Nurse Practitioner Program Admission

That's a good question. I am in the same position as well. I have done research on this with various schools particularly CRNA school. And some programs will accept you and some will require a BSN. It's all just a matter of going online n looking up the requirements for admission

I am an RN with a Bachelor of Science degree(not BSN) and am seeking guidance as to which path to take in pursuing higher education. Do I have to go back to get my BSN prior to entry into MSN programs or are there programs that will accept RNs with alternate B.S. degrees? Any advice or help is greatly appreciated.

There are quite few colleges in my region that accept RN's with non-nursing bachelor's degrees into their MSN programs. Usually, these programs have a requirement for non-BSN's to complete several bridge classes either prior to beginning the MSN or concurrently with other nursing classes. I live in the Phila area and know of at least three colleges that do this: Drexel, Temple and Widener. Jefferson may also have such a program but I know that they have an accelerated BSN-MSN program for second-degree students as well.

Check around - my guess is that many if not most colleges offering the MSN will admit second degree, non-BSN RN's. The drawback is that the bridge classes are usually billed at the graduate tuition rate and it may be cheaper, and not much more time consuming, to simply do an on-line RN-BSN program and then apply to grad school.

there are universities that will accept alternate BS degrees. What you then will be looking for will be "pathway MSN" or something like that. you really have to go to All Accredited RN to MSN / Masters in Nursing Programs or any website for that matter and look at each school. Good luck!