How to narrow down the choices

Published

Specializes in Med/Surg, Neuro, ICU, travel RN, Psych.

I'm hoping someone can give me some tips to narrow down the choices while trying to pick a school for RN to BSN. At first glance, it would seem easy to eliminate the higher priced ones, but then I was thinking that in the overall cost they may not be as much. A cheaper school may require more credit hours to complete.

I do not have a speech class, chemistry (I do have biology), Algebra, or statistics. I think I like the idea of the classes that do the 5 week, or 7 week classes rather than regular semesters as well. It seems with the classes that start at semesters I could be waiting quite a while to start, since application deadlines are months before class starts. Plus by the time I take the other pre-reqs I need, I could be looking at 2 years before starting. Which is insane.

So any ideas how to narrow this search, and make it a little less overwhelming?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I'm hoping someone can give me some tips to narrow down the choices while trying to pick a school for RN to BSN. At first glance, it would seem easy to eliminate the higher priced ones, but then I was thinking that in the overall cost they may not be as much. A cheaper school may require more credit hours to complete.

I do not have a speech class, chemistry (I do have biology), Algebra, or statistics. I think I like the idea of the classes that do the 5 week, or 7 week classes rather than regular semesters as well. It seems with the classes that start at semesters I could be waiting quite a while to start, since application deadlines are months before class starts. Plus by the time I take the other pre-reqs I need, I could be looking at 2 years before starting. Which is insane.

So any ideas how to narrow this search, and make it a little less overwhelming?

Well, I sorted mine by accreditation and price...and I'm missing a chemistry lab that I do not want to take (lol). This is the school I am leaning towards:

http://www.muw.edu/nursing2/tupelo/

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello

I know how daunting the task is to start to research where to obtain your BSN. My suggestion is to look on-line. There are many reputiable universities that offer fast paced courses that you can do from the comfort of your home. I personally am finishing my Master's online and LOVE IT! I looked at going to a near by college for my degree but am so gald that I chose on-line. Just make sure that the school is accredited. Not to plug where I am going but I am very happy at Walden and feel that it has been challenging but flexiable. Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

A big consideration for me would be requirement for clinical classes. Want to avoid those as much as possible, particularly any situation where the student is required to obtain their own preceptor and clinical site on their own. Although a little on the pricey side, Chamberlain does not require clinical classes and it can be completed very quickly. There is lots of positive feedback about that particular program on this forum.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

I'm afraid I don't have much advice, just lots of sympathy! It seems like every day I learn of new programs out there -- the time it takes just to navigate the (sometimes poorly designed) web sites and try to figure out/guess what *might* transfer (I have a liberal arts BA as well as ADN) and what it *might* actually cost is crazy. And of course many sites don't list this info on their site, you need to fill out a "more information" form, and wait for the sales people to call you and make their pitch.

I rule out anything that is not CCNE accredited; anything that has an onsite clinical requirement (most that I have looked into have you do "clinical" with an agency/employer near your home, often in public health); anything that seems outrageously expensive.

I have a slight bias toward schools with a brick and mortar version, thinking it might look more legitimate on a resume (no idea if people reading resumes actually care about this). And I of course would like to actually learn some things, so a quality program with accessible instructors, etc. would be nice -- but that is so hard to tell, naturally all the web sites, admissions counselors, etc. assure you of how *wonderful* the education will be!

My BA was light on hard sciences/math, so I also consider chemistry/statistics/algebra/etc. requirements. OTOH, I actually wouldn't mind taking a statistics or genetics course... and am somewhat skeptical of a program that grants a BSN without requiring some of those courses.

So far, American Sentinel University -- http://www.americansentinel.edu/online-degree/bachelor-degree-online/rn-to-bsn-program.php -- is ahead on affordability, simply because they give you 90 credits for having an RN license, leaving only 30 credits to be completed, at $340/credit. But as I said, it's not all about affordability....

Then to completely blow my mind, there's WGU which doesn't even do credits per se, just charges a flat rate per semester, so that one could *in theory* be finished in 2 semesters for under $7000.

So there are my rambling thoughts for what their worth! Good luck & keep us posted!

Best,

Drea

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion