Is there a way to get a BSN in 3 years instead of 4? If so, how?

Mom2Chaos · Sep 16, 2012

Chamberlain College of Nursing offers a 3 year BSN. It a a very good program, but alas it is NOT cheap!

PRNketamine7, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2012

I did all of my prerequisites at a community college and transferred into a BSN program. Took me 3 years to finish.

PRNketamine7, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2012

Not including the prerequisite time

okcu.alumni · Sep 16, 2012

Well it depends. If you already have a degree, there are many programs you can apply to that is 1-2 years.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Sep 16, 2012

Well it depends. If you already have a degree, there are many programs you can apply to that is 1-2 years.

Yeah, if you have a degree in something other than nursing, you could apply for the fast track problem. No one is going to think you are trying to rush through nursing school, either.

I went to a traditional 4 year program but finished in 3 1/2 years instead of 4. There were some summer clinical rotations (with very limited available) and I was lucky enough to get in both summers which allowed me to finish a semester early. That's always an option to take nursing classes over the summer.

RNperdiem, RN · Sep 16, 2012

Schools seem to be in the business of trying to get the most out of you financially before you graduate.

You might shave off a little time with AP courses and full course loads, you might shave off a little time.

If money is an issue, is there a cheaper way you can live? Live with roommates or your parents? Get a part time job to pay as you go and avoid the loan trap?

The cheapest option is usually your local community college. Unfortunately, you don't get a BSN, and from what I read on these boards, that can hurt your future job prospects in certain areas.

f_nurse2b16 · Sep 16, 2012

No, I don't have a degree. I'm a freshman in college.

Luckyyou, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2012

It might not even be cheaper in your program to do in less time. My university tuition was partially (mostly?) based on how many credit hours you are taking, and everyone needed the same amount of credit hours to graduate from the nursing program - this was a four year program, no taking prereqs or entrance exams, etc - so even if you packed them into three years you would still pay the same price (excluding room and board and that kind of thing, I guess). Could you take a CLEP exam for some things? Did you take AP exams in high school?

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 16, 2012

1. Take as many credits as you can each semester.

2. See if you can take additional courses over the summer semester, whether you give up your entire summer off or double-up on classes during the summer.

Keep in mind that options 1 and 2 will mean a LOT more work and pressure on you, so you have to weigh the cost of getting finished faster versus any potential negative impact on your grades as well as your sanity. In addition, your advisor may not let you register for the max amount of credits depending on your current GPA, so grades will matter if you want to do things this way. Last, keep in mind that options 1 and 2 will not lower your tuition bill.

3. Test out of as many things as you can, either through AP classes/tests, placement tests, CLEP, life experience, etc.

and if all else fails:

4. Look for a different program.

Good luck.

SCSTxRN · Sep 17, 2012

I did an ADN in 2 years, not including prereqs - which I had from a previous degree, then an online RN-BSN in 9 months.

wooh, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2012

Most important is going to be planning ahead for your prereqs. Make sure you take the prereqs that the nursing prereqs have ahead of time. Look at all the required classes, look at what's required to take them. Take everything required as soon as you can get into them. The stuff that can happen whenever, add those in afterwards. Grab tough to get into classes during the summer. Log in the second that you can to register, otherwise you'll get locked out of classes you need.

With that, I got done in about 3.5 years with only one AP class that I tested out of. I did have a few extra classes though, since I didn't pick a major until about 2 semesters in. And I went 2 of the 3 summers during that time.