If you had a choice between 2 year community, or a university....

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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That is the question.

Right now I am a pre-nursing at my local Nashville community college, but I am making great grades, a high A (98) in my A & P, A in my First Aid & CPR, A in my chemistry, A in psychology, and a high C in math (I suck I know). I plan on studying my butt off and doing whatever it takes short of killing a man to make the grades and impress the schools so that I will hopefully have a choice of nursing school to choose from, knock on wood we'll see!

Anyways, to my point:

A relative of mine (who shall remain nameless out of respect) thinks it is okay to go to ANY college, the cheaper the better and the quicker the better. He says the degree doesn't really matter so long as it says RN, the college you go to doesn't make a difference so long as it's accredited, and really the grades don't even matter so much so long as you pass with decent ones.

I feel like I am going to be the one taking out the student loan, so I obviously have to make the final call...but I am leaning more towards a full college experience (academically speaking) at a state university, MTSU if you really wanna know. I know it will cost me a lot more in student loans because I would want to live on campus, the drive from Nashville to Murfreesboro would cost too much in gas. Plus I would be getting a BSN in the SAME amount of time it would take me to get an ASN (I already have previous college experience)!

In all I would be looking at taking out around 21k in student loans to finish out my last two years and get a BSN, that includes room and board, utilities, gas money, a meal plan, tuition, and estimated book cost.

If I chose to keep living at mom and dad's for free and try for an ASN, it would still take me two years but it would only cost about 10 to 12k.

I know I am crazy, what would you all do???????

I did research on this last night. Some schools with the 1 year RN experience requirement have dropped it now.

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Specializes in ER.

I didn't read the thread, but my 2 cents;

Find out which one offers more clinical time per year and go with that. The book learning I got in my BSN program was useless, but the clinical time I got in my RN diploma was what made me a good, halfway competent nurse when I got my first job. I seriously think BSN does NOT prepare students for real life RN work.

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There is a girl in my ADN program that dropped out of a BSN program a few months before graduation. She said she felt she hadn't had good training. She loves our program. She had to start all over but said it was worth it. I'm entering the RN to MSN Bridge program when I graduate. You HAVE to have a non-nursing bachelors degree. That's who it's made for.....NOT ADN grads who wanna go straight to MSN and skip a bachelors. If you do that, they'll require you to take a LOT more classes first....just as many as if you had gotten a bacheors in the first place.

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I think if you have experience and another 4 year degree you can jump ADN to MSN through the University of Phoenix.That's what they told me, but I don't want to be in management, and I like working nights, so I am satisfied with bedside nursing, so there is no sense in getting a MSN.

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I talked to a U of Pheonix rep on the phone yesterday and she told me they had reacently dropped the nursing experience requirement.

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There is a girl in my ADN program that dropped out of a BSN program a few months before graduation. She said she felt she hadn't had good training. She loves our program. She had to start all over but said it was worth it. I'm entering the RN to MSN Bridge program when I graduate. You HAVE to have a non-nursing bachelors degree. That's who it's made for.....NOT ADN grads who wanna go straight to MSN and skip a bachelors. If you do that, they'll require you to take a LOT more classes first....just as many as if you had gotten a bacheors in the first place.

I am not doubting that many schools require you to have a bachelors. That is why I said one should check with the programs they are interested in. The program I am interested in does not require you to have a bachelor's degree and I only have 2 general pre-reqs for the MSN program that I have not yet taken which I plan to do before I finish my ADN program. The other pre-reqs they require are nursing courses that must be taken at their school.

There is another school that recently added an ADN to MSN program which is done online. This program is only for nurse leadership. The other program is for NP. Neither program requires a bachelors degree.

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Specializes in Private duty homecare.

Food for thought from my personal experience. I will always experience some level of regret not going straight for my BSN in the first place. I was young, engaged to be married, and had no money; the ADN program fit in perfect with my life at the time, and I had my whole life ahead of me to take an RN to BSN program. So I got married, graduated and passed my boards, got my dream job in NICU, but then I had a baby, then another baby, then another baby, then another baby, then a puppy; you get the picture. Now I'm 41, I have no time, zero energy, and little tolerance for the rigors of being a student again. I love my job providing care for a gentleman who is a quadriplegic post MVA, and honestly there really is no need for me to get my BSN; but it will always feel a little incomplete.........my advice is go straight for the BSN; you won't regret it.:)

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If you google "ASN to MSN" you will find many schools that offer programs for RNs to attain a master's degree without a four year degree. Also, at Wright State University in Ohio, we have an MS program. Our graduate program for nurses is not part of our nursing school, so a MS is awarded. You will receive an "MSN" if the grad school you attend (and complete) is a school of nursing. So look for master programs in science of nursing instead of just MSN as your choices will be greater.

Pianoplayer

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In my 37 years as a nurse I have found that the school or pragram you attended has very little to do with how good you are as a nurse a few years down the road. Any program that is well founded is enough. Great RN's continue to learn for their entire career. I have met very proficient nurses from small colleges and nurses who are dumber than a box of rocks who graduated magna from the "so called" best schools in the USA. Sure there are few nurses who graduate from the great schools who are great nurses but I think they move on to other positions in research or such. Some also decide to teach. Just my personal feeling!

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I think that if you want the University experience go for it, get your BSN, but you will be an RN 2yr or 4yr. I am going to a CC I'm in the pre-req stage now,

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Specializes in Emergency.

I would try to look at the quality of the program and quality of new grad nurses that each program produces, if you're able.

I graduated from an ADN program, b/c I already have a BS and didn't want to spend another $15K on a degree. However, the CC I went to is widely recognized in the area for producing better new grad nurses than is the major 4 year university in my backyard.

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It does not matter about the school and no one is going to ask what your grade average was on a job interview. I have been a RN for six years and in the nursing field for 16 (practical nurse for ten). You can always get the job to reimburse with tution reimbursement and now you can deduct it from your taxes. It is not worth the loan you have to pay back. There is such a nursing shortage you will always get a job, that is why you see so many foreign nurses in the hospitals. The need is there and always will be. Women have more options now and take them. Everyone does not want to be nurse. When you finish don't run and get a job in a specialty take the one year of med surg you will need it.... no matter what you decide to specialize in, everything is based on it. It will not kill you to empty bed pans and foleys for a year....

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