Mount St Mary's accelerated BSN, CSUN AcceBSN

alem-tsahai · Aug 28, 2010

this advice is assuming you already have a bachelor's in another field.

Get the masters degree. You will eventually get over your uneasiness at having a MSN with no RN experience after a few years in the field.

Definitely forget about Mt St. Mary's, 40k is way too expensive for a second Bachelor's. And don't let them feed you any BS about "your salary will be xy dollars after you become a nurse so you can do it". You have no idea what the economy will be like in the future.

I'm telling you this from experience. I had the same issue you had 8 years ago. I opted for the more expensive, second bachelors degree rather than getting an MSN or cheaper ASN. Now I have 35k in extra debt, two bachelors degrees and NO MA/MS. At this point there's no way I can afford to go back to school, so I'm kinda stuck, but I didn't start to regret my decision until around 5 years after practicing as a nurse.

Learn from others' mistakes, but good luck whatever you decide to do.

caliotter3 · Aug 28, 2010

this advice is assuming you already have a bachelor's in another field.
Get the masters degree. You will eventually get over your uneasiness at having a MSN with no RN experience after a few years in the field.
Definitely forget about Mt St. Mary's, 40k is way too expensive for a second Bachelor's. And don't let them feed you any BS about "your salary will be xy dollars after you become a nurse so you can do it". You have no idea what the economy will be like in the future.
I'm telling you this from experience. I had the same issue you had 8 years ago. I opted for the more expensive, second bachelors degree rather than getting an MSN or cheaper ASN. Now I have 35k in extra debt, two bachelors degrees and NO MA/MS. At this point there's no way I can afford to go back to school, so I'm kinda stuck, but I didn't start to regret my decision until around 5 years after practicing as a nurse.
Learn from others' mistakes, but good luck whatever you decide to do.

This sounds like good advice from someone who already had a bachelor's degree. Hopefully, you can find a program that offers the BSN along the way to the MSN. Then you will be covered if you are unable to complete the entire program.

werkinit · Aug 28, 2010

I struggled to decide between admission offers to Mt. St. Mary's Accelerated BSN, and a MUCH cheaper direct-entry MSN program at a State school that would take longer to complete. Oddly enough, I couldn't apply to my local community college for another year, so that was off the table....

I went w/ the state school/MSN and I've got 1 year to go!! I'm very happy w/ my decision. Cost of living is so expensive (you just CAN'T work during school) and I'm very glad I'm only paying a fraction of the tuition costs of Mt. St. Mary's. I also think having a MSN will offer more job opportunities down the line...

Good luck!

Flying ICU RN · Aug 28, 2010

An accelerated RN program will have the same outcome and curriculum whether ADN or BSN. The outcome of course being an RN license in your state. RN to MSN bridge programs exist in abundance if so inclined later.

Therefore, the decision should be a simple matter of using an unemotional cost analysis of the various combinations. Remember, that you have to recoup your investment over time with future earnings that will be diverted from disposable income.

newbiepnp, MSN, RN, NP, CNS · Sep 18, 2010

I did some research directly with hospitals to find out who they are hiring based before making my decision to go through Mt. St. Mary's ABSN program. I had been accepted to SFSU direct MSN program, a 3 year program. I found out that in this economy, hospitals are more willing to hire a cheaper BSN than the MSN. Since both have not been working in the professional world, they didn't see paying more for the MSN. I found this through a few hospitals, so based on this information I decided on the BSN. MSMC gets you out in 1 year, so hopefully I'll be able to start paying back those loans faster and then work towards having a hospital to pay for my master's degree.

I don't recommend the UCLA MECN program, it needs a lot of work. Heard from instructors and students. I applied to CSUN, but didn't get in. They accept only 18 per cohort (36 per year). The average GPA this year was 3.9.

Good luck in getting into a program, and which ever it is, it is the right one for you.

werkinit · Sep 19, 2010

That's funny. My research on the same thing was totally different! I guess it all matters who you talk to, right? When I was looking into this I was told that direct-entry MSN's (not completing to NP's or CNS, but ending w/ a generalist MSN) are still classified as "new grads" and don't get any pay differential until they've put in some time at the bedside. Then they're considered for raises like everybody else.

Management positions are another thing entirely, but if you end up going into management instead of being a clinician then you're WAY more competitive for those jobs.

I would also check & see how many graduates from the previous years classes got jobs and how quickly they were hired. I chose a direct-entry MSN program (over Mt. St. Mary's) after learning that everyone who graduated last year has a job now (w/in six months of graduation) w/ the exception of one person who chose to start a family instead. Many of those grads are already being considered for promotions, recruited to specialty floors, and are moving up the professional ladder at a very quick pace.

:twocents:

Vandalena · Sep 30, 2010

My friends in the UCLA MECN program say it's mostly research (epidemiology) and not so much hands on nursing. The program is designed to produce "Clinical Nurse Leaders" who are more interested in PhD in nursing, and not so much clinical work. I agree with Sugarlips - once you graduate, you are still a new nurse with minimal experience. I'm glad I chose MSMC accelerated BSN program. It also depends how much time you have... I really wanted to get back to work soon so this program was perfect for me and we started clinicals within the first few weeks (not like UCLA). Our professors are really supportive and I feel I'm getting my money's worth. We just found out that we have NCLEX review (not sure if I can mention the 'K' name here) included in our tuition. And about the loans, most urban hospitals qualify for Federal loan repayment programs. Also, most hospitals will pay for you to return for your master's degree once you work for a year.

And last we heard, all of the recent graduates were able to find jobs once they graduated. Our program director mentioned they have many resources for us once we graduate and since MSMC nursing has a good reputation, it hasn't been too hard for to find jobs. The program has been around since ~1995 and was the first accelersted BSN in CA. UCLA's nursing program just started up a few years ago after some hiatus. State schools are cheaper on paper, but they base their admission just on numbers, and you will be treated like a #. MSMC provides interviews to all qualified applicants and looks at the person as whole, an essential concept in nursing!

werkinit · Sep 30, 2010

Totally disagree that state schools base admits on #'s only. My class is barely over 20 (out of 200+ applicants) and we get lots of individual attention. Everything depends on the program, so do your homework, measure the costs against the benefits, take a real appraisal of what your looking for and why, and continue talking to tons of people out there following this same crazy, unexpected, nursing school journey! :nurse:

In my clinical group, we always like to point out that if you ask a room full of nurses how best to do something, you'll get a room full of different answers. The same goes here.

Follow your heart, or your gut, or whatever - just make sure the decision is really yours.

Cheers!

goteamgo · Jan 16, 2013

I know this was a while ago but hopefully you'll respond!

What school did you go to for your MSN program? and what area of the US do you live?

I'm thinking about becoming RN but I don't have a nursing degree so I would have to go the accelerated route. I thought work experience as an RN then going onto to be a NP would be better but maybe not