Ivy League vs Community College ?!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi!

I am a high school graduate on a gap year at the moment. Before starting my gap year, I already had admission at a very prestigious women's college affiliated with an ivy league school (I would graduate with the ivy league's diploma). During my gap year, I have fallen in love with nursing. I have struggled with finding my place in the world, but I really feel that nursing is a calling for me, of sorts. I have consulted multiple RNs with decades of experience and I have always left inspired and excited. If it counts for anything, I helped my dementia-ridden grandfather into death because we couldn't afford hospice care, and I feel that I have an intuition for what ailing people need. I really feel that nursing would be perfect for me, especially because I can continue on to become an NP, which I would love. The problem is that my college does not have a nursing program!

Now, this isn't the only problem with the school that I should be attending this fall. It is also exorbitantly priced. My family isn't rich, but very self-sacrificing. My parents keep telling me not to worry about the price, but I think most families in our situation would consider it a pretty big reach. Also, the aura at the school (in NYC, by the way) is very negative and many students seem depressed (with high suicide rates). I enjoy healthy competition, but this isn't it. I honestly worry I will be crushed under the pressure, and it's only partially explained by pre-college jitters.

So I have two options, it seems:

1) I go to my prestigious school in NYC, not major in nursing, make life-long friends (hopefully LOL), have awesome experiences, graduate with an impressive degree, broaden my horizons and all that jazz. I could also end up very upset... I am starting to doubt how I fit in. I would then for for an ABSN, and after some experience, go for NP credentials.

2) I drop my college, which I have (perhaps naively) defined as success for much of my life. I worked HARD to get into that school. :( I go to a local community college for an ADN, transfer to a BSN program, work for some time, then hopefully go on to a DNP program. This would be much more efficient and would save a LOT of money.

My question is: Do MSN/DNP programs have anything against community college credits? I imagine not, especially because you would have years of experience before applying to these programs...? Also, any advice on what to do would be very much appreciated. After consulting with the adults in my life and analyzing the situation over and over again, I need some fresh opinions. I am reluctant to drop my opportunity to go to such an amazing school, but I also need to think of my future as an RN (and, probably, eventually as an NP).

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If you have already seriously considered going to a pricy Ivy league, why wouldn't you go directly for a BSN? I get saving money, which you would with a less prestigious 4 yr, but I don't understand the huge direction change.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Keep in mind that nursing is unlike other professions because nurses can and do thrive after having graduated from programs at podunk 'no name' schools.

A top-25 school is imperative for those who hope to attend law or business school. Without the name brand school on their resumes, doors will be permanently shut to aspiring attorneys and MBAs.

On the other hand, many of your future nurse managers and chief nursing officers started their educational trajectories at obscure community colleges, trade schools, and small-town regional state universities.

Moreover, you say your family is not rich. The prestigious NYC school (Columbia or NYU, I assume) will result in staggering student loan debt in the six figures if this is the case. Do not do it...

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Why would you go to school for a career you don't want? What sort of awesome experiences would you have at a school you describe as having a very negative culture? Take the awesome grades you must have had in high school to qualify for this prestigious school and apply to a school with a bachelors program. Try to get scholarships and check into state and federal grants to keep loans down.

That's not the path I took. Nursing is not my first or even second degree. I don't regret my path but it would have been cheaper to have taken another route.

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That's a good point... I initially thought I would have to wait out another year before applying to a 4 yr school since I have missed the deadlines for next fall. Having a second gap year would become a tad odd... not to say that I wouldn't gain admissions anywhere, but I am not very interested in having two years off. But your input has got me looking into any schools that are still admitting students. I'll definitely look into that... :)

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Thanks... that's very reassuring to hear. I'm honestly glad that nursing isn't so strict on having name-brand credentials. It seems like flexibility and room for advancement is a common theme :)

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I looked into all of the BSN programs in my state. A few of them are still accepting applications, but they don't seem much better than getting pre-reqs done at a community college and transferring to a BSN program. I know plenty of people who have successfully gone from local community colleges to top-tier nursing schools in my area (there happen to be quite a few high ranking ones), assuming they have pretty stellar grades. For a 4 yr BSN program, I would either have to wait another year to apply or go to a regionally accredited/religiously affiliated school that seems akin to CC. I have nothing against either type of school, but I'm not sure why I shouldn't go to CC? especially if I can transfer to a BSN program? Or is there benefit in maneuvering for a 4 yr program?

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Specializes in NICU.

An alternative is to take your pre-reqs at a CC and then transfer them to a 4yr college with a BSN program. That will save you money on your prereqs.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
Noonpoon said:

My question is: Do MSN/DNP programs have anything against community college credits? I imagine not, especially because you would have years of experience before applying to these programs...? Also, any advice on what to do would be very much appreciated. After consulting with the adults in my life and analyzing the situation over and over again, I need some fresh opinions. I am reluctant to drop my opportunity to go to such an amazing school, but I also need to think of my future as an RN (and, probably, eventually as an NP).

I don't think they do. I know many NP colleagues who started their nursing career in a community college (some even in diploma programs) and eventually got their NP training from a wide range of school types...from private schools like Columbia to upper tier state universities like UCSF to lesser known but decent private and public schools. At that point, their nursing career (and the experiences they acquired) made them attractive candidates for the graduate programs they attended.

I think you have a lot of options. You can get an ADN in a community college with the realistic expectation that some avenues in terms of nursing jobs may not be open for you (in a climate where some hospitals can afford to be picky and only hire BSN). That said, some ADN grads nowadays go straight to BSN completion in a variety of local and nationally known programs.

As previously mentioned, nursing is not one of those fields that puts a premium on the brand of nursing school you attended (with a few exceptions and anecdotal accounts of course). Also, in my experience, good schools are important and helps with proper training but attending a top tier program doesn't always guarantee successful transition to the realities of nursing in the real world.

Case in point is an NP that I know who went to a decent east coast private school for BSN and a top tier Ivy League program for MSN who didn't fare quite well on the job and was let go for not being up to par with new NP peers.

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