RN programs in the Philadelphia Area

[IndecisiveInMiami]

Hi,

I'm moving to the Philly area in a couple of weeks and am going to be enrolling in school as soon as I get there. I'm new and have to do my prereqs first but am wondering if anyone on here knows of any good schools offering good programs there. I am looking to just get my Associates for now and then may fast track to BSN although my main goal is to get to the Forensic side of things. I'm not sure if those programs require Bachelors or just RN with experience. Right now my primary goal is to find a good associate RN program. I'd like the quickest route which I know may be a private school but I know I have to be careful of those.

Any suggestions?

Should i take my prereqs at a CC college or do it all together in a program at a private school?

Thanks a bunch

[HonnyBrown]

Temple University has an outstanding BSN program. They also have a hospital at the Health Sciences Campus.

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

Moved to PA Nursing Programs Discussion forum for more responses.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

The market in Philadelphia is very difficult for ADN new grads- it's hard enough for those with BSNs. Many of the local hospital systems are hiring BSN only, and with tons of schools in the area, competition is fierce. Is is possible to get a job here with an ADN? Yes, but you're looking at a smaller pool of hospitals to apply to.

I don't know of any school around here that does lottery-style, multi-year wait-lists- at CCP for example (the Community College of Philadelphia, a cheap public cc) you are accepted or rejected and if rejected apply again. I took my prerequisites there which allowed me to apply to that school as an in-college transfer and only my CCP grades were factored in to my application score. I opted to go to another program, largely because of the hiring preference for BSNs, but also because an accelerated BSN was shorter than an ADN.