Is this possible?

[Yamamama]

My mother (who is an RN, PhD) mentioned what I think is a nutty idea but I promised I would look into it.

I am starting the process of nursing school. My state (MA) does not recognize any online nursing schools. She mentioned going through schooling in another state that might recognize an online education - or part with some small residency requirement - and then transferring the degree back to my home state.

Crazy? This can't be possible.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Love when people comment on Excelsior and don't have their facts straight. To be clear, I did not get my initial nursing school from them but having gone there for BSN I have a little more accurate information. First of all, there are no restrictions on Excelsior graduates in Massachusetts. The problem is that you must have some kind of clinical background such as LPN, RT or Paramedic (EMT-P, not EMT-B). Some States require additional clinical hours be documented beyond existing clinical experience and the link below lists the States that have additional requirements. At this time only California absolutely rejects Excelsior graduates licensed after 2003.

Excelsior College | State Board Requirements

Western Governors University (WGU) does have a pre-licensure nursing program that is largely online but it does require clinicals. Let me preface that I'm not going to spout off on WGU as I know little about their program but I understand you can go into their program with no previous clinical experience and graduate ready for your NCLEX. The problem is that only a few States have clinical sites; Texas, Utah, Indiana, Florida and Southern California. So that will not work for a resident of Massachusetts.

BSN with RN License | Online RN Degree | Online Nursing School

In my 20+ years of nursing I have never heard of an exclusive online initial entry RN program.

As a previous poster mentioned, the NE area is challenging for new grad jobs, the advantage is going to go to graduates of well-known BSN programs.