How many are going straight for your BSN?

princesax11 · Mar 20, 2013

It really depends on your location. I am going for my ADN because I had a different major before nursing and when I was 18 I didn't take it as seriously or learn good study habits. My cumulative gpa isn't high enough for BSN programs (3.1), but my prereq gpa so far is (3.6). I am going to do a RN to BSN program right after. Where I am originally from (NJ) it is almost impossible to get a job in the hospital without a BSN. Now that I live in FL (at least 2 hours from a big city) they hire both ADN and BSN nurses here. It all comes down to where you live. Big cities are moving towards BSN requirements while small/rural places still may hire ADN nurses.

x_factor · Mar 20, 2013

Where I live, ADN's get hired just as quickly and easily as BSN, with very few places having a strong preference of BSN over an ADN. So I am going for my ADN, with plans to do a RN-BSN bridge soon after. Financially it was a better option for me.

i♥words · Mar 20, 2013

Me! I have looked at job listings as well, and most in the area I want to work in say "BSN preferred." I'm a sophomore and will hopefully start next year in the nursing program.

maddiem · Mar 20, 2013

Me!! I live in the Chicago area and it's almost impossible to get a job in a hospital unless you have a BSN...unless you want to work in LTC. I figure if I get my ADN I'll want to get my BSN eventually so why not just get it right away?

Ella26, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2013

I would say go for your BSN if its feesible for you, meaning money and time. I just went from LPN to RN and it took me having to work fulltime and school fulltime for the past 8 years and I only a have a ADN. Now I hate school and the thought of thinking about going back to take statistics, research and writing, make me want to puke! :barf02: I say go for the BSN if you can. I currently work at a clinic so It really doesnt matter that I dont have a BSN. But in my area alot say BSN preferred as well so I know probably eventually I will have to go back. But I want to enjoy my life for now and enjoy not having homework, tests, papers, and clinicals right now.

CourtM092 · Mar 20, 2013

I'm going for my ADN because I dont have the expenses for a 4 year college right now. However, once I get my ADN and work for a few years, I'll go back to school to get my BSN. I hear some hospitals will help pay for you to get your BSN... idk my aunts a RN and she said that, I dont know how true that is though.

dt70 · Mar 20, 2013

I think anyway you get your Bsn would be good.

It would be more streamlined to do it at a 4 year university or a hybrid CC/university program,

because you don't stop the studying .

Doing an ADN then RN to Bsn online gives same results and more flexibility choosing the school for the BSN portion. If you can get a job with adn and have employer pay for the Bsn that's a bonus.

I'm not sure how much employers care about undergraduate schools. It's probably the graduate school that's worth the big bucks if possible.

If your a career changer you may have plenty of cash saved up, but low Gpa to deal with.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 20, 2013

I'm going the ADN to BSN route because our local community college's nursing program is very highly regarded, not to mention better tuition rate :) I can do an RN-to-BSN at the local university, which is 10 minutes from home. I would have loved to just do a straight BSN at the university, but it's just too expensive to justify the cost. Especially when the CC has such a great program.

HeatherMax · Mar 20, 2013

I am short on time and money, lol. I am married and have three kids under 13, and my "plan" was to get my LPN, start working and do the LPN/BSN bridge program. We are a military family, so what they hire here, and what they hire at our next duty station is a gamble.

AmberHopefulRN · Mar 20, 2013

I am going straight for my BSN because I eventually want to go for my FNP or CNM, and I didn't want to have to do ADN then BSN then MSN/DNP as I figured I would get burnt out on school by then.

soxgirl2008 · Mar 20, 2013

It really depends where you live. Where I live hospitals regularly hire ADN and BSN nurses. Even in the bigger cities as well. When I started college when I was 18 I didn't know what I wanted to do and had the mentality "Cs get degrees" so when I did switch to nursing my pre-req GPA of a 3.0 wasn't high enough to get in, and the school only let in 24 people a year...so even retaking classes wouldn't have helped me. All the other BSN programs were $10-$15,000 a semester AND I would have had to take an extra year and a half of their pre-reqs because they were private schools with different requirements and many of the classes from my public university wouldn't have transferred.

When I graduate with my ADN I'll only need 6 classes for my BSN, 5 of which I can take online. This is all through my old university (for their bridge program you automatically are admitted with a 2.5 GPA) and since I took all the BSN pre-reqs, that's why I'll only need 6 classes...and my ADN program has agreements with the school that all the credits transfer. I'll have my BSN at the same time I would have had it if I had gone straight for my BSN through one of the private schools, because of all the extra pre-reqs they required that the public university didn't...and for a lot less money

If I lived in an area that was hardly hiring ADNs, I may have bit the bullet and gone straight for my BSN. However, considering the hospital I work at regularly hires ADNs and that I'll only need 6 classes for my BSN I did what made the most sense for me. It really depends on where you live and your obligations. Everyone's situation is different. Oh, and I know most people (myself included I admit) want to work in a hospital, but LTC need RNs too...and there's nothing to be ashamed of if you have to work LTC for a few years before you get your BSN. LTC facilities need good nurses too!