Msn?

I think you're in a great position! If you have an undergrad degree, there are plenty of school that offer a program some term GEM. I think it stands for Graduate Entry Masters (?). Basically you earn a masters of science degree (not an MSN though) and take what is essentially the professional sequence of a standard BSN. You qualify for the NCLEX and earn a masters at the same time. I suspect that the motivating factor behind this is that schools get to charge graduate tuition thereby raising revenue but also because there are people with undergrad degrees would otherwise be unable to secure financial aid unless the program was at the graduate level. In my area UIC, Rush, DePaul among a couple of others offer it.

Victory:

I write from my perspective as an Assistant Dean who coordinates admissions and financial aid our graduate programs at the Univeristy of Virginia (including our direct-entry MSN degree - the Clinical Nurse Leader). As Woody and Trauma mentioned, Life Happens. In your essay (and in the interview) address what happened in your past, and what you have learned from this.

Faculty and deans are understanding about the past. We are also educators who are hopeful that students will learn and grow in whatever direction makes sense for them. When current or potential students encounter personal challenges (academic, family, financial, medical, etc), my concern is that the individual person has worked through whatever caused them to change direction/stop school, and that the individual has a support network in case something happens again.

The programs for Direct Entry MSN, Graduate Entry Masters, Entry Level MSN (or whatever each school calls it) is just for people who are changing direction and want to pursue nursing. We are not expecting that people are pursuing their original plans or degrees.