Nursing at Richland College

tkrn714 · Nov 26, 2011

Hi Linh,

RLC does not have a nursing program. You can take all of your academic courses at Richland (like I did), then transfer to a school of nursing, like El Centro or Brookhaven. The counselors at Richland know which courses you would need to take. El Centro and Brookhaven are part of Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) and are highly ranked nursing schools. You will get an associate's degree if you go there.

TWU has a school of nursing located in Denton and Dallas. I attended Richland College for 2 years and got all of my academics out of the way, then applied and got accepted to the Dallas campus at TWU. The nursing program at TWU was 2 years, and awards a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

Whichever school you decide on, find out how long the waiting list is. Nursing schools are competitive and select from a large pool of highly qualified applicants that are the best and the brightest. Your grades must be good, and you should be the type of person who cares about people. I have been a registered nurse for 30 years and am glad that I picked this profession. I have pretty much always had a job, except for the 2 times when the companies I worked for went out of business. :cry: Also, nursing can be hard work, esp. if you work in a hospital.

I hope that I've helped you out, or at least answered some questions.

P. S. Most, if not all nursing schools in Texas will accept your courses that you took at DCCCD, but they have to be the correct courses. Each nursing school is slightly different in academic requirements. By contacting several nursing schools you can find out EXACTLY what the academic requirements are, and if you want to proceed with that school.

LinhNguyen · Nov 27, 2011

Thanks for your response, tkrn714. I want to take all academic course at RLC and then get an Associate's Degree in Science since it does not have Nursing program. Besides, due to the living condition, I prefer study at RLC. After that, I will transfer to TWU. So my question is, can I go straight from RLC to TWU by earning AS without going to El Centro or Brookhaven?

tkrn714 · Nov 27, 2011

Hi LinhNguyen,

The AS (associates of science) degree is totally different from the ADN (associates degree nursing)

While you are at Richland you can get an Associates in Science degree if you follow their program, but it has nothing to do with the ADN program. It will take you probably 2 years to get it. But it won't help you to get into nursing school and here is why:

The classes you take for the AS degree may not be the same equivalent classes (english,math, gov't, history, microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology, etc) that you need to take before you enter TWU. Remember, you have to take 2 years of lower division courses before entering the nursing school. I took anatomy and Physiology for nursing majors at Richland for 2 semesters. I also took 1 semester inorganic chemistry and 1 semester of organic chemistry. There were 4 semesters of English, 2 of history, 1 semester of government, 2 of sociology, 2 of psychology, and a bunch of other courses. These courses were specifically for science majors...people going to medical school or nursing school. The AS degree may not have the very same coursework that you require to get into nursing school. My goal was a BSN, so I only took equivalent courses that were needed. If your goal is AS degree first, then BSN, you have to follow the path of courses that the AS degree designates. Then, when you go to TWU, you still may have to go back to Richland to pick up the required courses to enter Nursing school.

So, yes, you can get an AS degree. Usually anyone who has around 70 college credits can get an associates degree of some sort, but will it be the same courses that TWU requires? You have to ask yourself that. Talking to an enrollment counselor will help explain what I am saying.

If you are strapped for money, nursing schools have programs to help with that. Since there is a shortage of nurses,and it will be worse in 10 years, they are enticing more people into the profession with grants and low interest loans. Also, there are some hospitals that willl pay for your nursing school if you work for them after you get out.

Remember, it is important to plan ahead and take the correct courses at Richland, that are required by TWU. While you are at Richland, you can apply for the College of Nursing at TWU and be placed on their waiting list.

For the El Centro and Brookhaven's ADN nursing programs, you take 1 year of courses (known as pre-requisite or academic) at Richland, then 4 semesters of Nursing. At graduation, an Associates degree in Nursing is awarded.

I guess the answer to your last question is you can go from Richland to TWU, but why would you want an AS degree? Having an AS degree won't get you into the nursing program at TWU. Also, if you don't want to go to El Centro or Brookhaven you don't have to. But if you decide to go for the ADN program you can, then bridge over to a BSN program at a later time. Remember, it is not necessary to get a BSN. A Registered Nurse is a Registered Nurse. We all take the same board of nursing exam.

For information about transferring credits from DCCCD to TWU or another 4 year university, click on the link below:

http://www.dcccd.edu/Current%20Students/Student%20Services/Transfer%20Services/Pages/default.aspx

Tammy

iCme2 · Nov 27, 2011

hmm... I'm surprise that non of the TWU hopefuls would chime in. Try this link:

http://www.twu.edu/nursing/faq.asp

Do your best to makes A's and best of luck!

LinhNguyen · Nov 29, 2011

To Tammy:

I thought I had to get Associate Degree first so as to transfer to TWU, so it confused both you and me. My goals is also BSN, as a result, I will take all the TWU's prerequisite courses at RLC, then apply for it.

To iCme2:

I did look at that website, but I have not found those valuable information until you sent me the link ^^ I'll do my best

After all, thanks for everybody's responses, and I hope I can get more helps from you guys some other days!