Hs senior in need of advice please!

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 4, 2017

As you can see from the above posts, there are several different options. The educational options vary a little from one region to another. But in general, you can start your nursing career at either a Community College or a 4-year university. The option that will be BEST for you will depend on a few specific details. There is no one choice that is best for everyone.

Here is what I would recommend you do:

1. If there is a specific 4-year Bachelor's Degree program that interests you ... talk to them. Find out what they require and whether or not they will accept credit transferred from your local Community College. Find out what kind of financial aid might be available. Gather all that information to see whether or not starting at that University and getting a BSN to start with is something that you can do, given your particular situation and resources. For example, my niece was able to get college credit for her entire senior your of high school -- so that after only one year of college, she is now officially a junior and will graduate with her BS degree in only 3 years. If you are able to do something like that, or are eligible for significant financial aid ... the cheapest, fastest route might be to go to the 4-year University right after high school.

2. On the other hand ... if you are not eligible for financial aid, the University of your choice might be too expensive for you. So, you might want to do your pre-requisite courses at a local Community College. That's fine. Just be sure that the University will accept those credits. You might be able to take only a few credits there ... or maybe you will be able to take a full 2 year's worth of credit at the Community College and start your nursing courses in your 3rd year of college.

3. Another possibility is to get an Associate's Degree in Nursing ... and the go to a program (available at many schools across the country, including many online programs) to add a BSN.

Good luck

allnurses Guide · Aug 5, 2017

Okay, so I am a High school senior who wants to be an oncology nurse and I was wondering, can I go to a community college for 2 years to recieve my preqreuisites, THEN transfer to a University? Or do you think it would be better to just go straight to a university?

It largely depends on your budget and circumstances. I would advise that you do go ahead and get your BSN straight away as that seems to be the new entry level for Nursing Practice in acute settings. Just make sure that any classes you take at the Community College level transfer into the school or program you want to enter and stay away from "For Profit" schools. Ask a guidance counselor to be sure so that you don't waste your time.

If you are lacking in funds and are in the United States you might also consider military service. You can get money for college and in some branches even receive training to be a nurse while serving. Still military service comes with likelihood of deployment so that is something to consider.

I came to nursing as a second career in my late 30's and even though I had a degree in English and dead languages I still had a bunch of math and science prereq's to complete. As an adult with adult responsibilities I couldn't just drop everything for school so I did those classes at a CC at night and on weekends. When the time for the nursing program came about my husband was able to pull a career rabbit out of his hat that allowed me to attend the nursing program without working as well.

So you see it depends on your budget and learning style - The fact that you are thinking critically about this tells me you have the potential to be a good nurse, because in nursing critical thinking is key!

Nursing has been very good to me - but it is at times a very difficult job that entails a lot of hard work. As long as you know that going in you can do very well.

Peace and Namaste

Hppy

rquinn0111 · Aug 14, 2017

I definitely recommend going to a community college first. Get your prerequisites out of the way at a fraction of the university cost. If you chose to get an ADN, you can complete it at the community college, if offered of course. If you want to shoot for a BSN, you simply transfer to a university. If you decide nursing isn't for you, you can still transfer what you've done to another major. You have 2 years to decide.

The trick is, as mentioned earlier, making sure your courses transfer. This means chosing a true community college and not a technical for-profit school. Many courses offered at for-profit schools do not transfer, and if the school goes out of business, as they often do, it is a pain to figure out how to get credit (or grades) for anything.

Here's a tip universities don't want you to know: many teachers who teach at community colleges have also taught or are also teaching at area universities. Yes, the teachers and their syllabus, teaching styles, exams...they are the same. The difference is that your hard earned money is not funding the fantastic university football team, or the #1 basketball team, or the we-had-olympians-here gymanstics team, Goooo (insert team here)! As fun as that is, community colleges are strictly focused on education. Any athetics offered is for the fun of it. You will still meet and make friends at a community college, you'll just hang out at a restaurant or at a movie verses a football game, that's all.

Also, the community college auditorium is reserved for plays and school meetings, not classes. I still remember my first class in American Government at a university; I sat in the back of an auditoruim of 200 students! The second time I took American Government, this time at a community college, there were 30 students, max. The professor knew my name. I could ask the professor questions. It was a big difference.

I hope this helps!

ILUVERNSG, MSN, RN · Aug 16, 2017

It largely depends on your budget and circumstances. I would advise that you do go ahead and get your BSN straight away as that seems to be the new entry level for Nursing Practice in acute settings. Just make sure that any classes you take at the Community College level transfer into the school or program you want to enter and stay away from "For Profit" schools. Ask a guidance counselor to be sure so that you don't waste your time.
If you are lacking in funds and are in the United States you might also consider military service. You can get money for college and in some branches even receive training to be a nurse while serving. Still military service comes with likelihood of deployment so that is something to consider.
I came to nursing as a second career in my late 30's and even though I had a degree in English and dead languages I still had a bunch of math and science prereq's to complete. As an adult with adult responsibilities I couldn't just drop everything for school so I did those classes at a CC at night and on weekends. When the time for the nursing program came about my husband was able to pull a career rabbit out of his hat that allowed me to attend the nursing program without working as well.
So you see it depends on your budget and learning style - The fact that you are thinking critically about this tells me you have the potential to be a good nurse, because in nursing critical thinking is key!
Nursing has been very good to me - but it is at times a very difficult job that entails a lot of hard work. As long as you know that going in you can do very well.
Peace and Namaste
Hppy

Great advice!