So, anytime I've ever read here about people getting "snippy" about "status", it's been over the BSNs thinking they're better than the ADNs, or the BSNs and ADNs being bothered when someone goes for their MSN. Today I got to overhear one that actually got under my skin.
I've been accepted into the local BSN program and begin in the fall. Where I live, there are three programs--one BSN, at the local university, and an ADN and an LPN, at the community college. The LPN is admittedly more competitive to get into. If you complete it, you are usually a shoe-in for the ADN. The BSN is a little less competitive, but only a little. I have a 3.85, had a 93 on the A2, and I got in, whereas a classmate had an A2 in the 80's, same GPA and did not get in. I'm guessing I barely made it.
So anyway, I'm in a CNA class because I'm broke and need to start working while I'm still in school. This guy in the class was talking to this lady and they were basically saying how anyone who would waste their time going in the BSN program is an idiot, and it's so much easier to get into that pretty much anyone could just walk in. I wanted to say to the guy, "Oh, yeah, buddy? We'll see how you feel about that when our resumes are sitting in the same pile." But, alas, part of our grade in this CNA class is based on us being on our best behavior. So, I kept it to myself.
What's the deal, though? We're in this together, right? I don't think my degree is better than someone else's degree. I think my degree is better for what I intend to do with it (go on to masters) but if I had no intentions of stepping foot in a graduate school, I would likely have applied to the ADN program instead. But why should that matter? We all work together. We all have the same goals. We should all be nice and supportive of each other. Right?
I ended up not saying one damn thing to the guy. But seriously.....I wanted to. Today was only our second day, so if he keeps it up, I might say something. Nothing rude (at least, I hope it wouldn't come out as rude) but informative nonetheless. Just because my path isn't his preferred path doesn't mean my path is any lesser or bad. grrrrrr
I completed my ADN program, and although a local BSN program does require more pre-reqs, I am able to bypass most of them at the university since I took classes for my AA in liberal arts while on the waiting list for the nursing program..actually I am finishing my last two classes now. I will be able to get into the RN-BSN program with only 10 nursing classes to complete online- saving a few thousand dollars by taking most pre-reqs at the community college where I got my ADN (many of my ADN classes fufill required "core" areas) There are so many different paths in Nursing- I see that the trend is torward BSN prepared RN's, but the ADN program got me started on building my nursing experience a two years earlier! Plus that RN paycheck is better for paying university tuition!! Best of luck to you and all other students (like myself!) :)
I think here it ends up being six one way half a dozen the other. The only difference is the time. The ADN by itself will be cheaper probably by a good $10k-$15k. But if you decide to go ADN-BSN, you would end up paying more and spending probably another year longer than just going BSN because the university requires the gen eds, and then a year of nursing classes. It's absurd, to tell the truth. If you never want more than ADN, then it makes sense to go that route, but if you want BSN in face to face classes, you just have to do it from the starting line.
I am an ADN student. I happen to be taking the gen eds for the BSN while getting my ADN degree. And in the long run I am saving a TON of money. I get grants which 100% cover my classes while getting my ADN, that would not have been the case if I started with BSN. Also the gen ed are much cheaper at the CC then the 4 year school. I do plan on getting my masters one day. So not sure what this extra time is that you are talking about or the extra money that I would be paying......
AAAARGH!!!! I could scream!!!!! I just wrote this massive response and it got eaten! Boooooo allnurses.com, BOOO!!!! :doh:
ivikatasha, I'll write it all out in detail again if you'd like, but basically, the price difference between ADN-BSN, and just straight BSN, if you do all of your prereqs and gen eds at the community college, is $19,200 for the ADN-BSN, and $21,000 for the straight BSN, so you're right about that route being cheaper, although not by very much at all. The difference in time, though, is pretty significant. The ADN program is 5 semesters, the gen eds for the BSN take 4 semesters, and then the BSN nursing classes are another 2. So you're looking at another year, unless you decide not to do your prerequisites as co-requisites before getting into the LPN/ADN program. If you do your prerequisites before starting nursing classes, you're looking at another 1-2 semesters. You'd be in school for at least another year doing the ADN-BSN program.
I am wondering about the math there. The 4 year I plan on getting my BSN from (which is local and automatically accepts grads from the CC program) their credit hour cost is 3 times that of the CC credit hour. I wouldn't be taking any extra classes, so I would save way more then you say.
60-90 credits at the CC and then 60-30 credits at the 4 year at 3 times more vs 120 credits at the 4 year at 3 times more.
I would just have 2 years of nursing classes, and combined with 5 semester CC program, that is just a single extra semester of time vs a 4 year BSN. Which is a very small price to pay considering the thousands of dollars this route has saved me so far.
Also, with the ADN, I get my RN license before the BSN. I can work during my ADN-BSN and get the experience I need.
*I live in fear of my posts being eaten, happened too many times, so I copy the whole post I typed before hitting post comment*
I am wondering about the math there. The 4 year I plan on getting my BSN from (which is local and automatically accepts grads from the CC program) their credit hour cost is 3 times that of the CC credit hour. I wouldn't be taking any extra classes, so I would save way more then you say.
60-90 credits at the CC and then 60-30 credits at the 4 year at 3 times more vs 120 credits at the 4 year at 3 times more.
I would just have 2 years of nursing classes, and combined with 5 semester CC program, that is just a single extra semester of time vs a 4 year BSN. Which is a very small price to pay considering the thousands of dollars this route has saved me so far.
Also, with the ADN, I get my RN license before the BSN. I can work during my ADN-BSN and get the experience I need.
*I live in fear of my posts being eaten, happened too many times, so I copy the whole post I typed before hitting post comment*
I definitely feel you on the experience of it. I've actually been in a CNA class because I am so nervous about not having hands-on. I used to be a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. I was a master at all of the theory stuff. I could tell you forward and backward the process of birth. But if you put me in front of a class, I was like a deer in the headlights. I was terrified! I can relate and teach well, one-on-one, but my lack of experience with groups made me choke. It was terrible! Experience is sooooo important! And if I'm putting this much time into something, I want to know I'm going to kick a** at it.
Okay, for all of the math stuff. I broke those numbers down like this. If you do all of your prereqs and gen eds at a CC no matter which program you do, it saves you money no matter what school you're looking at. So my calculations are based on the cheapest options I have available to me here where I live. The CC is roughly $100 per credit hour.
ADN program (which is LPN, then ADN): 70 credits, $7000
ADN-BSN bridge program: roughly 40 credits of gen eds (@ CC): $4,000
2 full time semesters of nursing classes at university: $7,300 (they charge a flat rate for full time)
Total: $19,300
BSN gen eds at CC: 60 credits, $6,000
BSN program: 4 semesters full time at university, $14,600
Total: $20,600
(My numbers are different by a few hundred because I decided to not be lazy and actually looked it up this time. )
I participate on another board that eats posts all of the time, but I've never had it happen here before. The other board eats partial posts, though, so instead of losing the whole thing, you end up looking like a moron who can't complete a sentence.
ADN-BSN: 33 nursing credits $9900 (4 year rate $300 an hour) + $5400 (54 credits at 100 an hour, I can take all the the other classes at the CC expect for maybe one or 2) + 3300 (33 nursing credits imported from ADN program, taken at CC) = $18600 (may be $1000 high due to some gen eds not being able to take at CC)
BSN: (includes all nursing classes and geneds) 120 credits at $300 an hour = $36000
I am guessing it is just a huge difference in the way our schools work here and how they charge for tuition and what can be trasnferred in, but I am saving over $15,000 here.
Lets say I took all the gen eds at the CC, 54 of them, and just the nursing credits at the 4 year = $25200. Still saving $6,000ish.
I looked up my stuff too, the classes and such and rates, rounded a little, but both rates would be a little higher.
That is a huge difference! I just thank my lucky stars for financial aid. Now that I'm transferring to the university and my tuition is going to jump up so much, I'll lose the refund check that we've been fortunate enough to get each semester. I'm applying for a million and one scholarships, but it seems everyone else is applying for the same ones I am. I'm still not sure what the magic words are to get one. I'm on my last 2 apps, and I'm pretty sure the scholarship committees will be able to smell the desperation through the envelopes.
How much longer until you're finished the ADN program?
I have applied for a few scholarships too, but I will decline them now, just found out I had enough aid (only if I win any scholarships of course, havent found out yet) and I don't want to take that away from someone who really needs it. Good luck on winning those scholarships!
:uhoh21:.... about a year and a half. haha, it is going great so far though
I have to tell you....that is so unbelievably generous that you would turn down a scholarship for that reason. Scholarship funds are so, so scarce, and I think most people just want as much money as they can get. Coming from someone who desperately needs to supplement the income my husband is bringing in, you passing up a scholarship opportunity because you have enough funds already will possibly make it so that someone is capable of going to school, when before that, they may not have been able to. You are a good, good person!
If I could go back in time, I'd get my BSN fresh out of high school, parent funded and all that good stuff
Slightly older now, I chose the ADN because my school is in the top 4 NCLEX pass rates in the state, I am fully covered by grants, I can work in nursing while I get my BSN.
This guy is verbalizing his low self-esteem issues. Ultimately, we all have the same skill set coming out of school.
And just a note on the ADN, I had to do all my gen ed before I applied to nursing school, so total I will have spent abt 4 years on my ADN (about 11 credits / semester). The RN - BSN is 2 more semesters of solely nursing classes. I imagine all ADNs require the gen ed in order to graduate.
To the original poster -- that guy is probably just jealous that you have the opportunity to enter a BSN program. Maybe he couldn't make the cut, maybe he can't afford it, maybe it's too much of a time commitment because he has two kids and two jobs. Who knows. Either way, he is still immature and a jerk so why waste your time caring about what a jerk thinks? It is never a bad thing to have more education. As nurses-to-be, we will be learning every single day for the rest of our lives, be it on the job or in the class room. Honestly if someone suggests that there is something wrong with earning a higher degree then, frankly, they are just stupid. Stupid for making such a ridiculous suggestion and stupid for taking time to think so much about what you are doing. I'm doing an RN-BSN program after I graduate in December because I have all my gen eds now. I have more credits than my ADN degree requires! Hopefully it will also fill the months until someone (hopefully) decides to hire my newbie butt!
You are so right though about obtaining a job after school -- whether there is an initial difference in pay or not, being able to put BSN on your resume will make you look more attractive in a pile of 100000 other new grad RN resumes. It can't hurt!
I have to tell you....that is so unbelievably generous that you would turn down a scholarship for that reason. Scholarship funds are so, so scarce, and I think most people just want as much money as they can get. Coming from someone who desperately needs to supplement the income my husband is bringing in, you passing up a scholarship opportunity because you have enough funds already will possibly make it so that someone is capable of going to school, when before that, they may not have been able to. You are a good, good person!
Yep, 2nd nursing class though, they are all 8 week classes. So excited for med/surg in the summer!
)
NoonieRN
5 Posts
I completed my ADN program, and although a local BSN program does require more pre-reqs, I am able to bypass most of them at the university since I took classes for my AA in liberal arts while on the waiting list for the nursing program..actually I am finishing my last two classes now. I will be able to get into the RN-BSN program with only 10 nursing classes to complete online- saving a few thousand dollars by taking most pre-reqs at the community college where I got my ADN (many of my ADN classes fufill required "core" areas) There are so many different paths in Nursing- I see that the trend is torward BSN prepared RN's, but the ADN program got me started on building my nursing experience a two years earlier! Plus that RN paycheck is better for paying university tuition!! Best of luck to you and all other students (like myself!) :)