I know this is a sticky thread but....

I am a graduate of a direct entry RN/MSN program (note-I do not have a BSN/MSN). Full time-it was 22 months straight through. BSN/MSN programs do take longer. Please PM me if you'd like to talk more about it.

I attended (as a traditional, experienced-RN student) grad school at a school that also had a direct entry program. The direct entry students did a full calendar year of basic nursing (my classmates who were direct entry students described it to me as, basically, 16-hour days, six days a week, for a year -- most of them were pretty obviously traumatized by the experience) and then entered the traditional MSN program with us "regular" students -- the MSN program was 2 standard academic years (with the summer off in between). My school's DE program did not award a BSN degree, and the DE students did not write the NCLEX until the end of their first year in the MSN program (their second year in the DE program).

So the program was three academic years (Sept - May) with one summer in school and one summer off.

The DE students had a BA/BS in another area, but were not nurses (coming into the program). Many of the DE students in my program had no prior healthcare experience worth mentioning.

I think you'll find there are nearly as many variations among DE programs as there are DE programs. :) Most schools seem to like to put their own, unique "spin" on the basic concept.