Online ADN to BSN

KBICU · Feb 8, 2013

I'm currently enrolled in University of Phoenix online MSN program but I have heard good things about their BSN program. Go over to the Online Education forum here on all nurses and see what other schools are out there. Good luck :)

jodyangel, RN · Feb 8, 2013

Thanks!!

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Feb 12, 2013

I'm seriously considering Anna Maria College's Online RN-BSN. It's a small Catholic school just outside Worcester, MA, with a very good reputation locally (I grew up not far from Worcester). The program is completely online, and the people I've encountered so far have been very helpful. Classes are $425 per credit, which is cheaper than my local state U.

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · Feb 13, 2013

I'm currently in American Public University System (actually the American Military University which is a part of APUS), their rates are really reasonable, and I havn't had any trouble. They are accredited. I think its right around $250/credit hour, I'm spending around $3000 a semester.

apozepam, MSN · Apr 1, 2014

Twinmommy+2,

I assume you've completed the RN-BSN at AMU/APUS now. I wanted to know if you would still recommend the program to others. I have a BS in another field and a MPH, but I'm trying to cover my bases with the Institute of Medicine's recommendation that majority of RNs be BSN prepared by 2020. In 2010, I took two graduate classes at APUS and had a good experience. Just wondering if you found the nursing program to have any issues or could provide any additional pearls of wisdom for someone considering their program.

Thank you for your assistance in advance!

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · Apr 1, 2014

@ apozepam, I did like it overall. There were a few professors that I probably didn't care for but over all they were responsive to questions, the class size was more than reasonable and most of the time I had the choice as to what subjects to write about if there was a research paper. I do wish I was able to double up more on the nursing courses and finish earlier than I did but it worked out.

smartnurse1982 · Apr 1, 2014

I hear rave reviews about Chamberlain,esp on Allnurses.

When i inquired about an online Adn to Bsn program Western Governor's University was the most helpful of all though!

I might just go with them,as i found Chamberlain's association with Devry off putting,plus when i was trying to inquire about the program i found the advisor not very helpful at all.

Locally Thomas Edison State University program seems ok,esp since they give life experience credits.

I find Excelsior's Rn to Bsn program confusing.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2014

I like OU so far but they limit who can apply now to five states around Ohio.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Apr 5, 2014

I did Excelsior's RN to BSN. I didn't find it confusing but my husband had experience with them going through their ADN program so maybe that helped. One huge thing about EC is that they are usually very generous in accepting and plugging in practically every credit you ever took (granted mine were all sort of nursing or science focused). They are also very accepting of testing for credit; they take many of the CLEP/DSST tests out there. Their ACE credit limit they recently implemented was mainly for the ADN program. I am discovering that the quality of the program was probably quite high. One of my fellow grads is getting complemented on her writing skills and community nursing knowledge compared to other BSN graduates in the same program.

I haven't started graduate school yet but took the GRE and scored 160 on the verbal reasoning and 4.5 on the essay portion (let's not discuss the math score okay). In case it isn't obvious, the course is writing intensive.

Drawbacks: Currently they have it set up where you cannot run through the program quickly even if you are highly motivated. There are several courses that must be completed before one can advance to a new section.

1. You must complete their 8 week Information Literacy course. It's super simple and the coursework itself can be completed in hours, but you have to wait until the end of the 8 weeks before you can startany other course, period, no other course can substitute period.

2. You must complete their 15 week "Writing for the Professions" course that teaches how to write APA papers. They will accept one substitute, a course taught by BYU. The purpose of this because pretty much all your grades are based on APA papers and you need to know that format. Having said that, I don't know why they take the BYU course as it doesn't teach APA (face-palm!). Until you finish this course, you cannot take any nursing courses at all.

3. You must complete Statistics before you can take the Research course. This makes perfect sense and they are now offering an 8 week Stats course. Plus they will take some transfer courses and some credit by exam (not all but some of them are acceptable).

4. You must complete a higher-level (300+ level) health care ethics course. There are test out options for this also.

Looking back a few months I am glad I got my education there because I feel it was very high quality but I don't recommend them unless you're getting special breaks (I think military gets an extra discount?). They are reasonably priced. I estimate I spent right around $12,000 everything including testing fees, books.

Around my parts I recommend local State Universities (as in Texas Tech, UTA) but their tuition may not be as good if you aren't a Texas resident (I just don't know).

I've heard great things about WGU if you are highly motivated to get through quickly. You can save a ton of money that way but must be highly driven.

apozepam, MSN · Apr 7, 2014

@ twinmommy+2 - Thank you! I appreciate you sharing your insight. I'm finishing up the readmission process now, since I've been inactive. I agree -- it would be nice to combine courses and finish quicker. That was one downfall I noticed. On another comment thread, I believe you mentioned looking into NP programs. Any issues with a BSN from APUS that you've noticed in your search for your ideal program?

klone, MSN, RN · Apr 7, 2014

I've heard great things about WGU if you are highly motivated to get through quickly. You can save a ton of money that way but must be highly driven.

Even if you're not super highly motivated, it's a very inexpensive option. I spent 18 months getting my BSN there (doing the minimum required credits each term) and it still cost me less than $10,000 for everything.