HS Senior - Aspiring Nurse

[killerandasweetthang]

I am currently a HS senior. My dreams are to become an RN; I know there are different paths to achieve this dream. I am unsure of which path is the best for me. I have heard of ADN, RN-BSN, BSN, and all of that. Should I take pre-nursing at a CC and transfer to a Uni? Or go straight into uni and do the pre-reqs and everything there. I heard that it's harder to transfer into a nursing program from a CC, but either way it is a very competitive program. I considered pursuing the RN path w/o BSN, but nowadays most workplaces require a BSN.

[llg, PhD, RN]

A lot depends on your personal circumstances. What is the best path for one person can be a horrible path for someone else. For example:

Do you have the finances to go straight through from high school ... to university BSN? Is being a traditional college student (living in a dorm, maybe joining a sorority, participating in collegiate extra-curricular activites, etc.) important to you? You know, being a stereo-typical, traditional "college kid"? If that is important to you and you have the money to do it -- or are a sufficiently outstanding student so that you get some scholarships -- then go for it. It's a good route. You'll have your BSN in 4 years and get socialized into the nursing profession with a high-level entry degree.

However, if "being a college co-ed" is not important to you ... or money is really tight ... or you think you might not be academically ready for college ... or you are not emotionally ready to live away from home ... etc. then going to a 4-year university for a BSN right out of high school would probably be a bad choice for you. Living at home and going to a less expensive community college for at least the 1st year (if not for the whole ADN) might be better for you.

It also depends on where you live and where you want to find a job after graduation. In some areas of the country, there are few attractive jobs available for new grads without BSN's. In other parts of the country, jobs are plentiful. In most places, the situation is somewhere in-between those two extremes.

It's like buying clothes. You need to find the right fit for you -- not just what looks good on the model in the magazine. What are YOUR needs and preferences? What are YOUR resources?