Help - Psychology Major to Nursing School

[NabaKKhan]

I am a Psychology major and an Education minor at UC Santa Cruz. I recently decided that I wanted to become an RN, but I am almost done with my degree in psychology so I'm confused as to how I can use it to go to Nursing School. Will my classes work or should I take extra classes? If I have to take extra classes, can I take them at a community college?

[Streamline2010]

If almost done with the psych degree, you probably should finish it. Some of it will transfer to RN programs. Look at the prerequisites for the various RN schools and you will see it varies with the school. Most want A&P I and II, microbiology, some kind of math, maybe sociology.

There are accelerated 2nd degree RN programs but they are demanding and also expensive.

On the other hand, having completed one BA/BS degree might curtail your financial aid for getting another undergrad degree in nursing. Discuss that with the school's financial aid staff.

3 paths to RN:

• diploma school (equivalent to an associate degree nowadays and has just as much non-nursing college coursework, but the hospital teaches the RN part.)
  
• associate degree
  
• BS RN
  

Many hospitals are limiting new-grad hiring to BS RN only. And also giving their current diploma RN and associate degree RNs some deadline by which they must complete a BS RN.

Take classes at community college: In most cases those credits transfer. Most RN programs have a "cheat sheet" of exactly which course numbers they accept from all of the area colleges, universities, and community colleges.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

Go ahead and graduate with your psych degree since you're so close, but look at what the prerequisites are for nursing school and see if you can knock one or two of them out while you're finishing up your psych degree. If you're already going to school full time, adding an extra class shouldn't increase the cost as long as you don't go over your max hours.

[Brilton]

Don't forget, once you graduate you will no longer be eligible for finacial aid, unless it's for an advanced degree. I have a B.A. in Psych and am now paying for my ASN out of pocket, which isn't that easy because this B.A. hasn't helped me get a very high paying job. Good luck.

[whattodo4]

a friend of mines did psychology to nursing, he graduated with a degree then went into an accelerated program-he is a nurse now so yes it can be done. If your still in school, see if you can squeeze in lower level nursing classes, the microbio, the anatomy 1 and 2 etc...whether you go accelerated or normal 2nd degree, it saves a lot of time to get them out of the way

[Bubbly26, BSN, RN]

I have a B.S in psych and I switched to nursing also. I would say finish out your degree since you are close to finishing. I agree with the above statement that once you graduate, you aren't eligible for financial aid. Good Luck to you.

[ElizabethH736]

I'm currently finishing my BA in psych and will be applying to accelerated BSN programs in about a year. I've been taking one or two nursing pre-reqs mixed in with my psych classes. If you're still working on your psych degree it's definitely a good idea to take nursing pre-reqs simultaneously (but I would recommend only taking one each semester). You can take the nursing pre-reqs such as Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, and Chemistry at a community college. However, several nursing advisors have told me that quite a few ABSN programs prefer most of the pre-reqs be completed at a university (with only a couple courses being completed at a community college). It's not mandatory to complete them at a university, but it's preferred. One nursing advisor explained to me that it's because some ABSN programs view the university courses as being a bit more difficult/competitive. Therefore, it gives them an idea of whether or not someone can handle a rigorous accelerated program. Seeing as how you're a psych major, you most likely got a few nursing pre-reqs out of the way such as General Psych, Intro to Sociology, and a Stats class :)