. Even though I have 50+ community college credits, the only classes that will help towards pre-reqs are algebra, psych, sociology (and that's only in some places), and my electives. Which kind of makes me think I'm spinning my wheels at a community college. Some of my credits won't transfer due to age; some for other reasons; and I have to wonder if the community college route is the wrong way to go - like I should start fresh and hope that whatever college/university I get into will accept at least some of my credits.

I live in South Jersey - just outside of Philadelphia.

In the classes that might actually transfer, I have a 3.2 GPA - not exemplary by any stretch, but I am working on pulling it up.

The amount of information is overwhelming, and the meeting with the nursing advisor at school wasn't terribly helpful in pointing me in any direction. She suggested I take computer science next semester to get my associate's degree - but it won't be in nursing.

Thank you so very much for the links and for the helpful information!

Anna

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

Community colleges are great for your general education credits. In the state of Texas, it's easy to for the classes to transfer from institution to institution. It seems to the the norm to have to retake science classes that are over 2-5 years so count on taking those requirements no matter what you do. If you've taken the comp classes, government, history, speech, humanities, fine art etc. all those should transfer.

Here (Houston) the three major BSN programs are transfer only programs.. you have no choice but to do the prereq and gen ed work somewhere else. (most do it at one of the many CC in the area) The transfer of credits is a breeze.

Good luck to you. I hope you can get the maximum use of the credits you have already earned! Good luck to you!

[Sart45]

Im sure you've looked into it but does Trenton State ...oops, now The College of NJ...still have a nursing program?

I graduated from there many, many years ago. I was actually in their nursing program but switched my major. Since you are close to Philadelphia there should be a lot of programs there also. Why move if you can find something in your area??