How long does it take to complete a BSN?

cleback · Aug 17, 2018

Mine took 4 years but I was also accepted into the program right away. Depends on how the program you're looking at is structured. Talk with an advisor at school.

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 17, 2018

Any 4-year degree typically takes 4 years.

Sorry, I just reread that and I totally was not trying to be a smartass.

203bravo, MSN, APRN · Aug 17, 2018

Depends on how the program you're looking at is structured. .

Yep this is an excellent piece of advice.. the program that I attended was 5 semesters of nursing core, thus if everything goes perfectly and you are accepted at the end of your sophomore year the minimum amount of time until graduation would be 4 1/2 years.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 17, 2018

As a previous poster said, and you have discovered, it varies depending on the particular program and on the path that the student chooses.

you can do it in 4 years if you go straight through as a full time student with no delays. To do it in 4 years, you need to start focusing on your requirements in your first semester and not invest time (and money) in getting other degrees as well as the BSN ... or transferring from one program to another, etc.

However, a lot of students choose pathways that involve taking pre-requisite courses at one school and then applying to the nursing program at another school. That often causes a delay as they might not get accepted into their first-choice school when they apply to the nursing program after taking their pre-reqs, etc.

The best thing you can do is to look at ALL of your options carefully and choose the program and pathway that best meets your needs. If you want to finish in 4 years (or even sometimes, a little less), you are most likely to do that at a university that accepts students into the nursing program as freshmen. That way, you won't get hung up having to apply again after taking a year or two of introductory classes.

forevernursem · Aug 17, 2018

I've been going full time since I graduated high school and it will take me 5 years for a BSN.

It took me 2 years for the prereqs (12-13 credits per semester), and I took one class during the summer. But, the school where I'm getting my nursing degree from only accepts students one time a year, after Fall semesters. After the Fall semester is when students apply for the program, then find out in March if they got accepted or not.

I started college Fall 2016, and for me to finish all of my prereqs and apply for the nursing program that same year, I would have had to finish all of my prereqs in that one semester, and apply in December (the end of the Fall 2016 semester). So, for me to be able to finish my prereqs I had to apply for the nursing program Fall 2017 school year. Then, I got accepted March 2018 and started the nursing program that summer.

Overall, I started college at 18 and I won't graduate with a BSN until I'm 23. I hope this makes sense.

verene, MSN · Aug 17, 2018

It varies depending on program and if you have any coursework already completed that could apply to pre-reqs/general reqs. Assuming no prior college coursework and ability to be a full-time student 4-5 years is the typical length of time it takes to get through the BSN coursework.

OsceanSN2018 · Aug 18, 2018

It will take mines 3 1/2 years because I took 16 nursing credits in the summer. But prerequisites took me 2 years total.

gere7404, BSN, RN · Aug 19, 2018

Gonna be five years when I graduate this upcoming June. Two for the prerequisites, three for the actual BSN program.

Lipoma, BSN, RN · Aug 19, 2018

1 year. I took my nursing prerequisites during my first undergrad so when I started nursing school as a second degree, it was all nursing core courses.