NY license question: Wait and get licence in NY, or transfer from state I went to school

[BitterBee]

HI! I am graduating from nursing school in Philadelphia in about a month, but will be moving to NYC. My school is pushing to have me get my licence in PA and then transfer to NY because I will supposedly be able to sit for my boards sooner. My concern is that its going to be a lot more money, but then I also have to deal with the transfer process, and have heard it can take up to 2 months to transfer a license to NY. For those of you who graduated in NY, how long after your school sent all the information in were you able to sit for your NCLEX? and then how long after that did you receive you license? Also, for anyone who has transfer a licence to NY, how long did you have to wait. Thanks for any input or advise!

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

There is no such thing as "transferring" a nursing license. You would need to endorse your license to NY. One of my former colleagues did this earlier this year and it took several months.

If you have no intentions of practicing in PA, it makes no sense to pay for a license there. Apply for licensure by examination in NY and take your NCLEX for initial licensure in NY. You can physically take NCLEX wherever you please. If NJ has sooner dates, you can graduate from school in PA and take NCLEX in NJ for licensure in NY.