LPN first it seems

[pacjeffery]

I got into the LPN program at CSN for this Fall. I'll be done Spring 2015. The first Fall (2013) & Spring (2014) are just one class since I've done the other classes already for those terms. So, I can take A&P II with Micro this Fall and Nutrition and 2nd term Chemistry in the Spring.

Fall 2014 would be the third term of the PN program finishing up in Spring 2015. I have until Friday to accept the spot in the PN program or decline. Accepting voids my application to Phlebotomy.

I did a scenario on paper and if I declined and pressed on with prerequisites (taking 2 classes per term) I can be finished at Nevada State College in Fall 2015. That's ASSUMING I get in. Yes, that would be a better option. But on one hand I have a guaranteed spot in one program. In the other I have some legwork to do before I can apply (in Feb 2014) to NSC and HOPE to get accepted.

At my hospital, they do a terrific job of hiring new grads that are employees.

So....

I can be an LPN after Spring 2015 (turning 40) or if I get into NSC I can be an RN (BSN) after Fall 2015. From all accounts I've heard, there appears to be a 1-2 year "wait" on RN programs in southern Nevada (CSN, NSC & UNLV specifically). I called Nevada State and was told that admissions are keener than in years past. A year's wait was normal.

What do I do?

[Aspirational Beauty, CNA, LPN]

I think maybe you should go for the LPN. But also look to other schools and their Wait list for their RN program. I live in NY,didn't get into the RN but was accepted to the LPN. I am choosing this route because it cost less for me and it gets my foot in the door for that field. Just weigh every option possible first. Hoping you get into a program doesn't seem like a good outlook. Explore all of your options

[bellaniko]

At my hospital, they do a terrific job of hiring new grads that are employees.

Which hospital is that? Desert springs? I'm trying to work at one while I'm working on either LPN or RN depending on which one i get accepted to

[christina731]

I can't speak for other schools or programs, but I am attending CSN's ADN program now and as long as you have all of your pre/co-reqs done as well as your TEAS exam, there is no 1-2 year wait. CSN does not maintain waiting lists. They rank you based on points and the highest get accepted. All others re-apply next semester. As long as you have everything done and your grades are decent, you should get in. I'm also fairly certain that UNLV & NSC do something similar with the points rather than wait lists.

[pacjeffery]

That's how they officially work, yes. But its those points that can hold people up. If an applicant has say 27 points and the admission cutoff is 29 you have to apply next cycle. What you don't mention is that the point system isn't etched in stone. It's a sliding scale directly correlated to the number of qualified applicants and their respective scores. So if they get 200+ applications and they have 120 spots with #120 having 30 points, guess what the cutoff is?

They don't have a waitlist, I know. But there exists a delay in starting nonetheless.

[pacjeffery]

And I said there was a "wait". Not so much a waitlist. But telling the applicant there's no waitlist and to reapply next cycle makes for a delay regardless. In Nevada, getting into a nursing program is still a numbers game. We all cross fingers no matter how many points acquired.

[michelleisalpn]

no...there isnt a wait list...i work per diem at csn with the clinical labs and we are invited to sit in on the application process...there is no wait....they take the highest points and start going down the list until all the seats are filled....those not selected have to reapply next time....sorry but christina is correct....

[pacjeffery]

Sorry but you too didn't read what I said. I know there isn't a waitlist. But if you don't meet point requirements (the minimum isn't known until it's determined the number of applicants and their point to talks).

[Ksmeier]

I just completed my bridge program this past semester at CSN, and i completed my LPN program at CSN as well, i was in somewhat of the same predicament as you but chose to do the LPN because bridging over is better in terms of far less applicants than the regular program to have to compete with. If you can get your BSN for sure by 2015 as opposed to being an LPN by 2015 then, i'd say BSN. Otherwise LPN and bridge over you can already get some "nursing experience" if your able to work through school and then do the ADN-BSN route at NSC after.